On one of my old jobs we got 5-6 lathes from the 40-50s, 1 from the 70s and 1 newer. We also had a gear cutter from 1945 that cut gears with amazing precision. Tobad that they closed the company a few years ago and almost everything went to scrap. There wer several meters shelves with different new cutting steel bothe inserts and steels that you grind. There were a few cabinets with new drills from 1mm to 60mm, many special chucks and tools etc. Drilling machines with 2-5 spindles etc. When I quit that job it just celebrated 100 years. We made compactors that they used in nuclear plants etc to make bales of trash. Made own screws to them that was 4-5 meters with our own special threads and our own nuts to them in bronze. It was a dream working there but the owner made me quit. My coworker was in his early 60s and had been working there since he was 15. He taught me mutch about different techniques in turning metal. And one who was in his early 70s helped us sometimes and he taught me some techniques in straighten long metal profiles without any special tools, just some heat, a small hammer and a flower sprayer with cold water etc.
Very good. Setting the tailstock over can be a faff, and putting it right. A good thing if you have a boring head is to put it in your tailstock so the moving portion is parallel to the ways. Then make a small centre or ball centre that fits in the boring head, where the boring bar normally goes. Now you can set this over using the boring head feed mechanism as much as you need, without disturbing the tailstock setting.
Thanks so much for the helpful, informative video. I’ve never lathed between centres before and today I did (thanks to your video) and I successfully created a poker for my newly installed workshop log burner.
Did you use an R type centre drill? They are made specifically for offset turning as the radiused centre form can rock on the lathe centres whereas a standard centre drilled hole can't.
I like the sandpaper trick. But I'm not agreeing with the tailstock setover method. If you move the tailstock end of the bar 0.050" it also moves the other end of the bar some smaller amount...which isn't nothing. I don't see how this could result in the correct taper. If you put the tailstock back to zero and clock the turned bar I don't think you'll find that it has the proper taper per inch.
Indian Engineering student, here cos i didnt get it when i read about it in my Production Tech book, also had a hard time understanding what the old timer was saying about, tyephaar tyarnin, but i kinda get after watching him do it now, Tan Alpha = (D-d )/ 2L, where Alpha is the tYaphaarr angle , if D is larger dia and d the is smaller dia (D- d) = tailstock offset.
hi john , i have trouble with tailstock method of taper turning morse taper 3 , machined bar to 980 big d , small d to 770 , 50 thou at small end , then 50 thou at large end and still no success , what am i doing wrong ? , your help appreciated , kind regards ray
Excellent as always. I never manage to get a taper right with the first shot. Your measurements seem to be right on the money. Amazing. Checking for parallelism with the clock gauge at 09:50 does not work in my opinion. You will always get (close to) zero deviation if you have just cut that surface as the clock runs exactly the same way as the cutter. You could track the back of the work with the clock gauge though. This would even give the the deviation of the diameter, i.e. twice the radius. (Hope my comment doesn't sound too schoolmasterly.) I like using R-type center drills for cutting tapers between centers.
Nice work John, well filmed and edited. This way of cutting a taper is the way shown by several RU-vidrs, and what most hobbyists can use. How many guys have a taper followers attachement? I don't have it. Cutting a thread on a taper like this ought to work fine. A professor type of guy bubbled about a sine error due to the angle and the lathe dog. Couldn't agree with that guy. Time some 04:40. Do You really have to turn the entire way from the tip down to the radius? Isn't it enough turning from the tip and down enough to get clear from the center hole? Reading Your mind? Then You just did that. Time 14:30. That's a new way to me, but.... Doesn't the still standing emery paper quickly get clogged and does do the job?
Well done John. How about Knurling, Parting off and Cutting speeds. Since i retired i miss the convenience of a lathe and milling machine. You almost make me want to buy a Lathe to play with and I really like the comment about the four jaw chuck face plate and steadies. All very very true Hahahaha
