Crazy Thought or ????

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jleiwig

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So I'm thinking I would like a "pen turning system" and in this system it has a collet chuck as the central piece.

Either the Beall or PSI system for example.

1.) Then a steb center that mounts in the 3/4" collet to turn the blanks to 3/4" round. Mark for cutting to length and cut.
2.) Insert 3/4" round blank into 3/4" collet for drilling.
3.) Insert blank back into collet chuck to square ends for bushings.
3.) A straight, no taper 3/4" carbide tipped dead center that mounts in the 3/4" collet chuck for turning between centers.


With a system like this, I would never have to take my collet chuck off of my lathe, just loosen it to remove the insert. Kind of like a quick change tooling system on a CNC, but cheaper and easier.

Crazy Idea or is anyone else wondering why we haven't seen a manufacturer come up with this yet?

I think it would be the bees knees personally. :biggrin:

If someone with a larger lathe would want to tackle the machining of a MT3 carbide lathe center I could order one for them to keep and one to send to myself. A MT3 dead center has a minimum diameter of .780", so it could theoretically be turned down to a straight 3/4" all the way across. Not sure if they are hardened, but with proper tooling it still shouldn't be a problem. It would also have to be cut down in length as well.

Let me know if you guys would be interested in partnering up!
 
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jleiwig

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rjwolfe3 said:
Stupid question - what is the ID of a MT2 and could you just stick a MT2 in a collet chuck? Guess I should go down and measure lol.
Click to expand...

The OD of an MT2 tapers from .55900" to .48764" at the small end. You won't be able to grip it in a standard collet due to the taper.

An MT3 tapers from .81100" down to .74610", so you could turn it down to just under 3/4" straight and it would fit nicely in a collet chuck, Hence my proposition to anyone with a large metal lathe willing to try it out for the carbide tipped dead center.
 
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Texatdurango

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glycerine said:
I take it the collet chucks are not easy to put on and take off? I've been thinking about getting one...
Click to expand...
No, just the opposite, they are easy, just require unscrewing the outer nut, changing a collet, then screwing the outer nut back on.

When I make certain pens I will switch between 3/4", 5/8" and a few smaller collets for holding nib sections. It just seems that all I'm doing is screwing and unscrewing the collet chuck!

Maybe I'm just working too fast...... OR I'm just a well oiled machine now! :biggrin:
 
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jleiwig

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glycerine said:
I take it the collet chucks are not easy to put on and take off? I've been thinking about getting one...
Click to expand...

No, they are easy to take on and off, but the above process would be expanded to this:

1.) install spur drive in headstock, mount wood and turn to 3/4" dia. Mark for cutting to length and cut
2.) knock out spur drive and install collet chuck
3.) Mount 3/4" dia blank in 3/4" collet and tighten
4.) Drill blank, then remove and glue in tubes
5.) Install blank back in collet chuck and true faces in preperation for bushings
6.) Remove collet chuck, insert dead center
7.) Turn blank to diameter of pen parts

So as you see, the way I do it now, I have additional tool changes to make. If I had straight shanked dead center and steb center I would only be changing between the wood and the inserts instead of having to remove the chuck each time I wanted to do another operation.

I would most likely not even have to remove the nut off the collet chuck, just loosen it enough to slide out the inserts or slide the wood back in.

They would be fairly easy to make, but if I do it, they wouldn't be carbide tipped, and it would probably just be a 2 prong drive center, not a steb type center.


Is it hard to change? Nope. Does it get tiresome and annoying doing it all the time? Yep. :biggrin:
 
jhs494

jhs494

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If you have the right size collet you can eliminate the need for a dead center by chucking on the bushing.
I think there is a picture of this in my photo album that shows this.

I now make all my own bushings and start with a standard size o.d. this way I don't even need to look for the right size collet. JMTC.
 
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jleiwig

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Texatdurango

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jhs494 said:
If you have the right size collet you can eliminate the need for a dead center by chucking on the bushing.
I think there is a picture of this in my photo album that shows this.

I now make all my own bushings and start with a standard size o.d. this way I don't even need to look for the right size collet. JMTC.
Click to expand...
Excellent idea Joe, for those who do all the turning, sanding and finishing using bushings. But for those who use the bushings just to get close to final size then remove them and finish turning, sanding and finishing between centers, you will eventually need a dead center.
 
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dogcatcher

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jhs494 said:
If you have the right size collet you can eliminate the need for a dead center by chucking on the bushing.
I think there is a picture of this in my photo album that shows this.

I now make all my own bushings and start with a standard size o.d. this way I don't even need to look for the right size collet. JMTC.
Click to expand...

This is my version what you said. This one is for a Sierra, the one end goes into the collet chuck and the other fits the live center. My other bushings are now steel and all have a common end of 5/8" no need to change the collet when changing to different pens.
30ib9s2.jpg
 
Daniel

Daniel

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I am the same way with my collet chuck. I would just as soon prefer that everything for my lathe could be held by it and just leave it on
 
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RussFairfield

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I am using a drive center in a Beall Collet Chuck just as you describe. It works, and I use it all the time.

I made a prototype a couple years ago, and have never found it necessary to make one from a metal. I took a piece of some unknown dense hardwood, turned it down to fit into the 3/4" collet, and then drilled a series of stepped holes to sort of match a #1 MT, coated the taper on the center with JB Weld and pushed it home. I used a Jacobs chuck with the jaws all the way closed in the tailstock to keep it centered and clamped until the epoxy cured.

My intention was to make another from a piece of Aluminum, but this one has worked so well I have never made another. The ER-32 jaws in the collet chuck don't damage the wood at all, so there is no reason to use anything else. It would be easy enough to make one from a piece of 3/4" Aluminum stock and tapered reamers are available from Enco or someone like that.

Rather than use a Steb Center, I used a dead center because I had one of them. Nowadays they are called a "safety center". I filed notches in the ring so it works like a StebCenter with a solid center point. I prefer a center that makes a hole that I can use for starting a drilled hole or swapping ends in the lathe.
 
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JeffinWIS

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Curious to know how a person would hold a #3 Morse taper carbide tipped center in a metal lathe, for machining the full length of it down to 3/4" diameter.
I was thinking in another direction, but this sounds a lot easier.
 
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