Tool Post Question

D

Dee

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I have a 13x40 Southbend lathe and I put a BXA Aloris copy quick change tool post on it several years ago.
it has a bad habit of sticking ocassionly , I only tighten it up enough to do the job but sometimes it will stick and it takes a very strong pull on the wrench to get it to loosen?
 
I've had similar happen to me with other makes of toolpost. Usually it occurs when I've been taking very heavy cuts. It seems as if the extra heavy load causes the toolholder to tip down a bit and become jammed on the toolpost. Shouldn't be anything to worry about.

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Do you mean that the tool block handle becomes tight or that the nut that holds the toolpost to the cross slide becomes difficult to loosen? Big difference between the two.
 
Maybe time to take apart the tool post and give it a good cleaning. Debur burrs, stone bearing surfaces, etc. Apply a little moly grease, re assemble. If that don't work, time to buy a new tool post. I wouldn't buy a new one unless you just want to. The sticking is from all of the tool holders have "rung" themselves together with the tool post. Not a bad situation to have, just aggravating from the point of releasing the tool holders.
 
4gsr said:
Maybe time to take apart the tool post and give it a good cleaning. Debur burrs, stone bearing surfaces, etc. Apply a little moly grease, re assemble. If that don't work, time to buy a new tool post. I wouldn't buy a new one unless you just want to. The sticking is from all of the tool holders have "rung" themselves together with the tool post. Not a bad situation to have, just aggravating from the point of releasing the tool holders.
Click to expand...
We do not yet know if it is the dovetail hanging up or the toolpost body itself that is difficult to loosen, the OP did mention using a wrench which implies moving the body itself, having to use a wrench to change blocks on a QC tool post defeats the purpose of such a device. As to the blocks "ringing in", I have never experienced such a thing in 30 years of using these tools. I have recently run jobs that require 4 tool changes per part X 1800 parts, 7200 tool changes in all

However one of the large lathes I use has an Aloris tool post on it, recently it has formed a habit unscrewing the internal mechanism that the hold down screw bears against, as the hold down nut is loosened the internally threaded component also rotates resulting in zero loosening and much head scratching at first. When loosening the hold down nut keep a keen eye on the part that it bears on, if this also rotates you are unscrewing the hold down nut and the internal threaded part at the same time, this works poorly (-:
 
Wreck™Wreck said:
We do not yet know if it is the dovetail hanging up or the toolpost body itself that is difficult to loosen, the OP did mention using a wrench which implies moving the body itself, having to use a wrench to change blocks on a QC tool post defeats the purpose of such a device. As to the blocks "ringing in", I have never experienced such a thing in 30 years of using these tools. I have recently run jobs that require 4 tool changes per part X 1800 parts, 7200 tool changes in all

However one of the large lathes I use has an Aloris tool post on it, recently it has formed a habit unscrewing the internal mechanism that the hold down screw bears against, as the hold down nut is loosened the internally threaded component also rotates resulting in zero loosening and much head scratching at first. When loosening the hold down nut keep a keen eye on the part that it bears on, if this also rotates you are unscrewing the hold down nut and the internal threaded part at the same time, this works poorly (-:
Click to expand...

Ok sorry I should have been more clear in my first post it is the nut on top of the tool post that gets very tight at times? the quick change works just fine.
and most of the time so does the tool post itself just every now and again it will tighten down fine, but then when i try to loosen it to make a chamfer or change the angle of the cutting edge I need a longer wrench to loosen things up??
 
Have you cked the threads on the bolt and in the nut? If they start gulling from no lube that's a big pain . I've seen it done . If it were mine I'd put some never seize on the threads . It will still hold tight but will help when tightening and loosening .
 
Some time if it is a hot day and the QCTP gets warmer than usual , the centre bolt expands , you tighten it up as normal but as it cools it contracts and shrinks down making it a bit tighter than normal.

I found out about this years ago, much to my disgust for it cost me a months wages in fines & I got a right ear bending .
I'd been give four " axle retaining U bolts", to do a job out in the field ..they had lain in the hot Cyprus 44 oC summer sun of six or more hours before I was tasked with the job and were so hot because of being black I had to use leather gloves to fit them
Everything was torqued up correctly .. next morning I was arrested on charges of severe neglect .. the U bolts had contracted & sheared early in cool early morning hours of with five big hairy assed Canadians in the Land Rover.
 
Silverbullet said:
Have you cked the threads on the bolt and in the nut? If they start gulling from no lube that's a big pain . I've seen it done . If it were mine I'd put some never seize on the threads . It will still hold tight but will help when tightening and loosening .
Click to expand...

If you don't have one in place .... Having a quality high grade steel washer under the nut also helps.
 
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