I had to machine the ends of a go-kart axle that would not fit through my spindle bar. This video demonstrates one of several ways a stead rest can drastically increase the capacity of your small lathe.
THANKS! And I know what you mean about music. I like it if you are just watching the machine do work but having it in the background while you are talking is annoying.
Thank you for the detailed look at threading. I've seen many tutorials, always great to see a fresh view. I pulled another good tip from one of your videos!
Mark an old Gunsmith trick when using a steady is to take a piece of emery cloth long enough to wrap around the shaft plus 1/2" overlap. Add a few drops of oil to the shaft then wrap it around the shaft with the smooth side towards the shaft and the grit side touching the fingers on the steady. The oil and the emery cloth act as a bushing between the fingers and the shaft and the grit touching the fingers prevents the cloth from spinning. This prevents marking of the shaft and also prevents wear on the fingers. I am certainly glad to see you using the wooden support. 50 years ago, a man i knew son got killed by a shaft that bent in the lathe he was running, and it beat him to death.
I sooooo love these one off head scratching jobs my friend. Having a piece wrap that was sticking out too far is a damned scary time. I have had it happen a couple times. Wide rubber bands with wide zip ties work well with lessening shaft vibrations. Bear auto alignment has great belts to wrap around small and large drums that really work well and are sure work great for reducing chatter. You need to visit them.
@@WinkysWorkshop Mine was a 6 ft pc of 1/4 inch rod I was single point threading a bunch of pieces from the long bar to save on waste. It was on a friends lathe and not knowing it very well shifted it to a higher gear and promptly put a 90 deg bend out the back of the headstock. Just like you said above here both of us got a boost in blood pressure.
Thanks for another great video with tips on how to secure an overhung shaft. That squeal is probably coming from your steady rest that needs a drop of oil.
Hey, it works! You've shown lots of good ways over the last few years of making your equipment punch above its weight class. Hope you and yours have a great new year ahead of you!
Great clip, did exactly the same myself some years ago now, even cut my keyway for the drive sprocket on the lathe with a fly cutter set up in the tool post driven by my wife's old cake mixer. My wee Boxford has done some pretty big jobs haha and still keeps going. Such a great reminder thanks again.
Winky, I'm sure you wanted an interference fit on those end caps. When you discovered that one was and the other end wasn't you kept your cool and commented with LockTite fix. I would have probably gone into one of my more colorful rants! :-) Wakodahatchee Chris
I'll have to admit that I was pleased when one end piece fit tight. At first I thought I screwed up and made one end of my axle too small. Realistically, it may not be ideal but the axle will probably outlast the go-kart anyway. It's not in the best shape overall.
A touch of oil when cutting threads in steel improves the surface finish. Otherwise, nice video and thanks for the wood steady rest at the end. Nice workaround.
Well thought-out and nicely done. You did a very precise machining job on the axle but unfortunately the wheel bearings weren't manufactured with the same level of care. How was the keyway cut?
Very clever putting the shaft backward in the lathe to get the job done. I imagine, if you made both shaft ends the same and one flange fits fair and the other loose, that loose one probably fretted around on the old shaft. The flanges are rather beefy, perhaps you can cross drill and add set screws to fix that looser one hard to the shaft? Between that and a nice tight key, it could last a while.
Yeah tighter would have been ideal and yes it was one hub that was oversize. I put a little green Loctite on the shaft but I suspect it would be fine anyway. I'm guessing it will outlast the go-cart, it wasn't in the best shape. Thanks for watching
Great job! Next project, a follower rest? I don't have one either, but I understand that is the purpose of having both a steady and follower. What are your fingers for the steady made from?
I had the same thought. Making a follower rest is one challenge. Mounting it on the round surfaces of a South Bend lathe is another challenge. I have both follower rest and steady rest for my Grizzly lathe. I have used the steady rest but have not needed to use the follower rest yet. Machining a long piece like this would be a good use of both rests. Dave.
I thought about putting a knurl on the shaft too but in the end I just left it. The shaft also has a key it. I suspect it will last the life of the go-kart.
I no longer have that. I sold it with my Logan lathe. For cut off work I use a direct mount blade now. The cut off tool with the support worked but not as well as my direct mount tool. Thanks for watching. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HGAQHjzgs9c.html
Thanks for this interesting video. Well done! The way of "calibrating" the steady at time 02:20 was new to me. never seen before but it must be clever I think. Assuming the bed is in order, being straight, levelled etc... Time 07:30. That "flying around" at the end of the bar will cause a bend between the steady and the chuck. Read about the Euler bend, brake cases.... Good descision. Primitive and brutal cure but I buy it. Why making "impacts" to the bar and then bringing up the thread gauge? Why not put an indicator to the carriage, engage the lock nut, turning the chuck one revolution and measure? Time 18:15. That filing often makes the nut go fine. Better then making one more pass threading? Cheers.
Thanks for the in depth comment. The scratch pass and thread gauge were just a double check. I was fairly certain my quick change was set right. And yes, after supporting the stock the metal cut much smoother. As for my method of setting up the steady rest... I know of no other way on a bar that long. The weight of the bar would make it sag and wobble. The bed on my lathe is worn several thousands I'm sure and there is was no doubt a slight bow to the bar but all the machining was taking place close to the chuck. I doubt there would be any measurable error if the bed was worn .030". I guess i could have put an indicator on the carriage and checked that the tool post was parallels with the bar. And i would have if I was machining near the steady rest.
@@WinkysWorkshop I think I've seen, in traditional centering, the steady placed near the tail stock and indicators used center the steady. I suppose checking for no taper. Maybe hard with a not perfect axle surface.
@@kevinunderwood2931 - Be careful not to break a gear. I wonder why it stuck? Here's a suggestion. Clamp some hex stock in the chuck and put a wrench on it. Then put a strap wrench around the spindle pulley. I'd say most gears get broken removing stuck chucks. After you get it off put anti seize on the threads.
@@WinkysWorkshop I think it’s stuck because I didn’t use anti seize on that new chuck I bought…I knew better. The method you described is what I’m going to do. I’ve got a Rigid brand strap wrench with a 30inch strap for the spindle pulley. I’ll have plenty of leverage.
Yes, there are a few reasons for this. First, advancing the compound puts a load on the lead screw in the direction the carriage travels. The cutter only cuts on the left side. Advancing with the cross slide would make the cutter cut on both sides which can result in the threads from a previous pass controlling the carriage movement. The second reason is chatter and tool load. Advancing with the compound makes the tool cut only on the left side. While making the last few passes on larger threads the surface area being cut is substantial. Advancing with the cross slide would make the tool cut on both sides and double the load. I have seen people cut by going straight in but I have better luck advancing with the compound.
I have a parting tool like that, I never thought that you could turn to size with it. At some point would too deep a cut cause the insert to come out? Edit: I didn't listen long enough, you covered my question that it is designed to cut laterally. I didn't know that.
Excellent video.... Have you ever turned small stuff?? I need to make a replacement shaft for my Dumore #14 Tom Thumb. I've been putting it off because it's making me extremely nervous turning such a small diameter shaft with fine threads. I saw your collet chuck video and was considering that but was wondering if I could turn between centers....
@@WinkysWorkshop Understood, The Dumore shaft appears to be 3/8" 3-4 SS with the bearing ends turned to .250 +/- .002 What would you recommend for a speed?
I have no idea where I got that but it's been a good one. I'm guessing it's 30 years old. Your description however brought it up on Amazon! amzn.to/3CEwM1P
In the big scheme of things, that wasn't a particularly dodgy setup you were using there. I've seen (And occasionally, been the architect of) some truly frightening "Unorthodox work holding techniques" over the years...... One that springs to mind included the use of bit's of angle iron and a shed load of zip ties on a long thin workpiece to brace it and cut down the risk of the unsupported section flapping around too much !!! :D. I also once saw an old 6" swing lathe that had been "Modified" with several stacks of 1" sheet steel to move the head and tailstock up and back enough so that it could spin up to 20" alloy wheels. The tool post had a seriously Heath Robinson setup to raise the tool up about 6" too. The owner told me that his garage had a couple sets of car wheels to weld/refinish and wasn't going to spend big money buying a bigger lathe just to do those. Surprisingly, it apparently worked fine like that with no more chatter than it had before. I wish I'd took some pictures of that one. :D As a friend used to say, "When the works got to be done, and you don't have the exact work holding setup you need, it's sometime neccecery to send the health and safety guy out to do some errands off site, just so he doesn't have to see anything that might spike his blood pressure" :D
Nice job,steel prices have gone up like crazy over the last year I recycle a lot of car parts great steel from older cars 60s-80s after that it’s monkey metal but it’s free 😂
A little grease on the wood block support would help keep it quiet. Years ago line shafts used greased wood bearing blocks. Ok for slower turning shafts. Just a thought, instead of a test nut using thread gauge wires would have saved a setup.
Gday Winky, there’s always a way around a problem, well mostly always, I wonder how an old bearing would go in the piece of wood, great job mate, Cheers
Thankful for your problem solving skills. We are not making parts for rocket ships in the home shops and your solutions prove that you don't always need lots of high dollar machines to get the job done.
That was another good one. You remind us that not everyone has all the machines and all the accessories for any/all situations. You can get your work done if you think it through and proceed carefully. Thanks for representing the everyman’s home shop. 🥸👍
No left-hand, right-hand threads? I missed it - are the hubs keyed? I like your use of wood as a one-time solution for something that may come up 3 times in the life of the machinist.
I love the way you work. " Where there's a Winky, there's a way!" I have to go out and see if I can find your build on the steady rest you use in this vid. It's a pleasure to watch the things you have built actually being used in your projects the bill the process and the expansion of capabilities without the great expense of buying more complex equipment.
" Where there's a Winky, there's a way!" I like that! Haha. That steady rest works well but I may make another one at some point. The fingers are a little tricky to get adjusted right.
Isn't that a parting tool? And a couple of minutes later you answered my question...I think. It sure looks like a parting tool but it's either not or it's both for parting and cutting laterally?
That is called a Parting and Grooving Tool. It has a GTN2 (2mm) but you can get them in 1mm and 3mm also. It's advertised as being able to cut lateraling as well as straight in. It is one of the handiest tools I have. You can't take more than about .040" at a time but it's great for cutting against two shoulders. I think the best aspect however is that whatever depth you dial in, you get. If I need something .010" smaller you can move the cross slide dial that amount and most often it's dead on.
I like your shop made steady rest. I'm on the verge of embarking on making one for my lathe as well. I like having the larger diameter as well. Thanks for sharing.
Good day, you gave me some great ideas for problems I do have. Thank you, this was one of the most informing video's which I watched in problem solving on a mini lathe in a long time.
