Tool Rest for Metal Turning Lathe

KDM · Jun 26, 2010

randyrls saw my post here mentioning the desire to make a tool rest for my metal truning lathe. He was kind enough to send me a message and the following conversation ensued. I think it belongs in public because tehre is some good stuff in here for folk who own metal lathes who want more "feel" for the turning.

randyrls said:
Ken; I saw your comment that you are making a tool rest for your metal lathe. I some time ago made a simple tool rest for my metal lathe.

LittleMachineShop has an adapter that fits the mini-lathe tool post, but I made a quick and dirty holder that attaches directly to the cross slide of my 9x20 metal lathe. It works well and can be made from a short piece of square steel tube and a few screws and t nuts.

http://www.coleman-family.org/gallery2/v/temp/MetalLatheToolPost.jpg.html

KDM said:
Thanks for that. This is almost what I had in mind. I'm looking for ways to do it so I can clamp it into the toolpost. Replacing the cross-slide perpendicular to the lathe bed is a real pain.

Thanks for sharing.

Any ideas where I can get 2 or 3 inexpensive chisels? (Bear in mind UK postage!!)

Thanks again.

randyrls said:
LittleMachine shop has one made for the mini-metal lathe and they have others for small lathes like the Seig C0 and C6.
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1685&category=
Penn State Industries has reasonable tools at good prices. I checked and they do international shipping, but customs, taxes, etc is always a pain. Craft Supplies UK has good prices, about comparable to what I would expect here in the states.

KDM · Jun 26, 2010

Anyway, following on from that I've made my own based very strongly on this design. Here it is.

(Click for enlargement.)

I have a few questions, though. Randy, you mention square steel tube and that's what I've used: how do you tighten the screw holding the upright of the T-bar? I've just drilled a hole in the square section tube and threaded it M6, but I feel that it would be very easy to overtighten. Have you a hex nut brazed on inside there somewhere?

Still on the hunt for those elusive inexpensive chisels...!

randyrls · Jun 26, 2010

KDM said:
I have a few questions, though. Randy, you mention square steel tube and that's what I've used: how do you tighten the screw holding the upright of the T-bar? I've just drilled a hole in the square section tube and threaded it M6, but I feel that it would be very easy to overtighten. Have you a hex nut brazed on inside there somewhere?
Still on the hunt for those elusive inexpensive chisels...!

You are correct it is easy to overtighten and strip the threads. You can't see it, but the inside of the tube is filled with epoxy. The epoxy spreads out the force of the tool rest. I threaded the square tube and the epoxy inside. I would have used a nut brazed on the outside, but I don't have any welding equipment. My wife would kill me if I bought any more tools!!!

KDM · Jun 27, 2010

randyrls said:
My wife would kill me if I bought any more tools!!!

Ah. That old chestnut! I inherited an arc welder, but it frightens the life out of me and I think it's too big for a job like this anyway. Epoxy is the way forward! (Or maybe I fill it with polyester...)

cozee · Jun 27, 2010

I used a piece of solid square stock instead of tubing.

workinforwood · Jun 27, 2010

It's real nice indeed BUT it is also a bit of a hassle in my opinion. The problem I have with it is having to take off the cross slide. I'm just too lazy I suppose. I have been busy and haven't had the time, but being that I have a QTCP on my lathe, I just want to take a solid 3/4 rod and have about a 30 degree bend in it so I can just chuck it in the boring bar holder on my tool post. This would make installing a chisel rest only take a few seconds to do.

KDM · Jun 27, 2010

cozee said:
I used a piece of solid square stock instead of tubing.

You're right, but the problem with stock is it's not stock if you haven't got any!

If there's one thing I've learned through lathe ownership, it's that stock is jolly expensive. That's initially why I looked to wood as an option!

KDM · Jun 27, 2010

workinforwood said:
It's real nice indeed BUT it is also a bit of a hassle in my opinion. The problem I have with it is having to take off the cross slide. I'm just too lazy I suppose. I have been busy and haven't had the time, but being that I have a QTCP on my lathe, I just want to take a solid 3/4 rod and have about a 30 degree bend in it so I can just chuck it in the boring bar holder on my tool post. This would make installing a chisel rest only take a few seconds to do.

I sort of thought: well, how often am I going to want to switch between wood and metal? I would make the finnials in a seperate process. I often find that for any given job, 75% of the time is occupied by setting it up!

(Incidentally, don't you find that "boring bar" is a really inappropriately named tool because they're so interesing?)

jskeen · Jun 28, 2010

Hey Jeff, that sounds interesting, and I think I can wrap my poor old pickled brain around it, but a pic sure would be nice. Maybe even one of just the post and bar in the normal position, then one with the rest installed and adjusted?

Thanks
James

workinforwood said:
It's real nice indeed BUT it is also a bit of a hassle in my opinion. The problem I have with it is having to take off the cross slide. I'm just too lazy I suppose. I have been busy and haven't had the time, but being that I have a QTCP on my lathe, I just want to take a solid 3/4 rod and have about a 30 degree bend in it so I can just chuck it in the boring bar holder on my tool post. This would make installing a chisel rest only take a few seconds to do.

workinforwood · Jun 29, 2010

Sure...see it doesn't get any simpler than this in pic 1. Simply insert a solid 3/4 rod into the boring bar holder on the QTCP. Works absolutely perfect in this set up.

Ahh...but pic 2...what if you have to bring up the tail stock for support? Then Houston we have a problem! The tool holder sticks out too far so the closest the rod can get to the work piece is about 4" away which is not good for support at all. You can of course simply back out the tail slide, pop the bolt and turn the QTCP so the rod angles in and now you are nice and close but only at the end if you do that and your "toolrest" is now on an angle so it gets further away and you can't use your fingers to guide your chisel along it. It is useless with the tailstock in play. I just haven't had time to figure out how to bend the rod. All it needs is about a 4" straight on the end and then about a 45 bend for the rest of the length going back straight into the boring bar holder. Then the tailstock is no longer a problem and the toolpost simply has to be turned a bit to use the new tool rest bar. Of course, in this pic I just dropped something into the collet and pulled up the tail. The live center can stretch out almost 4" from the tail so that the tail would get out of my way more than it is right now.

KDM · Jun 30, 2010

workinforwood said:
The live center can stretch out almost 4" from the tail so that the tail would get out of my way more than it is right now.

Aye. My tool post is a 4-tool one and it's quite bulky. I find that I have to put the live centre out quite a bit to get the toolpost in, unless I put the tool inthe other side of the post, in which case, my 3-jaw chuck gets int eh way at the other end.

I can extent the tool, but then it chatters like crazy.

randyrls · Jun 30, 2010

KDM said:
Aye. My tool post is a 4-tool one and it's quite bulky.

Ken; Yep The compound really gets in the way for using wood turning tools and a rest. That's why I came up with the idea that doesn't need a conpound.

Take care.

cnirenberg · Jul 2, 2010

Jeff,
Did the same thing only with an old long handled allen wrench. The toolpost is a real knuckle buster and unfortunately the bar is a bit higher than center and I keep getting catches. Randy-I am assuming that your method will work on a 7x12 as well? I may be giving you a PM for a custom T rest if I can find my lathe in the garage.....

randyrls · Jul 3, 2010

cnirenberg said:
Randy-I am assuming that your method will work on a 7x12 as well? I may be giving you a PM for a custom T rest if I can find my lathe in the garage.....

Cris; I didn't use a custom T rest, Just an old one I had lying around. I believe it has a 9/16" post, but any T-rest could be used. The mini wood lathes use a 5/8" post. PSI sells a set of three T-rests for cheap money. You can cut down the length of the bar with a hack saw if you don't need a 12" bar.

I have a 9x20 Grizzly metal lathe as I needed a bit more length than the 7x provides. The 9x20 has a cross slide with two t-slots in it. I've also "tricked out" the lathe with variable speed, tachometer, reverser for reverse threads, a "donut" compound mount, and general tuning and fitting.

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to turn down a piece of 18" stock that will not go thru the headstock.. Scratching head......

workinforwood · Jul 3, 2010

randyrls said:
Right now I'm trying to figure out how to turn down a piece of 18" stock that will not go thru the headstock.. Scratching head......

Yep...my lathe is about 4" too small to machine my own rotors too! wish I had 18-20 " of clearance for that job.

KDM · Jul 4, 2010

randyrls said:
Right now I'm trying to figure out how to turn down a piece of 18" stock that will not go thru the headstock.. Scratching head......

Clearly I'm missing something: centre spot one end for the tailstock and clamp the other end in the chuck. Turn.

...Unless, it's already exactly the right length?

randyrls · Jul 4, 2010

KDM said:
Clearly I'm missing something: centre spot one end for the tailstock and clamp the other end in the chuck. Turn.

...Unless, it's already exactly the right length?

I'm in a catch-22 situation. I can't chuck the piece to do the center pip for the tail stock. The piece is a 3/4" hex bar 18" long. The size is measured on the flats so the corners are too large to go thru the head stock bore on my 9x20.

I guess I will have to drill the TS pip with a centering gauge, making a pip with an awl and then drilling the TS pip by hand or with the piece hand-held with gloves and vice grips. I will be careful.

I'm making a carbide tipped scrapper with some inserts I got here and from Grizzly.

I may regroup and make the shaft from two pieces joined with a stud.

skiprat · Jul 4, 2010

All of the ideas so far are great, but if you listened to when everyone said...'Get the longest lathe you can afford' :wink:then you may already have all you need with little or no modification.

Here's how I do it. Move the tailstock to the left of the carriage and use the banjo from my wood lathe. I use the clamping nut that came with the metal lathe 'steady'. I do stick a couple of aluminium shims under the banjo just so I don't ding the ML ways.

I must admit that I don't use this method very often as the ML spindle speed is limited to only 2400 revs.

KDM · Jul 4, 2010

randyrls said:
I'm in a catch-22 situation. I can't chuck the piece to do the center pip for the tail stock.

How much do you need tu turn off it? If you have a few mm to take off, it doesn't matter if the spot's not dead centre.

I sometimes do this to centre drill pen blanks. Drill one end roughly in the middle, put that end at the tailstock, turn it down until it's round and centred on teh spot. Then reverse the piece, spot the other end, put it on the tail and turn the full length. If you're taking loads off, reverse it a few times for a better result.

I'm sure there's a standard engineering solution, but that's what I do.

KDM · Jul 4, 2010

We really need a whole subforum for folk who turn metal parts!

cnirenberg · Jul 6, 2010

Steven,
I like the looks of that setup. I have found too many more things that "I need", since getting a metal lathe. Of course I don't have the things that I now "want", to build the things I "need". So its back to the drawing board....

Tool Rest for Metal Turning Lathe

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