Well, as with all of us I hate needing a wrench to tighten a drawbar. In my old lathe, a Sieg X2, I installed a spring loaded button that engaged the spindle spline as a spindle lock. Looking at the PM-25 I could have done something similar but found myself grabbing the exposed spindle at the flats to tighten the draw bar and I thought that more leverage would help, So, I thought to add a ring around the spindle to increase the diameter.
Well I found some 2.5" Delrin in my box, bored it out added some grooves and a single set screws on either side and soon had a nice place to grab when tightening the drawbar. And the best part is that with one hand you can grab the spindle and hold the collet/tool/arbor so it does not fall out when tightening the drawbar.
It then did not take long to try a C Hook wrench for added leverage. This resulted in a couple of holes added for the wrench and more set screws. This all works great and, with a little dexterity you can still hold the hook wrench and collet/tool with one hand when tightening if necessary
I'm sure there would be a better material for this than Delrin which is nice and light but a bit soft. I would also think that 2 set screws per side would be sufficient. All suggestions, thoughts and improvements would be welcome. FYI, quill ring light is from ebay (S Milling Machine Spindle Light for X3 Family Mills, Black G0704,PM-25,G0758) and fit perfectly
Well I found some 2.5" Delrin in my box, bored it out added some grooves and a single set screws on either side and soon had a nice place to grab when tightening the drawbar. And the best part is that with one hand you can grab the spindle and hold the collet/tool/arbor so it does not fall out when tightening the drawbar.
It then did not take long to try a C Hook wrench for added leverage. This resulted in a couple of holes added for the wrench and more set screws. This all works great and, with a little dexterity you can still hold the hook wrench and collet/tool with one hand when tightening if necessary
I'm sure there would be a better material for this than Delrin which is nice and light but a bit soft. I would also think that 2 set screws per side would be sufficient. All suggestions, thoughts and improvements would be welcome. FYI, quill ring light is from ebay (S Milling Machine Spindle Light for X3 Family Mills, Black G0704,PM-25,G0758) and fit perfectly