Nice surprise on Aloris tool post

ScrapMetal

ScrapMetal

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I ordered an Aloris BXA tool post from a seller on e-bay. It was one of the least expensive listings I could find on so I was a little apprehensive as to what I would receive.

Well, it showed up today and to my surprise it was shipped straight from Aloris! No question that what I have is a brand new tool post. I won't bother with pics as you all know what they look like. :p :)

Just wanted to share my good experience with an e-bay seller. Oh, btw, the seller is "allindustrialtoolsupply" http://myworld.ebay.com/allindustrialtoolsupply

Now I only have to figure out how I'm going to mill the base without a mill. That I will supply pics of. ;)

-Ron
 
{We lost a lot of post and great offers of "help" in this thread}

I got started on the base for the BXA today. Blued it and scribed a couple of lines on it to mark it's major width. The "block" was initially wide enough so that I could clamp and cut it in my little HF bandsaw, leaving some extra material just in case the cut went "funny". I then mounted it in the lathe's chuck to take it down to the scribe mark.

To do the other side was a little different. As my bandsaw is un-modified the remaining piece of the base was not wide enough to securely clamp in and still cut. So, using what patience I can muster, I chucked it back up in the lathe...

As you can see in the pictures, I have very little of the bit extending out of the holder. The entire bit is actually supported as only the relief area of the bit is sticking out to try and get it as solid as possible for the extreme interrupted cut. In this photo I am about half way to the scribe mark. This is where I left if for the day, had to get home to take my son to the drop-off point for his Scout camp out this weekend. I'll hopefully finish cutting it tomorrow. I figure with the light cuts I'm taking it'll take a good half hour to forty-five minutes to get it down to where it should be. It's a beautiful piece of steel but it's hard :p.

This is the first time I've attempted a cut like this and wasn't sure just what to expect. The lathe takes it fine though, just "chuff, chuff, chuff,..." right along. :biggrin:

Next will be to figure out how (using what I have in the toolbox) I'm going to cut the steps on each side.

-Ron
 
joelaycheck said:
[QUOTE

Next will be to figure out how (using what I have in the toolbox) I'm going to cut the steps on each side.

-Ron
Click to expand...

I would hold it with the bxa toolholder if it would fit and put an endmill or a flycutter in the chuck. If it is too thick to fit the toolholder slot, tack weld a 1/2 x 1/2 piece of stock to the backside to fit the toolholder.[/QUOTE]

Hmmm, I see one little flaw with that plan... The plate will fit in the jaw of the BXA, no problem and I am planning on using an end mill mounted in the chuck (Plan "A" :thumbzup: - Haven't been forced to figure a plan "B" yet). Where this runs in to a bit of trouble is that I need the plate to mount the BXA on the lathe. It's not ready to fit on the lathe and if you put it in the BXA's jaws it wouldn't be real useful for mounting the BXA on the compound. We have a "catch-22" there unless I'm missing something.

Now, welding a piece on to it so I can hold it in my AXA post, maybe. I'd rather see if I can't come up with a combination of clamps, bolts, shims, and any misc. item that it takes to secure it in place. I don't have a welder at the "shop" right now as all three are at my home in the garage (and not set up either). I plan to move them over some time soon but am not quite prepared for it.

Finished the one cut on the plate and have the next cuts laid out on it:



That little "dimple" in the center is a reminder that I should be mark which lever position is the power feed for the cross slide and which is for the carriage. Engage the wrong one for a moment and it made this nice little indentation before I could disengage the clutch. :eek: I did get a surprisingly nice cut on this side though.

Thanks,

-Ron
 
What some people do when faced with this is to turn a shoulder back on it concentric with the threaded hole with the diameter of what the finished width would be if you milled it. The depth of the step would be the same as the milled step. It really isn't any weaker than a milled plate, as the threads are all in the full thickness material. This way, you don't need a mill at all.
 
42 said:
What some people do when faced with this is to turn a shoulder back on it concentric with the threaded hole with the diameter of what the finished width would be if you milled it. The depth of the step would be the same as the milled step. It really isn't any weaker than a milled plate, as the threads are all in the full thickness material. This way, you don't need a mill at all.
Click to expand...


It's kind of funny you brought this up. It occurred to me a couple of hours ago that I had seen that method used before and "Why not just finish mine in that manner?". For the last couple of hours I've been trying to come up with any reason where that would create some kind of drawback. So far I haven't come up with a one. The closest I could come to a downside is that it would leave more of a cavity underneath the tool post that would tend to collect chips - hardly a catastrophic failure. :rolleyes: :biggrin:

I may just go ahead and do that tomorrow. I was concerned that the jaws wouldn't have much to hold on to until the brain finally kicked in and I realized that I could hold it against the chuck/jaws using a live center in the tailstock. :cool: That might make it a little tight to work in there but I'll see how it all stacks up when I have it in front of me.

Thanks,

-Ron
 
Update time :p

It ain't pretty but it's working. Kids, don't try this at home... :biggrin:

I started out with the bit at quite an angle. It was working but I started noticing a problem where the piece was becoming "dished". I'm not exactly sure what was causing it. Granted, the bit was extended way past where I would normally want it. I'm going to guess that the longish bit and the serious angle were causing enough flex in the bit that it was pushing off the work as it got closer to the outside edge. With the heavily interrupted cut it was just hammering the cross slide back away from the work.



After noticing my little concave problem I decided to try a slightly different setup with the bit. I switched the tool holder to the other side and switched to a symmetrical bit that allowed access to more angle from that direction.

This picture I took with while the lathe was running. Those little spots everywhere are the chips flying everywhere. :) Using a flash and a fast apperture.



I didn't have time to finish it today. Hopefully tomorrow I'll finish this cut then I'll change to a pointed bit in order to square it all up.

-Ron
 
42 said:
Looks perfectly workable to me, Ron.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

The one little thing that may bug me is that I have a suspicion about the center actually forcing the plate to be off-center but I won't really know till I get it out of the chuck and can measure things properly. What I think may have happened is since the plate is already threaded the center is going to be coming in contact with the threads at different depths (in this case) on either side. The uneven contact may be forcing the piece itself to be off-center while the center is running true. Sorry, my explanation leaves a lot to be desired.

I'll find out tomorrow what the real story on it is.

-Ron
 
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