Skew questions

[jeff oldham]

leo I love your magnetic steady rest,,,may I ask where did you purchase the magnets

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I got them at a used machinery place, years ago, I see that Amazon has them.

There must be lots of places having these,as it is a standard way to set up dial indicators.

https://www.amazon.com/NORTOOLS-Magn...dicator+holder

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Grizzly has them for $10.95 http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mult...tic-Base/H3328 . Amazon has them at various prices.

[Clint Bach]

I've been known to use a mandrel saver in the tailstock. Just slip a tenon of the right diameter into the mandrel saver and go for it. The result is no end pressure on the spindle yet the end rotates true.

c

[John K Jordan]

I've been known to use a mandrel saver in the tailstock. Just slip a tenon of the right diameter into the mandrel saver and go for it. The result is no end pressure on the spindle yet the end rotates true.

c

That's an interesting idea, I'll have to buy one of those someday. I guess a little shoulder on the tenon could allow adding some pressure if needed. I find that chatter can be controlled at times by slightly increasing or decreasing the tailstock pressure - I try one or the other until it either helps or doesn't.

JKJ

[Jim Barkelew]

MT2 collets fit directly in the spindle and tighten with a drawbar. The tolerance on the tenon is fairly loose and the grip is tight.

[Clint Bach]

John, the 19 or 20 metric er32 collet set will cover every diameter from 2 or 3 mm to 20 mm. No gaps in the spectrum so you can hold any diameter tenon or drill bit or whatever. Mine were less than $30 delivered. They work extremely well. Now if I only had a mt 2 adapter for the tailstock I would have perfect tailstock drilling with any bit.

A very slight taper on the spindle end that fits into the mandrel saver makes for a perfect fit into the mandrel saver and you can adjust the tailstock pressure easily. No shoulder required.

C

[Prashun Patel]

Thank you so much for the idea to turn a Morse taper, John.

I am making some turned legs for a stool. I did the first leg between centers. It vibrated considerably (26" long x 1.5" dia). I was able to steady things with my left hand enough to make it passable.

However, for the second leg, I turned the MT and inserted that into the spindle. I used the tail stock to push the MT tight, and then backed off the pressure so the point of the live center was engaged but without force.

The difference was remarkable. Almost all of the vibration was eliminated. I was able to improve results further by steadying with my left hand.

Thanks again.

[John K Jordan]

John, the 19 or 20 metric er32 collet set will cover every diameter from 2 or 3 mm to 20 mm. No gaps in the spectrum so you can hold any diameter tenon or drill bit or whatever. Mine were less than $30 delivered. They work extremely well. Now if I only had a mt 2 adapter for the tailstock I would have perfect tailstock drilling with any bit.

A very slight taper on the spindle end that fits into the mandrel saver makes for a perfect fit into the mandrel saver and you can adjust the tailstock pressure easily. No shoulder required.

C

I looked at the ER-32 collet chucks but they still have the problem of limiting the length of the spindle, a problem when I take the mini-lathe somewhere. I just bought some MT2 collets that I hope to try soon. These barely extend past the end of the headstock spindle and are threaded for a 3/8" drawbar. The 1/2" collet looks like it might be perfect for thin spindles like wands and finials.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

I'm glad that worked for you! The first time I tried it I was amazed at how much better it worked. I forgot if I mentioned it in this thread but I've turned some rather long, thin spindles with this method, maybe 30" long and tapering from 1/2" down to 1/16", one from soft shelving pine from Home Depot.

I did use a draw bar for those since tailstock support is "iffy" once you get down to about 1/16" inch, especially on soft wood! I simply drilled a short hole in the end of the taper and twisted a 1/4" drawbar into the hole. (I use a triangular file to cut a few grooves through the drawbar threads to make the end into a tap of sorts.) In fact, with the drawbar I can remove the tailstock completely and make still final cuts on the far end with the "left hand steady rest" method.

You can also reduce vibration the same way by holding one end firmly in a chuck. However, this is at the expense of limiting the length of the turning on a short bed lathe, of having a knuckle-banging hazard when working from the headstock end, and of the advantages of perfect registration if re-mounting. You do have to make sure there are no lateral stresses in the wood caused by tightening the chuck while holding the far end firmly with the tailstock (worse on square-ended stock) or there may be problems as the wood gets thinner. If hold large stock with a chuck I like to first mount between centers and turn a tenon on one end to hold in the chuck, then after mounting between the chuck and live center I loosen the tailstock and make sure that end of the wood doesn't wants to move off center.

JKJ

Thank you so much for the idea to turn a Morse taper, John.

I am making some turned legs for a stool. I did the first leg between centers. It vibrated considerably (26" long x 1.5" dia). I was able to steady things with my left hand enough to make it passable.

However, for the second leg, I turned the MT and inserted that into the spindle. I used the tail stock to push the MT tight, and then backed off the pressure so the point of the live center was engaged but without force.

The difference was remarkable. Almost all of the vibration was eliminated. I was able to improve results further by steadying with my left hand.

Thanks again.

[Thomas Wilson80]

I did use a draw bar for those since tailstock support is "iffy" once you get down to about 1/16" inch, especially on soft wood! I simply drilled a short hole in the end of the taper and twisted a 1/4" drawbar into the hole. (I use a triangular file to cut a few grooves through the drawbar threads to make the end into a tap of sorts.) In fact, with the drawbar I can remove the tailstock completely and make still final cuts on the far end with the "left hand steady rest" method.

JKJ

John, maybe a silly question...but could you further explain this drawbar method (i.e. what exactly is a drawbar, where do you get them?, etc.). Thanks,
Tom

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I started turning using MT tapers on the stock a few months ago and love it. I bought lots of stock that already had tapers turned that happen to fit an MT1, so I got a taper adapter from MT2 to MT1 to use on my full size lathe. Having the adapter also permits me to use the accessories from my mini lathe on the larger lathe. It cost about $8 on ebay.

[Paul Gilbert]

I have been thinking about turning some long stem flowers. I would like to have them with ~ 24" stems. Just for the heck of it I would like to do it with a solid blank, not drill a hole for a dowl. I plan on using string steadys for the stem section. I would like to try to turn them in "tension" mode rather than "compression" from the tailstock.

I have an ER 32 collet chuck for the headstock, but how to center and then attach the tailstock end to the live center eludes me. Anyone out there with any good ideas on how to do that?

[Peter Fabricius]

Make some Soft Noses that will screw on to the live centre, 3/4" x 10tpi. Make a split one that will fit on the end of your stem, screw it onto the live centre and apply tension. Capt Eddie designed the Soft Noses.

[John K Jordan]

John, maybe a silly question...but could you further explain this drawbar method (i.e. what exactly is a drawbar, where do you get them?, etc.). Thanks,
Tom

NOT a silly question!

A drawbar is simply a threaded rod with some kind of nut on one end. One came with my milling machine to hold Jacobs chucks and end mill collets.

I made drawbars for my wood lathes from lengths of all-thread rod, available at hardware stores and Home Depot in various threads. A common size for tools you buy in the US 3/8"; I made one from 3/8" all-thread for tools and another from 1/4" all-thread to hold wooden spindles.

The drawbar rod is long enough to go through the hole in the center of the headstock spindle. It threads loosely into something with a taper you want to hold tightly into the morse taper in the spindle. For example, if you use a Jacobs chuck in the headstock to hold a drill bit, without a draw bar it will very likely come loose during use. A nut on the end pulls the tool firmly into the headstock.

These are the two I made for woodturning. For the smaller one I simply turned a piece of hard wood and drilled and tapped 1/4-20 hole in the middle. For the larger one I epoxied a washer on a threaded fastener I found somewhere. A nut and washer would have worked for either of these but then I'd have to keep wrenches handy.

drawbar_two.jpg

I use the 3/8" drawbar for my Jacob's chucks and I'll use it on the new MT2 collets I just bought.

drawbar_chucks.jpg

I use the 1/4" drawbar on thin wood spindles where I've turned a MT2 taper on one end to jam into the headstock and when the spindle is unsupported (or not well supported) on the tailstock end. I filed a flat in the middle of the drawbar thread so I can hold it with an adjustable wrench to force threads into a hole in the wood. As mentioned elsewhere, I file a few grooves through the threads on the end to make a tap that will easily cut threads into wood.

The 28" walnut spindle tapers from 1/2" down to 1/16", turned with a skew without using a steady rest. It's the reason I made the 1/4" draw bar since I couldn't finish turning it since it kept popping out of the headstock!

drawbar_long_spindle.jpg

Unfortunately, a drawbar can't easily be used in the tailstock and still let you adjust the quill with the crank. I did see a post from someone who devised a spring-loaded mechanism to allow this but I don't remember the details - it might have been on another forum.

BTW, if you want to use a drawbar on a Jacobs chuck make sure you buy one that is threaded for a drawbar! Many are not. I had to pay a little extra for a MT/JT mandrel threaded for a drawbar.

JKJ