AV80R starts making scrap metal - Taig Micro Lathe

[AV80R]

Used a hacksaw to cut the brass rod I was previously working on to a more manageable length.

Swapped out to the 4 jaw chuck and used some math to figure out how much material to remove so that I can face 4 sides of the cylinder to create the biggest square that will fit.

0.984” diameter

984 squared = 968,256

968,256/2= 484,128

Square root of 484,128 = 695.79

Let’s round up to 696, that’s how long each side of the square should be (0.696”)

984 - 696 = 288

288/2 = 144

I need to remove 0.144” off each side and if I measure and cut correctly, I should end up with a pretty true square.

Using the dial indicator installed on the carriage slide from KWICK is what I’ll use to measure out this 0.144” cut

Let’s see what happens. Here’s the first side.





Second side. I used a square tool to slide in behind the workpiece to ensure it was parallel with the chuck.



Third side



And the last side



It’s not perfectly square, but close enough for me. It’s 0.695” wide by 0.697” tall.





Neat little exercise to see if I can intentionally measure and cut to a specific length.

Next time I need to make sure to start with a cylinder that is the proper length to make sure I end up with a perfect cube instead of a rectangular block.

[BG Wells]

Yes., good practice exercise to build on while getting accustomed to machining metal on your lathe..

Well done Arash..

I am assuming that 4 jaw chuck is 4 "independent" jaws...?
Very handy for machining things that you want "eccentric"....

Great progress...!

[AV80R]

Brian, yes it’s an independent 4 jaw...I forgot to mention that!

[KWICK]

Squares are rectangles with OCD.

[KWICK]

I had a chance several years ago to purchase a barely used (1 car project) Smithy 1220XL with about $2K in tooling for ---- $2000.

Yup, that is why the lathe Arash bought was a good deal, it came with GOBS of tooling.

[AV80R]

Squares are rectangles with OCD.

LOL! I had to do it again and get the cube done.



Then I grabbed some 1/2” brass rod, drilled it and tapped it M6 x 1.0





Then I chucked up some more and turned it down so I could make a corresponding M6 screw with a die.





Then I screwed both pieces together



And turned the outside to conceal the seam





Pretty fun so far.

[KWICK]

How about the finished product...

[AV80R]

Forgot to mention I got this used band saw for free from a friend at my airport.

It was covered in sawdust and cobwebs, but cleaned up nice. I have to find a different saw blade for it. This one is just for wood.

[green12]

Damn it. I forgot to look at the lathe

[KWICK]

Forgot to mention I got this used band saw for free from a friend at my airport.

It was covered in sawdust and cobwebs, but cleaned up nice. I have to find a different saw blade for it. This one is just for wood.

www.MSCDirect.com has every blade. I have a Lennox BiMetal one on mine.

[AV80R]

Crazy busy week at work so I haven’t had time to experiment on the lathe, but I’ve stocked up on so fun stuff instead.

First I bought some 1/2” round cold and hot rolled mild steel.



The steel supply house a few miles from my home has some neat tools and caters to the amateur hobbyist which is pretty cool.



I bought some center drills and a tungsten scribe



Blue layout dye



Nikx Stikx





This adorable tiny grinder was $30



My dies didn’t fit the Taig die holder for the tail stock, so I bought a metric and SAE set that does for only $32 for both sets from Harbor Freight.







This weekend I want to try using the compound slide to cut a taper and figure out how to use it properly.

[BG Wells]

Compound slide is useful for very short tapers Arash.

For long slender tapers..,offset the tail stock using the grub locking screw at the side of its base.

(I used this a lot turning brass gun barrels for models back in "the day" 30 odd years ago...)

Only thing to remember is to do 'all your detail machining" first while the piece is parallel.....as it cannot be held in the chuck after you have tapered it...(only between the centres afterwards....)

Oh and depending on the length and diameter you will need to use a 'travel steady"......(only for long tapers....doesn't apply to those with the compound slide.)

Have fun......

[AV80R]

Brian, I would have had to learn all of that the hard way, as I didn’t think of offsetting the tail stock at all. Thanks!

It’s a bit ambitious at this point, but I really like these tool post and tail stock handles that a fellow named John Bentley made for his Taig lathe.

http://modelengines.info/lathes/taig.html



Part of the construction of these handles is cutting a short taper before bending the handle. Do you think this taper is short enough to do with the cross slide?

I emailed John and he was so kind to send me some info on how to make the handles. Here is his email:


Hi Arash,

The ball handles are a worthwhile addition to the lathe.

I have included two descriptions that I wrote a few years ago for other people. I sent many long descriptions of making ball handles by email over the years, but when I used to go through old email files I could never find one of those, since they were usually included with other topics. As a result, on each occasion, the story was told again like a wheel re-invented. So as I mentioned previously I finally put a bit together in one place – ‘hope it is of some help!

I am ashamed to admit that instead of making a new set of handles for my newer lathe, I removed them from my original Taig and "transplanted" them to the new 2006 lathe at time of its purchase, as they still looked in fine condition. Actually they are still fine in 2019.

I apologize for the crude nature of the picture and sketches – I do know better!



An engineer(!) would say these are designed backwards - as normally the taper should be smaller at the ball end and enlarge toward the screw. Well, that engineer can have dents in the palms of his hands if he wants! I think a good engineer is a master of compromise and will choose the reverse (and larger balls) for comfort, for an application this small.



Please ensure that all of these dimensions will work on your lathe - they were made for my old Taig. They are a starting point however. "E" isn’t too critical, but don’t make it too short on the toolpost or the tailstock ram lock or your fingers will be bumping things. Make the shaft longer than you think you should...more will be consumed in the bend than you expect (because it is tapered not parallel).


Last minute scrawl:

These are the dimensions of the handle for the Tailstock Ram lever. It doesn't need to be longer than the original steel strap, because of the extra comfort (if a 7/8” ball is used) it allows easily applying much more pressure to the tailstock ram when drilling with large diameter bits.




Extra gadget:

Below are two styles of a pin which will slide along the top of one of the T-slots on the upper surface of the headstock. One of these points toward the pulley on each of my lathes. I turned a 3" (I think) steel disk which is screwed onto the inside of the pulley and has a row of 60 holes which this pin will engage to lock the headstock. It is a very worthwhile addition to use for dividing. You can get more useful divisions from a 60-hole row than any other number of holes.





BALL HANDLES:

The ball handle shafts were turned, tapered as they appear and with a parallel section at the end to enter the ball. If you are going by eye, they need to be a little longer than you think is right. This is simply because more length is used up in the bend than you may expect (probably because the taper tends to affect such guesswork). I put the threaded shaft end of the handle in a bench vice and heated the thinnest part with a propane torch, turned down low. At the same time, a light pressure was applied to the handle with a convenient tool until the shaft began to bend. Very little pressure is needed - and it doesn't need to be screaming red hot, either. Excessive heat or pressure might leave the handle too weak to be useful.

Don't worry about which direction to bend the handle with reference to the thread orientation. The final position of the handles, when screwed in, can be easily changed. Any of the handles will fit in the 3-jaw chuck after they are bent, to allow turning the hub shorter to control the orientation when "snugged-up".

Regarding the toolpost handle, it took me a while to realize that correct nut orientation under the toolpost would solve any problem of handle positioning. I actually cut my handle down once to correct the problem! The toolpost handle can be set in any one of four positions, depending upon which way the nut is oriented in the cross slide T-slot.

Also, if soft steel is used to make the toolpost handle, the thread can eventually strip where it enters the nut. If there is enough shoulder length up top, the damaged bit of thread can be simply lopped off and a corresponding length of the shoulder turned down to compensate. This would be a rare event, if the thread is a nice close fit in the nut. The other handles will never wear, as they go into aluminium in the tailstock.

BALLS:

I went to a motor repair shop and asked for some old ball bearings. A Dremel with cut-off disks was used to cut through the outer races. The balls were heated yellow under a propane torch and cooled very, very slowly. Cooldown was accomplished by retracting the torch (turned very low) after a period of a minute or two. It is most important to prevent any breeze reaching the work at any temperature much above 100 C during this period. A ball was then placed in the 3-jaw chuck, centre-drilled and the job finished with the appropriate drill bit (most ball bearings drill very easily when annealed).

I silver-soldered the handles into the holes in the balls. If you don't know what you are doing with real silver-solder, don't do this! It is possible for the red-hot ball to fly off at bullet-speed, due to trapped steam from the flux. Options are to use Loctite (or 5-minute epoxy), press fit them or shrink them on with heat.

I must confess that I made the large ball on the new tailstock lever simply by turning it (and its shaft) in one piece, freehand on the lathe. It only took a few minutes and it appears very close to being spherical.



To my way of thinking, some key points are:

1) Allow extra length for the bend in the stem.
2) It will (and should) bend at the thinnest part of the stem.
3) Bend it while hot (light constant pressure applied, then pencil flame only at the bend - & just enough to do the job)

If separate balls are used:

4) Heat ball bearings yellow, then cool very slowly (& away from draughts) until long after they reach black heat.
5) Hold the balls (reasonably tightly) in the aluminum jaws of the Taig 3-jaw chuck.
6) Always use a centre drill first, when the ball is drilled.
7) Some balls won't soften - throw them out (with their sisters) and get new balls from another bearing assembly.
8) Possible ball attachment methods - threaded, heat-shrunk, pressed, epoxy glue or silver solder.
9) Note that silver soldering will require minor safety precautions due to trapped steam build-up from the flux.
10) After the handle is completed it will probably be discoloured from heat, glue or solder. Hold emery cloth (80 - 200?) between thumb and forefinger and twist the handle with the fingers of the other hand. Always rotate it around its axis, at the point where the emery is making contact ('bit tricky at the bend). When it has a smooth uniform brushed appearance, repeat the procedure with medium or fine steel wool, to give a smooth "feel" to the handle.

A lot of people may not want to try ball turning, so they see the ball bearing method as more tangible. I can appreciate that - they are "part way there", before they start. I now turn balls freehand in a few minutes. It is only a case of leaving a similar-sized ball on the cross slide, very close to the work being turned. Repeated A-B comparisons as the turning proceeds should create a perfect ball....well, with a couple of practice runs the first time!

Note that Taig sells a simple ball turning attachment for $22.30 US. https://taigtools.com/product/radius-turner/


Best of luck Arash,

John

[AV80R]

John Bentley is a phenomenal craftsman. Here is a 1/8” scale Taig lathe he made as his first project on his mill!

http://modelengines.info/lathes/modeltaig.html

[KWICK]

I'll get up to speed and we can have a three way Taig competition to make a mini Taig?

[AV80R]

I wouldn’t even know where to begin, Pete!

Step 1: contact Brian or Pete to commission them to build it.

Step 2: send PayPal

Step 3: Wait for package

:

[BG Wells]

Guys....,Have fun on your little Taig lathes..

Don't think I have used mine in nearly 30 years..(.......might have once or twice..)

It sits on the shelf along with the Unimat...(wouldn't part with them though....,just Very rarely use either of them nowadays....,but in the late 80's etc they were an extension of my hands..)

"Horses for courses"........

[KWICK]

Insert EVIL grin....

So, I was at Frank's shop today



So, we were making rocker tool posts



Longer:



Like a hot knife thru melted buttah!

[AV80R]

Brian, I’d be sorely disappointed if you ever got rid of those lathes based on your coffee can thread! I already know that dipping my toe in the water with the Taig is going to eventually end up with me moving to a bigger lathe.

Pete, the rocker tool post is gonna be GREAT!

My youngest daughter’s baptism was yesterday and it was so wonderful. Everyone was tired and went to bed early, which left me some time for my next experiment on the lathe.

I brought out the compound slide to see if I could figure out how to use it.

I don’t have a manual so I’m just making guesses based on what I think you guys would tell me.

It’s a challenge positioning it where you have room for the workpiece. Having it hanging way out obviously isn’t going to be good for rigidity. Also I had no idea how to mount the tool, but I found what I thought is the proper clamp to secure the tool directly to the slide without a post.



I can see what Brian meant about using the slide for short tapers. It’s limited. Here’s the result. Surface finish isn’t very good.



Next I wanted to to try my center drills out.



Ok, that was a little deeper than I was planning, but this is scrap metal production so...



I flipped the workpiece around in the chuck and faced the end and chamfered the edge.



Then I used a center drill in the tail stock to give me a pilot which I then progressively made bigger with drills.



I used a file to carefully chamfer the inside edge.



The larger hole is bored almost completely through. It wanted to pull the drill into the work, so I noticed I had to continuously remove the drill to clear chips and add some oil.



I confess I had to use a file to clean up the poor surface finish on my taper. I’m sure you guys will have some tips on my setup/method which will improve my results.



My scrap metal pile is growing!



I need to figure out how to raise the lathe up higher.

[kawasakijockey]

Scotchbrite with a little oil on it will make a not-so-pretty finish look great, for future reference...

[AV80R]

Scotchbrite with a little oil on it will make a not-so-pretty finish look great, for future reference...

I tried some well worn maroon scotchbrite, but I bet some new stuff would work great. Thanks!

[KWICK]

There are many grades, and many brands, of ScotchBrite type pads....experiment. We all have our faves and they are often different.

[AV80R]

This trial pack is awesome.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...3083764&rt=rud

[kawasakijockey]

3M Scotch Brite Nylon Pads:
7445 - White pad, called Light Duty Cleansing - (1000) 1200-1500 grit
7448 - Light Grey, called Ultra Fine Hand - (600-800) 800 grit.
6448 - Green (?), called Light Duty Hand Pad - (600) 600 grit
7447 - Maroon pad, called General Purpose Hand - (320-400) 320 grit
6444 - Brown pad, called Extra Duty Hand - (280-320) 240 grit
7446 - Dark Grey pad, called Blending Pad (180-220) 150 grit
7440 - Tan pad, called Heavy Duty Hand Pad - (120-150) 60(?

[McRex]

Arash that’s nice work.
You could thread the end of that and use it as a tip for a blow gun on your compressor.

[KWICK]

The coarse and a Pepsi clean Cheese Steak type cook tops really well.
—From when I worked at Casella’s Deli in my teens.

[goerion]

This trial pack is awesome.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...3083764&rt=rud

You learn quickly I see.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn Moto G (5) Plus met Tapatalk

[McRex]

Various rolls of emery cloth grit would likely be handy for smoothing on the lathe. No?

[KWICK]

Various rolls of emery cloth grit would likely be handy for smoothing on the lathe. No?

Attachment 321194

Every machinist has his or her faves :-)

Norton makes sanding sponges that I sometimes use....

[BG Wells]

Arash...,you have the compound slide in the wrong 'T' slot on the cross slide..,and you are getting excessive "chatter" as a result..(lack of rigidity..)

Move it to the 'T' slot closer to the headstock for more rigidity..

As I said though you are limited to the length of taper you can do using this method.......,besides you would also have the "work" producing excessively (more than Ideal..)

In addition if possible try to avoid trying to create an internal bore chamfer using a file...as you have very little "control" or precision..

Instead use an internal "boring tool" as it has a good "undercut" to position it for the desired chamfer.....

Oh and I have no intention (at present) in moving my Taig and Unimat on........they have nice memories for me and are linked to my modelling days....(they are just ornaments though.)

BG.