Ornamental Turning On-The-Cheap

[Glen Blanchard]

I have become very interested in making my own knock-off JaHo device. I have a question or two about the boring head:

1. Will this one work?

2. The carbide cutters that come with that boring head seem to be quite long to me to be spinning at the kind of rpm that I imagine I will want to be using. Can those carbide cutters be used or should I put them aside and use a HSS cutter with a shorter shaft?

3. Can appropriate HSS cutters that will fit this boring head be purchased in assorted cutting configurations or will I need to make my own cutters from a 5/16" HSS bar?

[Peter Christensen]

I'm going to show my ignorance here. Please excuse me. If i were to use the appropriate Lee Valley chuck adapter with a 5C spin index and 5/8" collet, is there any need for a drawbar? The chuck won't be turning during the milling of course, but might the collet have a tendency to slip out of proper 360 degree rotational orientation if it is not somehow secured in place?

Nope. The 5C collet was designed to hold work in metal lathes so it holds tight. The Spin Index uses the same collets to hold work for milling machine operations. If the chuck doesn’t come off the threads it won’t come out of the collet.

[Don Bunce]

That boring head should work fine. You will need to make your own bits. Best bet would to use 5/16 HSS drill blanks, since they are already hardened. Can be cut with an abrasive cutoff wheel.

BTW, what kind of lathe do you have?

[Glen Blanchard]

Thanks, Don. Making my own HSS cutters was what I was thinking would be the thing to do. I'll have to make a riser to raise the scroll chuck to spindle center height but as has been said, that should be straightforward and can be done as simply as with a block of hardwood. My lathe is a Robust American Beauty, and with its' 25" swing, I imagine the cross sled will need to be raised significantly.

It seems to me that it might be handy to have the cross sled riding on some sort of micro-adjustable turntable which would facilitate orientation of the piece being milled. I don't even know what such a thing is called. Any ideas where I might be able to buy such a thing?

Y'all have been very helpful and I appreciate that. My thinking right now is to make a DYI JaHo. If, in the future sometime, I feel a need for a rose engine, I'll have to consider the MDF version.

[Glen Blanchard]

Nope. The 5C collet was designed to hold work in metal lathes so it holds tight. The Spin Index uses the same collets to hold work for milling machine operations. If the chuck doesn’t come off the threads it won’t come out of the collet.

Thanks, Peter. Your idea is compelling.

[Peter Christensen]

Since you’re mounting to a big lathe a cross slide table might be better than the little one the German uses. Shars sells through Amazon as well as direct. The also have rotary tables, 5 C stuff and a lot more. One of their cross slides also rotates but may only be hand positioned. Can’t tell on the phone.
http://www.shars.com/catalogsearch/r...table+%2F+mill

[Marvin Hasenak]

I found the drill press cross slide that I used, it is from Grizzly Tools, item number G1064. It is the one that has adjustable gibs so you can remove any of the sloppiness in the rails.

[Glen Blanchard]

Marvin - That one looks good but I don't think I need the vise.

[Don Bunce]

I am using the xy table from Shars, I believe the one from grizzly is the same. I mounted it to the bed of my PM3520b with a 8" x 12" x 1/2" sheet of aluminum with a 1/2-11 bolt in the center. It can be mounted in line with the headstock, of at 90 deg, or anywhere in between.

It is a rocking head rose engine using a 5C spin index.

[Glen Blanchard]

It is a rocking head rose engine using a 5C spin index.

PURDYYYYY !! Great looking setup.

[Peter Christensen]

There is a MDF rose engine lathe in the for sale section on the IAP. It is in GA if anyone in that area is interested.

Nice machine Don. Is there a thread here with more pictures and information?