Make a lathe height gauge with not (much) thinking and figuring.

[Mitch Alsup]

Problem is I do not have enough tool holders to fit all my tools,

An easy problem to solve:: Hint: use ebay.....

 

[westerner]

Joe Pie has a great video on setting lathe tool height. Not specifically on setting a drill in a QCTP, but the concept he shows will help, I believe.
Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MrjnIcscxI Darn sure took the quesswork out for me, and when the lightbulb lit, I had to grab my shades
If the link won't work for ya, because I am a total noob at MANY things, just go to Joe Pieczynski, and look for the "Lathe tool height" video. He has helped me a whole bunch, just because he is a natural born problem solver, and just happens to run a very successful machine shop

I have built this tool for both of the lathes I have owned. Plus the lathe at work, and one for my good friend. I cannot find fault. YMMV.

 

[MAKEITOUTOFWOOD]

Here’s the one I made.

 

[savarin]

Mine was very simple, A length of 1.5" dia steel tube squared off both ends in the lathe.
A solid centre in the spindle and the tube sitting on the cross slide, use the centre point to scribe a line around the tube, do this from each end.
Replace back in the chuck and with a sharp point tool make a shallow cut right around the tube, do the same at the other end.
Simply place the tube on end on the cross slide and adjust the tool tip to the now clearly visible mark.
It doesnt matter which end is up.

 

[Winegrower]

Savarin, that’s a winner, no math at all!

 

[chips&more]

Sorry guys & gals, I don’t see the big deal in setting tool height. I just eye ball. Been doing it that way since I was born. When I face, then I adjust accordingly…Dave

 

[Jim Dobson]

Interesting how many different approaches there are in measuring this critical measurement.

 

[rpseguin]

I have been setting up my new to me Takisawa 14" lathe. Wow, is it fun to make chips with this. It cuts steel like my old Logan cut aluminum.

But now all my tooling, accessories, DRO, etc. needs to be redone. Buying a bunch of CXA tool holders, I quickly figured out that setting the tool heights for all those new holders was not so much fun.

Congratulations on the Tak!
They are nice lathes!
I just got a Webb/Whacheon WL-435 and I need to get it fixed up and running.

So I turned down a short rod to some arbitrary diameter that would fit in a 5C collet block, the square kind, and took it to the mill and milled down exactly half the diameter from one end, rotated it 90 and ran it through again, so there is a 90 degree pie shaped extension on one end.

Now, stick that in the three jaw, and the corner or apex of the pie is exactly on center, and the highest thing around. It's easy to get a very precise tool setting now.

Here's a picture.

Good solution.
Indicating with it in a collet is preferable to a jaw chuck, of course, unless you take the time to dial it in.
Hardinge and others made precision ground bars for this sort of thing.
Hardinge made theirs with a swivel top.
The length of their bars varied depending on the type/spindle of the machine, but you would put the base on the bedway.

 

[mickri]

I put some dykem on my framing square and scribed a line with a dead center in the headstock.

 

[Janderso]

Mine