Yes, that would be ideal. If I used this tool with any kind of frequency, I would absolutely do that. However, I think I've this tool exactly twice in the last 8 years. 😅
This certainly would not have been the method used for production work. They would have just cast them, or if turning was necessary, used a form tool ground to the shape required.
Yes, that is correct. The centerline of the lathe is always going to be a fixed distance above the cross-slide, so there is no need to make the tool height adjustable once it's on center.
Given the extremely simplistic nature of this. plans aren't going to give you anything of much significance beyond what you're able to see by simply looking at the tool itself.
@@Orcinus24x5 Works great by the way, and nice result. Although, though, the speed of those passes were approaching painfully slow :). I'm sure you could have went much faster, as only the last couple of passes will determine the final finish.
@@smallblockchevy1022 Yeah, this was when the lathe was still basically brand new to me, I wasn't fully confident that I knew the machine's limitations, and didn't want to push it too hard and have a crash on-camera!
The plans that most influenced my design are here... www.machinistblog.com/downloads/Patterson/Ball%20Tool.pdf But I made some changes, the most important of which is the addition of a ballbearing between the pivot screw (part #5 on the first page) and the aluminum base. Without it, the thing would bind up like crazy, even when oiled. I ignored most of the dimensions in the plans as well, mostly due to the different size stock I had available at the time, and I also ignored the cross-drilled hole in the pivot screw for the nylon "locking pin" feature. There is really only one super-critical dimension, and you'll have to measure it for yourself. It's the distance between the top of the cross-slide and the center of the axis of rotation, aka the tool height. But that much is pretty obvious. Also, the handle in the blueprints I linked is WAY too long for any mini lathe at 7 inches. I made the handle on mine 4 inches long, and it's ALMOST too long even at that length. Feel free to ask anymore questions!
Yes, it does have a bearing. Yes, I can make concave cuts, with a different tool holder. Since the video was made, I produce a holder for 1/4" HSS, and a reverse one for carbide inserts.
Do you have a video of you making the concave rad? More specifically, have you done a concave radius on the face? I’m imagining this could be done by using the compound rest and incrementally advancing it into the face while rotating the tool. But maybe a boring bar instead.
Not really. My lathe is very small, it's a 7x12 mini lathe, and with the 5" 3-jaw chuck I tend to get a lot of chatter very easily because the work is so far from the spindle bearings. :(
@@Orcinus24x5 Yeah it'll be off by a thread or two but I think you can turn the lead screw manually just a bit to get it where you want it. I can do that with my 7x14 mini lathe.
Yes, it does exist for the mill, though not in this guise. I believe I saw it on Solid Rock Machine Shop. The tool was mounted to a steel plate which was then mounted to a hefty fixture plate. Clamped in the mill vise and rotated by hand through the cuts.
