Mini-Lathe question

[JoeOCNJ]

Hello,
I have the HF mini-lathe, I'm relatively new at penturning, but was looking into possibly doing some bottle stoppers as well. I did my usual youtube research on it, and think I understand what needs to be done. The one thing that I did get from the videos is that I can use a threaded headstock mandrel. What I don't know is what size to get. I gather they thread on to the head stock where the faceplate would, however I'm not sure what size I need to buy. I checked the manual for the lathe and it doesn't indicate what size the threaded headstock is. here is a link to the lathe, there is a manual in .PDF format you can look at on the HF website.. but any suggestions??

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-x-12-inch-bench-top-wood-lathe-95607.html


Thanks in advance
Joe

 

[PaulDoug]

3/4" drive spindle, 16RH thread

 

[TurnerJohn74]

3/4-16TPI

 

[KenV]

3/4 by 16 threads per inch is in the specs along the the #1 Morse taper.

Most of the more recent midi lathes are 1 by 8 threads and #2 MT -- so you will need to hunt to find tooling -

I have a Bonnie Klein lathe based on a Taig headstock in that thread and made the adapter using a Taig blank arbor (piece of round steel machined to that thread but nothing else done on it) and drilled and tapped it 3/8 by 16.

If you want find the blank arbors best price is from Nick Carter (google nick carter taig).

 

[randyrls]

The bottle stopper mandrel with the thread above from PSI should work well.

Hmmm.... I remember I have a stopper mandrel. I'll have to check it out.

 

[kevrob]

Joe,

I have the very same lathe and as stated above, the 3/4 by 16TPI works great. I didn't have any problems with it and it was just a few months ago that I ordered mine.

Kevin

 

[monophoto]

PSI offers a 3/4x16 stopper mandrel.

But a slightly less expensive approach that may offer some opportunities for creativity in other areas is to buy a 3/4"x16 tap. These are available from Beall, but you can find less expensive versions on Amazon. You will also need an 11/16" spade bit to drill before tapping - you can find one at any home center.

Use a scrap of hard wood - maple is fine - that is 2"x2"x2". Use a 1" forstner bit to drill a rabbet about 1/8" deep into the face of the block, and then drill an 11/16" hole exactly concentric with the rabbet (ie, you want to drill into FACE GRAIN) about 1" deep. Then, tap the hole to 3/4" x 16tpi. Measure the spindle on your lathe, and make sure that the hole is at least 3/8" deeper than the dimension from the shoulder of the spindle to the end of the shaft

The threaded block should then thread onto the spindle of your lathe. Turn it down to a cylinder, and then mount a drill chuck in your headstock and drill a 3/8" hole on axis. This hole should extend all the way into the cavity created when you drilled the 11/16" hole. Now, insert a 3/8"x16 bolt through the threaded portion of the bock so that it comes out through the 3/8" hole. Once everything fits, apply a little epoxy on the head of the bolt to secure it in place.

Return the cylindrical block to the spindle, and taper down the end through which the bolt protrudes to a diameter of 7/8". Make the taper fairly steep so that you have maximum diameter over the full depth of the 3/4"x16 hole.

And there you have a bottle stopper mandrel - and you also have the tooling necessary to make faceplates, glue blocks and other specialty mandrels, and all for less than what a 'for purpose' stopper mandrel would cost.

 

[JoeOCNJ]

Awesome thanks guys!! (or gals where applicable)

Im gonna order some bottle stopper stuff soon