Tool Terms

According to :

O.K. The first of the ones which I got also as e-mail.

*Please* don't send me e-mail copies of your postings. Especially so, since the "From: " address is bogus, so a reply would be wasting my time.

*Now*!

No -- the plate which slides into the T-slot on the compound has to be milled to fit. You don't *have* a T-slot on that lathe, unlike most larger (and some smaller) lathes.

So, you unscrew the center rod from the T-head blank, and screw it into the threaded hole in the top of the *modified* compound which you purchase.

There *may* be a different center rod, which should be part of what comes with the modified compound.

Hmm ... you note that it is intended to fit a 5C lathe spindle socket? And the only way *you* can provide a 5C socket is with this thing which you already got from eBay. And the only way to hold *that* is in a three-jaw or 4-jaw chuck on the lathe's spindle. There seems to be little point to getting a chuck to hold in a chuck via an adaptor. :-)

Granted, people have held much smaller lathe chucks for tiny workpieces in gigantic lathe chucks, but the size of *this* chuck is one which is probably already available for your lathe spindle.

I have one of those, which I use sometimes when the lathe is set up for collets, and I want to work on a small workpiece and don't want to heave around the heavy larger chucks for my lathe. But mine is set up for 5C collets.

Now -- you *could* use this in the spin indexer which you mention somewhere below (from what I remember from reading the e-mail earlier in the day). But that spin indexer is probably not as small as you think it is. :-)

Regular for that. Probably regular for whatever you're going to be doing. Save on buying the good ones until you have a machine which can benefit from them.

They can. Taps, under power, are asking for trouble. I tap under power in my lathe, but:

1) It has a bed turret, so the tool holders are always on center. 2) I have some releasing tap holders to mount in that turret.

When the tap reaches a pre-set depth, it pulls part of the holder to release the coupling to the rigidly mounted part in the turret. This allows the tap and part of the holder to spin freely until I can stop and reverse the spindle to back the tap out of the just made threads.

You don't have the releasing tap holders, and I don't think that your spindle can be run at reasonable speeds and torque for this -- depending on the size of the tap, of course.

Yes. You may have the trash pickup people really mad at you, and you *may* be violating some ordinance where you live if you toss metal turnings into the general trash.

O.K. Two-flute or three-flute plunge fairly nicely though either may take more power than you have in stainless depending on the diameter, so you may need to pre-drill the holes to depth at a smaller diameter first.

Yes.

I mean the shank, which is a Morse taper to fit the spindle in the mag base drill (or at least in *some* mag base drills), and the other end is designed to hold the Rotabroach.

Yes -- it can be used to fit a Rotabroach to a lathe spindle, though I'm not sure about the torque available from your lathe spindle for running a Rotabroach in stainless steel.

O.K.

Individual reamers as you need them -- unless you luck into a nice price on eBay -- and can be sure that they are in good condition.

*Don't* bid on a batch of loose reamers. They have almost certainly been beating against each other and have dulled the edges. If they are in individual tubes, or in a roll-up tool pouch, the chances are better.

And *never* run a reamer backwards in the hole. It breaks down the edges very quickly.

Correct. The range is limited in part by the length of the screw which grips the workpiece -- though there are other thing which also play a role in deciding.

Hmm ... 36 and 10. How about 36 and 40? The index head for the Emco-Maier C5 mill (not to be confused with the 5C collet size) has those two, plus two other counts -- all build into the one fixture. You simply shift the spring-loaded pin from one threaded hole to another to select the number of positions available.

And even the really tiny index head for the Unimat SL-1000 (long out of production) had available four index hubs with those four hole counts. But they typically came with only the 36 hole one, and you had to buy the others as accessories.

You'll have to look on eBay for these, and beware that the pricing on the Unimat stuff has started into "collector's item" range.

The only thing found on eBay at the moment with a search on "emco index head" is:

7594760412

which is probably too big for your purpose, but which is a very nice one, with a rather unusual 4-jaw universal chuck -- that is, the jaws move inward at the same rate, just like a 3-jaw. That might be very nice for mounting on your lathe for turning truly square plates -- except that I don't see the outside grip jaws for it.

O.K. You may find it larger than you think. :-)

The plastic gears, I suspect. I've seen lots of postings about those giving way in some of the import milling machines.

For scribing a circle?

[ ... ]

Buy a *good* drill index filled with number-sized drills. You will find a table embossed into the metal of the top tray which lists the body and tap drill sizes for common number-sized screws.

Or -- look up the proper table in your _Machinery's Handbook_.

Or prepare to compile (language is 'C') a program which I wrote some time ago:

======================================================================

For a #3-56.000 screw: Clearance diameter: 0.099 Tap drill diameter: 0.081 ======================================================================

And you'll still need the drill index to convert those decimal sizes to the number size. :-)

Mine is a 3" one, IIRC. Made by Starrett.

Yes -- if your *machine* is rigid enough to cut the threads correctly.

[ ... ]

Yes -- in part just to find a bandsaw which will run slow enough to cut stainless steel. Most inexpensive (and light) bandsaws have speeds only appropriate for wood or metals like brass or aluminum. They are *way* too fast for mild steel even -- let along stainless.

The same rules apply. It is the blade speed which is the major problem. (Actually, you *might* be able to get away with the horizontal/vertical bandsaw in vertical mode -- if you don't need to cut too far from the edge of the workpiece, as the clearance for the other side is rather limited.

Enjoy, DoN.

P.S. I'm getting to dread weekends, since that is when I get hit by several of your long postings.

Ok. This was definitely the resultof problems with the library computers, which I rarely use to post to the newsgroups unless my home system goes down.

OK. I ordered one, so I'll re-read this when I have it in my hand.

That's exactly what I was thinking. But when I get around to getting a mill... :-)

Neertheless, if I'm lucky and can fit the spin indexer(with collet and work) over my lathe's bed in front of an endmill(located inside of an end mill holder), I'd be able to bolt it to the geared elevation platform I'm designing. :-)

I definitely won't be using the collets for tool holding and plan to bid on a set of endmill holders: 7552009436

BTW. Since I am getting a lot of stuff from a single seller I decided I might as well pick up a set of collets also. I previously asked the seller if he combined for shipping and he said yes. But at over $50 shipping I still think thats kind of high...

7597548589 33 PCS PRECISION 5C COLLETS SET & FREE 5C COLLET STAND 1 US $93.95 7590882403 0- 4" DEPTH MICROMETER 2.5" BASE MICROMETERS .001" CASE 1 US $24.95 7593646099 0 - 4" 4 PCS MICROMETER SET CARBIDE TIP MICROMETERS NEW 1 US $19.99 7595311979 NEW PRECISION MORSE TAPER # 2 MT LIVE CENTER TAPERS ! 1 US $11.95 7593644408 6 PC 5/16- 6 CYLINDER T-BORE GAGES GAGE SET TELESCOPING 1 US $9.75 7589437709 5C COLLET COLLETS BLOCK SET HEX, SQUARE BLOCKS NEW SETS 1 US $28.90 7582356634 5/8" DRILL CHUCK W/ STRAIGHT / MT / R8 SHANK ARBOR NEW! 1 US $18.95 7572307933 110 LBS PULL 4 WAY MAGNETIC BASE TEST & DIAL INDICATOR 1 US $10.95 7570240691 5C PRECISION SPIN INDEX FIXTURE COLLET FOR MILLING NEW 1 US $26.90 7542413378 3 MORSE TAPER TO 2 MORSE TAPER ADAPTOR NEW 1 US $6.00 7503033206 PRECISION MACHINISTS ANGLE GAGE SET 18 PCS GAGES NEW 1 US $15.25

Subtotal: US $267.54 Shipping and handling via UPS Ground: US $50.90 Total: US $318.44

(Along with something else you recommended: 7594930259).

Thanks. You've convinced me to stick with manual tapping. At least for now , and with the equipment I have. Or should I say, don't have. :-). BTW. I don't see going much larger than 5/8" in the near future.

I don't have a mill or drill yet but this looks interestiung:

7537997365

Yes. Recycling is now the law here.

Since stainless is still the *back-up* plan, two-flute should be sufficient for Delrin.

At worst, I should be able to use it on softer materials(ie: Aluminum). I wonder if I should just get a Morse Taper #2 socket and make my own holder. :-)

I have lathe dogs somewhat covered: 7594607844. I didn't see the one lathe dog on the Micro-mark page as being too useful. But I may now have to custom make a face plate so I can use them.

Though 36 and 40 would quadruple the position opptions, there is not enough room for that many holes inthe space I set aside.

One of these days I'll get more into my idea for a "Chuck-Plate"(for lack of a better term). It's basically a face-plate with 12 location options for inserting reversible jaws so that either a 3 or a 4 jaw option is possible. It will also allow the option of scroll or independent.(The idea is complete. The hard part will be finalizing the dimensions of all of the individual parts).

There is a simular one in the Grizzly catalog.

I'll still keep my eyes open, but I guess my priority should be getting a compatible 5" 4-jaw chuck for those sqaure pieces.

I'll let you know the dimensions when I get it. :-)

I guess that's why their ad for the lathe says in bright red letters, "Now with metal gears on the spindle shaft!". But of course that'll just shift the weak link iun the chain to another location. :-)

Yup. I have a couple of metal rulers.

I'm in the process of searching for a good book on this subject to add to the other's high on my list.("Machinery's Handbook", "Machine Shop Practice"(Moltrecht), and some other book with the word essentials in it). :-)

I'll keep my fingers crossed. :-)

Well the idea was to cut 4" squares out of the 4" wide, 4'(or is it 6') long pieces. But if it is easier(though not cheaper) to just get it completsly precut, then I'll have no choice.

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.

According to :

O.K. As it urned out, I saw both in the newsgroup, and only one seemed to require an answer, so you got that.

[ ... ]

O.K.

[ ... ]

O.K.

O.K. Note that a spin indexer does not have the worm gear drive which either a rotary table or an index/dividing head have, so trying to rotate the workpiece while you are machining may get rather exciting -- it may get away from you and rap your knuckles with the hand crank.

[ ... ]

O.K. I see a problem with those. They have tanged ends, rather than ends drilled and tapped for a drawbar. You will have a risk of things coming loose still.

[ ... ]

What are you going to use this (above) on? It seems too big for a tailstock chuck for your lathe, and way too big for a chuck for a drill press which you could carry up the stairs. It *might* work in the headstock, I guess.

[ ... ]

Be aware that it *must* be used in a rotating spindle. You can't use it in the non-rotating spindle of your lathe tailstock.

[ ... ]

O.K.

[ ... lathe dogs ... ]

O.K. These look reasonable.

I was talking about things which are available pre-made which are close to what you are thinking of making -- but with provisions for the things which you have not yet thought of.

[ ... ]

Yes -- which *could* include a separate back plate and a plain-back chuck, so you can adapt it to your machine.

I think that I know the size of the typical spin indexer.

BTW -- you can divide parts to any integer number of degrees. There are 36 holes in the plate, and ten holes for the locking pin so you can between them get any of 360 positions. Look that over and learn how to use it before you buy an index head. (Of course it won't do for things which don't divide evenly into 360 degrees.)

Of course. :-)

[ ... ]

O.K. The Moltrecht two-volume set is excellent, but _Machinery's Handbook_ is the place to look up sizes and things like that.

[ ... weight of good vertical metal-cutting bandsaw ... ]

It will be cheaper up until a certain number of pieces, and you really have no place to put something capable of handling the stainless steel.

Or -- you can perhaps find a sheet metal shop locally with a shear capable of cutting the 1/16" SS. This is the same as 16 gauge, and most reasonable shears are good up to 16 gauge in *mild* steel, but only to something like 20 gauge (or even thinner) in Stainless Steels.

Enjoy, DoN.

Actually it never crossed my mind to rotate the work piece while machining.(I'd sooner put to the workpiece in the spidle). I was thinking that if there isn't a say to lock it, perhaps I can develop one.(The entire indexer would have to move up and down on a platform).

The tangs are the reason I hadn't bid yet. I wasn't sure what that was about. @#$%! And I thought I might have been onto a deal.

Why too big? The auction ad states, "Buyers can choose 1" Straight Shank or MT2 J3 or MT3 J3 or MT4 J3 or R8 J3 shank arbor. ".

Most of my drill will have to be from the head stock because I'll need to be able to keep re-positioning the work to make a variety of holes and slots.

I definitely wasn't considering it's use with my lathe. :-)

Ok. The only problem is that I don't think there are ready made plates that would have the exact dimensions and hole positions I'd need.

Funny why I din't think of something before. I can actually forego the

5" chuck for now. Remember when I mentioned that I wanted to put 1/4" square holes in each corner of the 4-1/2" square plate? I can just make a face plate to bolt it to. :-) (Perhaps putting some wood in between).

I had actually had that idea for 36 and 10 before I noticed those numbers on existing indexers. So it was wasy to deduce the basic of how they work, because I had basically re-invented the wheel. :-)

Thanks. And I now have the tool box version in front of me. :-)

Take a look at these: 7598678434 & 7598678968

I'm told by the seller that the Steel Max saws only come with a mild steel blade. So I'd need to purchase a separate stainless steel blade to cut through 1/4" S.S.(Whatever that means).

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island, New York.

According to :

[ ... ]

If you need to make a groove or a slot which forms only part of a circle, you'll need to rotate the workpiece in something like an index head or a rotary table.

There is a way -- but it might not be very strong, other than the pin for setting specific angles.

Note that turning the workpiece in the spin indexer while cutting can make sense, if you are working with a surface grinder. Working with a milling cutter, however, risks losing control of the workpiece.

It would have been a deal -- if you only intended plunge milling and no side motion. However, with the side motion, you really need a way to use a drawbar.

[ ... ]

Just because you can *fit* it in the tailstock does not mean that the tailstock is strong enough to take the cutting forces of a 5/8" drill bit. You *might* get away with it, if the tailstock has the groove to hold the tang to prevent spinning the tool in the tailstock ram. But it can lead to unwanted excitement.

And -- a 5/8" chuck takes up more of the limited distance between the tailstock and the spindle nose. For a 2MT tailstock ram, I would typically use a 3/8" chuck, or *maybe* a 1/2" one -- carefully. My 5/8" chuck is on a MT-3 arbor, not MT-2.

O.K. Though a drill press is probably better for this most of the time.

O.K. Just being sure, because you have come up with other ideas which I fell very uncomfortable with.

[ ... ]

The Emco-Maier one has a single plate built in, with four circles of holes. 40 and 36 are two of them. I think that 30 may be another. I forget what the forth is.

Not as flexible as a dividing head with interchangeable plates (each with 6-8 rows of holes) and a worm gear between the plate giving a ratio of 40:1, 20:1 or 90:1.

The one for the Unimat SL-1000 actually has interchangeable hubs, with a triangular gear tooth cut on the outside, into which a spring loaded plunger fits, and then the assembly is locked with a separate clamp bolt.

That makes sense. I would suggest that you drill the plate and tap it for studs, and use nuts which you spin onto the studs after placing the plate on them. I would also suggest that you use washers between the workpiece and the nuts so you don't mar the surface of the workpiece with the nut's friction.

[ ... ]

Not quite the way the spin indexer works. The 36 hole plate is a part of the spindle. The 10 holes are part of the base casting. They are located in an arc, with the ten holes taking up the span of 11 holes in the plate, so moving the pin from one hole to the next, and rotating the spindle and plate the minimum to allow it to engage the nearest hole will move the plate 1/10th of the distance between adjacent holes. This is quite similar to a vernier.

[ ... ]

I just did. My first thought is that these things are going to be *noisy*, and not the thing to use in an apartment with neighbors.

The first of them has to be guided by hand, so you would have to make some form of fixture to hold it and guide it properly.

The second of them is obviously designed for cutting channel, small I beams, square or round tubing and similar things. While the vise will open as wide as 4-3/4", it is expecting something deeper than

1/16" plate, and will quite likely distort the plate as you try to clamp it by the edges. And, that design would have the saw break through in the middle first, and then work out towards the edges, at which point it might grab and pull the stainless out of the vise -- and perhaps hurt someone with the flailing metal.

I would first worry about the noise issue. While the lathe and the mill will be reasonably quiet, *this* thing will not. For the larger one, 1450 RPM, combined with the 80 tooth blade for SS, will make for about a 1.93 KHZ scream. Something which I might live with in my stand-alone dwelling, with the shop having replaced the two-car garage, but I don't think that using it in an apartment building would work out.

Good luck, DoN.