1127 solid tool post mount

Face it, drill it, part it. The part should be accurate enough for a washer. If not, put it in the chuck and face it.


It's that last bit that confuses me. How do you hold that in the chuck and face it without hitting the chuck? The wax chuck seems like a reasonable option. I actually tried the super glue thing, takes too long to set. The shellac might be better, but it has a shelf life from what I'm reading. Guess I could buy the dry stuff and mix as needed. I ended up just parting off another one, but it made me think that I might want to do something like this in the future and I should probably figure out how.
 
I will throw out a few more ways to turn thin spacers/washers.

1. If your 3-jaw chuck has two-piece jaws you can use soft jaws.

2. Double sided "flat back paper" tape can be used similar to the wax chuck method. This is the best double sided tape I have found for work holding when used sensibly. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B8HLRVY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

3. If you have a large enough ER collet, make a straight wall machinable collet from aluminum rod to fit in the ER collet. It should be about an inch longer than the depth of the collet. Turn a pocket on the face of the aluminum rod the OD of the washer. Drill a hole through the rod so the soft collet can spring. Use a band saw/hacksaw to make an X cut down the rod to within 1/4-1/2" of the end of the rod.

Half the fun of machining is figuring out how to hold/make parts.
 
Thanks @jbolt! Good tips. I don't have 2-piece jaws, something to look for when I'm buying a new chuck at some point though. I did order some of the tape, and will try making a DIY collet. That sounds like a good skill to have. The part I was making this time was 25mm, so about the same as the largest collet I have (1"). But one could drop the OD on the section to go into the ER collet and use the larger area to make the pocket, right? Then when the ER collet clamps, the force would compress the larger section as well. I imagine there is a limit to the sizes this would work for...

I agree, figuring out how to hold/make parts is interesting. I have no "real" training, so I have to figure things out from reading and videos. And asking the fine folks around here.
 
It's that last bit that confuses me. How do you hold that in the chuck and face it without hitting the chuck?

Okay, you can make the washer from whatever material you want in whatever diameter and thickness you need. I suggest you determine how thick a washer you need to clock the handle to whatever position you desire. Easiest way is to turn the handle to the position you need and then use two feeler gauge stacks of identical thickness on opposite sides of the bolt to measure the space accurately. Loosen and tighten the handle to be sure the thickness is right, then measure the stack.

Face the stock the washer will be made from, spot drill it and then drill for a close fit through hole down the center. Turn it to the diameter you need and chamfer the edge. Now part it off with the thickness you need and you're done.

Another way is to make it thick enough to allow you to hold it in the jaws of a 3 jaw chuck. Typically, you can hold 0.075 - 0.100" or so. You need to get the washer square in the jaws and you can do that using the "bearing on a stick tool" or with an adjustable work stop from the back (you probably made one of these yet). Tighten the jaws enough to hold it and face it to the thickness you need. I make special thickness washers often enough that I bought a Yuasa magnetic chuck.
 
I came across this video the other day on making thin shims. Quite the interesting video, and I learned lots from it. Joe has several nice learning videos.

Steve

 
It's that last bit that confuses me. How do you hold that in the chuck and face it without hitting the chuck? The wax chuck seems like a reasonable option. I actually tried the super glue thing, takes too long to set. The shellac might be better, but it has a shelf life from what I'm reading. Guess I could buy the dry stuff and mix as needed. I ended up just parting off another one, but it made me think that I might want to do something like this in the future and I should probably figure out how.

Hi, With the wax chuck the shellac is heated and melted onto the chuck face to hold the work piece. You will need to heat both the chuck and the work, then press the two parts together whilst they cool. I just stand the chuck across the vise jaws and put a 1 Kg weight on top and let everything cool down.

One caveat, facing creates a certain amount of heat, if it gets too hot the shellac will start to melt and the work will give way ! DAMHIKT
 
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