Re. hand crank: I used a tail pipe expander from HF as the axel part for the hand crank. I made 2 of these, one for the rear of the spindle and a smaller one for the 5-C collet tube when it is in the spindle.
Jim, The main reason for a brake is to stop the machine in an emergency. It sure has saved my butt a few times. Eric
Bob, Since I make my living on my machines I tend to see thing in a daily use production mode. For just occasional use a hand crank is probably better. That said, if I was doing it for a hobby, I'd put on a three phase motor and a brake. That's just me, and it reflects my experience of working in machine shops for so long. Cheers, Eric
Point duly noted, Eric. Thanx.
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