Category Archives: Turning

One Piece Spool

Posted on June 1, 2013 by dave49

For some time, I have been plotting how to make a one piece spool. My spools so far have been assemblies. The difficulty is the limited power and size of my Sherline lathe and mill. Recently I am developing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Milling, Spool, Turning | Leave a comment

Boring Tool Holder

Posted on May 19, 2013 by dave49

This plain aluminum block is a quick-and-dirty holder for round shanked boring tools. I have been struggling with this holder for some time. The problem is that it fastens to the cross slide of the lathe with a single screw. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Turning | Leave a comment

Front End Ring

Posted on July 12, 2012 by dave49

Since my new reel design has a fixed spindle, it requires a front end ring instead of a full front end plate. Here is the sequence of steps to produce a thin end ring for a raised pillar reel. Starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Milling, Ring, Turning, Work Holding | Leave a comment

ER16 Collet Set

Posted on July 6, 2012 by dave49

You can center round stock in a 4 jaw chuck, but it takes some time to get the jaws adjusted to center. This is the attraction of collets; if you have the right size collet, the work is centered with … Continue reading →

Posted in Turning, Work Holding | Leave a comment

Simple Pot Chuck

Posted on May 30, 2012 by dave49

After making a tool the hard way, one has extra appreciation when finding a simple way. My last post to this blog was about a pot chuck for my Sherline lathe that used the Morse taper of the lathe headstock … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Turning, Work Holding | 2 Comments

Pot Chuck

Posted on May 28, 2012 by dave49

For a new reel design, I want a bronze washer of about 3/4 inch OD, ID to pass a #10 screw, and 0.031 thickness. It is part of a thrust bearing; how can I get a close thickness tolerance and … Continue reading →

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Boring with the Lathe

Posted on November 2, 2011 by dave49

I have been making end plates for my “aluminum frame reel”. I start with a section of rectangular bar, round the corners for lathe clearance, then remove almost all the material with a roughing end mill. Then I make the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cutting, End Plate, Turning | 2 Comments

Fixtures for Spool End

Posted on October 17, 2011 by dave49

After deciding that the expanding mandrel (previous post) was inadequate, I started thinking about ways to support the spool end blank at its rim. Axial runout must be minimized. This is what I made and think works well. Here you … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixtures, Milling, Spool End, Turning, Work Holding | 2 Comments

Parting

Posted on December 19, 2010 by dave49

Parting, or lathe cut-off, is the operation of sticking a narrow blade straight into a rotating part, and (hopefully) making a continuously deeper groove until the part drops off of the chucked rod stock. A Google search on “lathe cut-off” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cutting, Tools, Turning | Leave a comment

Turning a Crank Counterweight

Posted on October 15, 2010 by dave49

The counterweight on my reel crank has hemispherical shape. Sherline sells an accessory that turns spherical shapes, and it is just what you would need to make more than a hemisphere. But I have found that I can get by … Continue reading →

Posted in Crank, Turning | Leave a comment