Somebody Else's Good Idea for Lathe Tapers

Charles Spencer · Mar 13, 2017

I recently ordered some of the books from the Workshop Practice Series. Among these was #15, Workholding In The Lathe by Tubal Cain (not Mr. Pete). I saw an excellent idea for using a boring head as an offset tail stock:

I'm going to try this.

willthedancer · Mar 14, 2017

That's on my list of tools to make.
I will have mine do double duty as a boring head for the lathe spindle.

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richz · Mar 14, 2017

Does the support that hold the work also tilt. Very interested in making one. Has anyone else made something similar?

chips&more · Mar 14, 2017

I have been using that method for decades. But not with the adjustable angling dead center. I remedy the problem of center hole angle misalignment by using a conical center drill (that's what I call it ?) instead of the standard 60° center drill…Dave.

rgray · Mar 14, 2017

I have used a homemade boring head in the tailstock for taper turning. I used a 5/16 ball on each end of a piece of 1/4 HSS (with the ends dished) in the boring head 1/2 inch hole with ball bearings for the shaft to turn in. They were a yo-yo bearing.
Not a rigid set up so light cuts only.
Much better work for a grinder.
The boring head pictured looks like it has a carrier made specifically for angling the center to correct point contact.

silverhawk · Mar 14, 2017

Charles Spencer said:
I recently ordered some of the books from the Workshop Practice Series. Among these was #15, Workholding In The Lathe by Tubal Cain (not Mr. Pete). I saw an excellent idea for using a boring head as an offset tail stock:

View attachment 228627

I'm going to try this.

Are you sure that is not mr. Pete? He has published some "books" as well as his great videos, and I think that is the title of one of them.

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savarin · Mar 14, 2017

Tom D. Walshaw (1912–1998) was an engineer, author and contributor to the British magazine Model Engineer. Many of his magazine contributions and books were authored under the pseudonym Tubal Cain. The pseudonym relates to the Tubal-cain, the biblical metal worker. As Tubal Cain he made over 424 contributions to Model Engineer, beginning in 1971. These were mainly divided between workshop equipment articles and model stationary engine constructional articles.
Walshaw published the following under the name 'Tubal Cain'

Building the beam engine Mary. Watford, UK: Model & Allied Publications, Argus Books, 1981 (83 p).
Building the Overcrank Engine "Georgina".
Building the Williamson engine. Watford, UK: Argus Books, 1981 (85p).
Model engineers handbook. Watford, UK: Model & Allied Publications, 1981 (170 p). 2nd ed: 1986. 3rd ed: 1996.
Hardening, tempering and heat treatment. Workshop practice series no. 1. Hemel Hempstead UK: Argus Books, 1984, (124 p).
Milling operations in the lathe. Workshop practice series no. 5. London: Argus Books, 1984 (125 p).
Soldering and Brazing. Workshop practice series no. 9. Hemel Hempstead UK: Argus Books, 1985 (136 p).
Drills, Taps and Dies. Workshop practice series no. 12. Swanley, England: Nexus Special Interests, 1987 (103 p).
Workshop drawing. Workshop practice series no. 13. London: Argus Books, 1988 (110 p).
Workholding in the lathe. Workshop practice series no. 15. London: Argus Books, 1987 (111 p).
Simple workshop devices. Workshop practice series. Hemel Hempstead, UK: Argus Books, 1980 (127 p).
Spring design and manufacture. Workshop practice series no. 19. Hemel Hempstead, UK: Argus Books, 1988 (95 p).
Building simple model steam engines. Watford, UK, Model and Allied Publications, 1980 (107 p).
Building simple model steam engines. Book 2. Hemel Hempstead, UK: Nexus Special Interests Ltd., 1998 (106 p).

FOMOGO · Mar 15, 2017

Have seen similar before. The angle adjustable center feature seems like it would improve stability. Mike

rgray said:
The boring head pictured looks like it has a carrier made specifically for angling the center to correct point contact.

Kernbigo · Mar 15, 2017

I use a ball bearing center in the headstock and this adjustable center in the tailstock

savarin · Mar 15, 2017

Kernbigo said:
I use a ball bearing center in the headstock and this adjustable center in the tailstock

Am I correct in thinking that the ball bearing replaces a dead centre but still requires a dog to drive the shaft?

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Somebody Else's Good Idea for Lathe Tapers

Charles Spencer

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willthedancer

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richz

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chips&more

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rgray

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silverhawk

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savarin

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FOMOGO

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Kernbigo

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savarin

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