QCTP on a Small Lathe

[VicHobbyGuy]

The guys that will be using this have no machining experience so I want to keep it as simple as possible.

If they won't be turning tapers or single point threading, a plinth would make things simpler. Even for threading, 'straight in' can work OK quite often, so even then the compound wouldn't be necessary. And, without the compound they won't be able to develop the (bad IMO) habit of setting the compound parallel to the ways and hanging it out in space. And they can always put the compound back on and use it with the 4-way toolpost.

 

[David2011]

They do expect to do some threading. Since I watched Joe Pie's video on picking up and chasing existing threads, I have been leaving my compound parallel to the ways. I've had to repair threads up to 3" x 10 TPI for some pieces on the battleship's 5" guns. That put my 11x26 lathe at its limits for horsepower and holding capacity.

 

[imagineer]

Figured I'd add a couple of pics. The one pic shows the original tool post bolt (8mm) and the original 4-way drilled to fit the new tool post bolt.

Not counting the time to run to NAPA for the 14mm tap, the whole operation took less than an hour.

 

[David2011]

Thanks. I guess they were all out of big bolts?

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Looking for help from those of you that have done this. The guys at the battleship (USS Texas) bought a Dayton 10" x 22" bench lathe. Why they bought such a light machine has to do with how they could make purchases being under the umbrella of the State of Texas. It's much lighter than the same sized Grizzly G0602 and doesn't have a T slot in the compound. Almost immediately they decided that they need a QCTP and I'm not 100% sure how to advise them. It looks like Little Machine Shop has some possible solutions but I wanted to get advice here. The compound has a fixed stud that's 10mm x 63mm tall.

View attachment 478942

Accusize has them as does Shars and Amazon also.

 

[David2011]

You mean the QCTP? It's not so much finding them as finding something that will work on this particular machine, working around the boss and what looks to me like a very short compound to centerline height. I'll measure it in the morning when I get to the battleship gun repair warehouse.

 

[David2011]

Update to the thread:

I had the battleship guys order an AXA toolpost set from Little Machine Shop after some discussions with LMS. As usual, I probably overthought the job but good planning generally gives good results. I machined the boss off of their cross slide, removed the spring loaded stop for the 4 way toolpost, drilled and tapped it for the new stud, checked to make sure the stud didn't protrude too far and mounted the QCTP. The guys that use it love it and I end up using it for little jobs when I'm at the shop, AKA "The USS Texas Gun Factory."