I use the spindle lock pin often, and put it in the third hole from the top (of the line of four holes). But, because it points downward at about 4 or 4:30 or so, it often wiggles loose and drops out, or if I 'catch' it, I have to put it back in to continue doing whatever it is I'm doing.The other day, the 'internal' light bulb came on, or as our friends from across the pond might say, "the penny dropped". What it needed, what I needed, was a magnet to hold it in place. I have a few 1/4" rare earth magnets (on a blister card from Michaels), so the solution was right there. At first I was going to glue the magnet to the very end of the pin (they're both the same diameter), but quickly realized I should avoid that. If the magnet ever came off while inserted in the hole, it would be impossible to get out. So, in my mind, the magnet had to be 'outside' the hole. I inserted the pin and made a small scratch mark on it up against the body of the spindle housing to locate it correctly.
Part II Then I scuffed the magnet with a piece of sandpaper and cleaned it the pin and the magnet with some dna. I put a little drop of E6000 adhesive on it and inserted the pin and magnet combination into the hole, with a piece of paper between the magnet and he housing, to make sure I didn't inadvertently glue the magnet to the house also. The magnet 'attached' itself to both the pin and the housing. I let it sit there for an hour or so. Bingo! I now have a magnet spindle lock pin! And it's always easy to find, since it 'stores itself' anywhere I put it on the headstock! And the glue is holding quite well. Ill try to figure out how to attach a photo of the pin. Right now I'm not seeing the attachment icon.
Cool idea, Walter! On my former G0698, which has the same spindle hole and pin configuration as the G0766, I tied a loop of heavy duty string to the pin and attached the other end to the handle that lifts the motor. I just knew that one day, I would knock it into the pile of shavings without realizing it, and then suck it up thru my dust collector. The club which bought that lathe from me still uses it like I had it with the string. When I wanted to use the indexing feature, I turned the pin around, and used the threaded end.
Use windows snipping app to copy paste the image https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O932t8-k2A
Found my photos and uploaded them!
Very nice Walter going to add that ASAP cause I get tired if digging in the shavings to find mine.
Thanks a bunch for sharing pics of your index pin modification Walter!
I just turn the pin around and screw it in when I don't want it to fall out. I'm I missing something here?
I now use a magnetic parts tray on the top of the headstock on my G0766. It keeps the pin where I can always find it, and out of the shavings. One can be prchased cheaply at Harbor Freight for less than $5.
