Drilling centre of rod

On 14 Apr 2004 20:39:18 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@w-sherwood.ih.lucent.com (Charles A. Sherwood) vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!: remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I was a little disappointed when I found that a 3-jaw chuck has such a small through hole compared to its capacity. And the headstock may be worse? It's been a long time since I "lathed" (but it _was_ after I left school! ) and if we were shown all the bits, I cant remember...:-<

**************************************************** I went on a guided tour not long ago.The guide got us lost. He was a non-compass mentor.........sorry ........no I'm not.

If you make a reusable jig, then it has to be aligned with each new use. As you said, the sacrificial block is self aligning. You can slit the side and use screws to clamp the work. Or maybe just clamp it in a C clamp and let the wood deflect to provide the clamping.

Ron Thompson Was On the Beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast, Now On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.

--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

I use something similar, except that my "sacrificial" piece is a length of 1"x2" steel bar with various sized holes. For holding the rod in the jig, a vise grip attached to the part extending above the block works. Use bits of leather or copper if you don't want to mar the surface. Clamp the vise grip to the bar or table to keep it from getting away from you. (And of course clamp the bar to the table as well.)

Bert

"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden." Strider

The max diameter that will go through a chuck or lathe headstock is very much related to how the chuck is mounted. For example the atlas

12 inch lathe used a 1.5 inch threaded spindle. So the max diameter through the spindle is 3/4. My Rockwell 11 inch lathe has a L00 spindle and it will pass 1.375 stock.

You know where I live - I have lathe, 38mm centre hole, you can travel with bits. Long way, I know.

Alan in beautiful Golden Bay, Western Oz, South 32.25.42, East 115.45.44 GMT+8 VK6 YAB ICQ 6581610 to reply, change oz to au in address

I have two three jaw and two four jaw chucks, a face plate, a couple of shop made arrangements and plan to make a holder for 5C collets. All these were made to fit the head stock of my lathe. With my approach, any of them can be used in the drill press.

Also, I can use the four jaw chucks with objects that would be out of ballance if I rotated them at any speed.

Ted

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 05:28:57 GMT, Bert vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!: remove ns from my header address to reply via email

But how does that answer the centring bit? I suppose you could have a piece of steel as you describe, with other bits of steel sized to fit the main piece, with holes to match various drill....

Or I could buy that lathe.......

Oh Dear one! Just had a really great idea!.......darling.....

Yep. When I said I had a couple of thoughts, that was them!

**************************************************** I went on a guided tour not long ago.The guide got us lost. He was a non-compass mentor.........sorry ........no I'm not.

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 17:25:21 GMT, Ted Edwards vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!: remove ns from my header address to reply via email

See, now this is why I hesitate to buy a lathe. I bought a table saw, in my naivety, and found that it was only the start, if I really wanted it to be a working tool.

D'Oh!

**************************************************** I went on a guided tour not long ago.The guide got us lost. He was a non-compass mentor.........sorry ........no I'm not.

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 15:08:13 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@iinet.net.oz vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!: remove ns from my header address to reply via email

If I had a halfway reasonable job to do, Alan, I would take you up on it and thank you. But as you say, it's a journey. Trouble is these things pop up all the time, and sometimes, with the right gear, it would be a 5 minute task.

**************************************************** I went on a guided tour not long ago.The guide got us lost. He was a non-compass mentor.........sorry ........no I'm not.

|| ||If I had a halfway reasonable job to do, Alan, I would take you up on ||it and thank you. But as you say, it's a journey. Trouble is these ||things pop up all the time, and sometimes, with the right gear, it ||would be a 5 minute task.

Which is why some of us end up with expensive machines that we only ue occasionally. But it makes a 30 minute job out of a loaq-deliver-pay-wait-pick up- reinstall job spanning a day or more. I use my machine tools only rarely when working on my race cars. It may just be chucking a few shoulder bolts in the lathe to turn down the shoulders a few thou. Or it might be making a driver for a bearing. But it's there when I need it, and priceless at those times. Rex in Fort Worth