Mt2 Reamer

ogberi

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Hi All,

I've checked, double checked, and triple checked.

I have .006" runout in the MT2 taper in my Atlas horizontal mill. :/ I even chucked it up between centers and checked, saw the same .006" on it. Unfortunately, like an idiot, I re-assembled the spindle before I made detailed measurements of it. I'll be pulling it back apart soon, unless I find a detailed dimensioned drawing of an Atlas MFC spindle, or 6" lathe spindle (I believe they're the same).

Anyway, I'm making a new spindle from a piece of shafting I have on-hand. It cuts well enough, and it's plenty tough. I figure this is a good exercise in lathe operations, and it's something I have to definitely take my time and ensure accuracy.

However, I need an MT2 reamer to finish the business end of the spindle before I can set it up between centers and start turning the rest of the spindle down.

Does anybody have an MT2 reamer they'd be willing to loan me for a bit? I'll happily pay postage both ways, and if I damage it, I'll replace it. I'd just rather not spend the $50-80 on a new reamer (rather than risk one off Ebay that may be fubar) that I may use twice.

I don't intend to try reaming the existing spindle. It's buggered up from one of the PO's not understanding what woodruff keys are for (they just cranked the set screws tighter), and besides, this project interests me. It'll be a test of how accurate I can be.

Thanks!
 
I had to make a new spindle on my drill press years ago...

After carefully setting up the lathe and cutting the taper close to perfect, I took a Morse drill and machined half the taper away to make a taper "D" bit. Then hardened it and reamed my new spindle a bit.

So far, the repair has lasted 25 years.

Karl
 
I had to make a new spindle on my drill press years ago...

After carefully setting up the lathe and cutting the taper close to perfect, I took a Morse drill and machined half the taper away to make a taper "D" bit. Then hardened it and reamed my new spindle a bit.

So far, the repair has lasted 25 years.

Karl

Very, very ingenious ! What was your hardening process, if you recall ?
 
Very, very ingenious ! What was your hardening process, if you recall ?
heat cherry red with torch, dip in oil. grind just a scotch to get it real sharp.

Some say temper, for one use stuff, I don't. I did a 1.25 X 10 tap like this just last week.

You can also lap that taper in. Just take a drill, cut off the tongue, grind a couple holding channels. Apply lapping compound and start turning. If your tools want to drop, not stick in the spindle, do this step. If your lathe work was almost perfect, you could skip the ream step and do this only. 25 years ago I didn't own a Monarch 10EE with DRO. Today, I could get that taper within a thou end to end and would only lap.


Karl
 
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HSS is an air hardening steel. It also DECARBS badly if exposed to air when hot. I HAVE heated HSS red hot and gotten it to harden,though that was not the correct way to harden it,it did work. But, it did decarb,which did not matter for making engraving chisels. It does matter to YOU. You need to wrap it in a high temperature stainless steel wrap to keep it from decarbing.

Do you have an oven,hopefully with temperature control? 1000º will do it.

What I was doing with some annealed HSS M33 3/8" square stock I bought from Latrobe years ago,was heating the HSS to only red and hammering it down to thinner,tapered shapes to make engraving chisels. It worked,too,except I had to grind away the decarbed skin. You need to avoid this to preserve the accuracy of your M2 taper.

Now,what I was using was M33 HSS. It is possible that a different alloy NIGHT not decarb. I cannot say. I got M33 because at the time,it was the only HSS annealed they had on hand. If you have a drill to waste,you can try.

I certainly do not advocate quenching HSS as it shocks it badly,and can result in a curved reamer,or possibly a cracked or broken one. With all tool steels,it is important to quench them in the PROPER medium,and HSS is air quenching.
 
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I've always wondered what the composition of the shank of a morse drill is. its not hard at all as purchased. The procedure I stated is for O1, my best guess is this is what the shank is most like.

To avoid decarb, just run the torch rich. Maybe George is right. Just heat it and let it air cool to see if that gets hard enough to cut. To check it, see if a file skates on the surface and doesn't cut at all.
 
Yep, easy enough to determine by trial and error on a scrap piece after cutting off the shank.

Thanks Karl and George for the information. I also use Karl's method for drill rod, followed by tempering in a toaster oven, but wondered about the composition/treatment of the morse taper drill shank that he hardened. I hope that I can remember this process, it's very clever ! Thanks again, Karl.
 
Hi All,

Well, problem is that I don't have any MT2 shanked drills that I can repurpose, and I'm only just a tiny bit off on the angle of the taper. I used a dial indicator and lots of time to get the compound slide aligned so I saw zero needle movement while traversing the MT2 dead center I had in place. My tailstock may be a tiny bit out of whack, which may account for the slightly wrong angle. :/ I'm tempted to adjust the compound a little bit and try again on some aluminum scrap, see if I can get a better fit, then clean up the spindle-to-be. However, I think that an MT2 reamer would make quick work of getting the socket just right, without the trial-and-error and wasted stock on the 'adjust it, cut it, try it, repeat' method. Pondering this...
 
I just looked and I have what you need. Shoot me a pm and we can get it in the mail
 
Borrowing one would certainly be the best solution but I suspect that picking up a few MT2 shank drills from eBay wouldn't be very costly.

BTW, having a few large MT-2 shank drills is very, very useful in itself. You can get rid of a lot of material in a hurry - this is a one inch diameter MT2 shank drill removing some serious metal :)

P1010663.jpg

OOPS ! Tony just solved your problem while I was typing ---
 
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