What are you machining?

[zx9]

Until you add support on the vertical... Bring the tailstock up and lock it against the back of the milling slide for the cut, helps add a bit of rigidity and you'll get a more consistent milling cut with a better finish - I used to do that (had topslide on a big angle plate bolted to the cross-slide tee slots) before I got my milling machine, it made milling on the lathe a bit less unpleasant!

Dave H. (the other one)

Nice tip @Hopefuldave I will be using the tailstock for a bit more rigidity next time I am torturing the Drummond.

 

[doubleboost]

2 post hoist legs boring out worn threads to accept drip in feet
New power quill doing a splendid job

 

[Kram]

Well thats going in the bin. I made several mistakes. The biggest was I engaged the dial at two, where as the rest of cuts were at one.
I'll get some practise on scrap before I try this again..

 

[Woody.v8]

Well thats going in the bin. I made several mistakes. The biggest was I engaged the dial at two, where as the rest of cuts were at one.
I'll get some practise on scrap before I try this again..

Balls! looks almost finished too, Gutting when that happens.

 

[doubleboost]

Do the thread first

 

[Agroshield]

The biggest was I engaged the dial at two, where as the rest of cuts were at one.

I know your pain. A sharpie is good for marking thread dial numbers you need to use. A Post-it note is good for obscuring things you don't want to use.

Make some overlays for the TDI, possibly held on by magnets, that are pitch-specific and only have the useful numbers on.

Little known fact: Rick Wakeman used to do screwcutting as practice for playing two keyboards at once.

 

[Hood]

Well thats going in the bin. I made several mistakes. The biggest was I engaged the dial at two, where as the rest of cuts were at one.
I'll get some practise on scrap before I try this again..

Is it a metric leadscrew on the lathe? If not then it may be that you should keep the halfnuts engaged until the thread is complete.

 

[zx9]

Well thats going in the bin. I made several mistakes. The biggest was I engaged the dial at two, where as the rest of cuts were at one.
I'll get some practise on scrap before I try this again..

It is an absolute pain in the rump when that happens, fortunately I have never done quite that much work before before making a pigs ear of it. (yet)

Is it a metric leadscrew on the lathe? If not then it may be that you should keep the halfnuts engaged until the thread is complete.

As per @Hood above, it may not be the right way to go about it but it works. If like me you have a screw on chuck and are worried about running the lathe backwards, don't be too concerned, the tool is withdrawn using the cross slide for the reverse part so accidentally unscrewing the chuck at moderate speed is very unlikely.
On my to do list is an adjustable stop for the cross slide to make the process easier, no doubt I will remember half way through roughing out the next item I need to thread.

 

[Shox Dr]

Well thats going in the bin. I made several mistakes. The biggest was I engaged the dial at two, where as the rest of cuts were at one.
I'll get some practise on scrap before I try this again..

Feel your pain. Had the same happen to me a while back. Now I choose a number on the thread dial and stick with it. Takes longer as you always have to wait for it come round. Better than trashing the part though.

 

[Dr.Al]

Feel your pain. Had the same happen to me a while back. Now I choose a number on the thread dial and stick with it. Takes longer as you always have to wait for it come round. Better than trashing the part though.

I tend to do this too - always engage at number 1 as it stops me being a prat. Having said that, I've got a non-screwed chuck so I tend to thread with the spindle running backwards and the tool upside down. As that gives a lot more time to disengage the half-nuts, I can run the lathe a lot faster than I would with a normal orientation tool (no risk of crashing into the work piece) so I don't have to wait as long for the thread dial to turn.

 

[Kram]

I now have tons of threading questions I will put in a new thread @Dr.Al your site is excellent.

Though Id make up the spare pulley, new VCGT1604 inserts!

 

[Kram]

Saddle stop, started this over a year ago! Got a cheap micrometer. The screw seems perfect against gauge blocks, but the etching and feel is poor. It'll do, just needs a hole for a locking thumb screw on the top.

 

[Kram]

Finally got the spare spindle pulley done so I can work on getting the big ones onto the hub. I'll mount it on a 29mm mandrel to turn pulley, and get 180mm pulley on tomorrow.

 

[Kram]

Challenging setup. The cross slide needs more travel and it would help if the compound had a removable location pin, when I get round to it.

 

[Kram]

Now just to face and tickle the OD for The Big Pulley.

Finally spindle pulley complete! Bonus that all 3 belts are close enough to use the same position.

 

[Kram]

Best upgrade ever

Parting at 200rpm with about 1kw of torques. I had no fear of it stalling and could wind it in fast as I liked!

I want a bigger pulley

 

[Kram]

I thought this .775" drill was a mistake, too big, too much chatter. Wrong I just needed more torques 200rpm it cuts perfectly.

 

[Kram]

A shrink fit sleeve is the best way I can l fix this. Should be easy enough to get the end red hot, so I may try to braze after for some added security.

 

[Kram]

Shrink fit was a failure but thats what big hammers are for I tried to braze but nowhere near hot enough with map. It'll do as is.. quick photo before I ruin it

Done!

 

[Kram]

First attempt at pressure turning. Removing extractor from window need a really quick temporary way to block hole and two of these are it.

Idea from here,