New member with a Taig lathe

Stereo Joe

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Jan 29, 2014
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Hi everyone,
I'm a new member and I've found this board very helpful for reading and learning. I thought it was time I contributed as well… I bought a 2nd hand Taig lathe in February and set up a small area in my attic to do some machining. I've never done this stuff before but I'm having a blast learning the basics! Here are pics of some of the things I've made in the past few months:

I first made a little pivot pin for the lathe tailstock arm out of some 304 stainless steel.
pivotpin_zpsdcecb9fe.jpg

I made a kubotan (self-defense keychain tool) out of 6061 aluminum for a friend's birthday present.
kubotanformike_zps6f062c6c.jpg

I used 304 steel again to make a pen for my mother. The back part screws in to advance the pen tip. This uses a common Fisher-type refill.
stainlesspenassembled_zps08020a70.jpg
stanlesspendisassembled_zps6da78547.jpg

I was planning to make a similar pen out of brass for my dad but since I hadn't worked with brass before, I wanted to see how it machined first. I was given a bit of Lee Valley round stock (not sure what type of brass) and I used it to make a tiny spinning top. This top spins for 2 - 2.5 minutes pretty easily despite being so small.
brasstop_zps1cff6874.jpg

I recently completed the brass pen for my dad using the same basic design as the stainless steel one I did earlier (this takes an Pilot F-type refill).
brasspenassembled_zpsdaa7b7fb.jpg
brasspendisassembled_zps722dfffa.jpg

Each of these projects taught me a ton about what not to do and how to improve future pieces. It's really exciting because the possibilities just seem endless. My next project is a modification to the lathe so I can cut threads on larger diameter stuff (I only have a basic tap and die set). With that ability, I'll be able to make a bunch of other things on my ever-growing "to build" list.

Thanks for looking!
 
Very nice work..! I hope you have many hour of fun and enjoyment getting through that "to build" list.
The "to build" list is a funny thing though, you'll fined for every thing you complete somehow 2 more things get added.:))
 
Very nice work,
the 'to build' list grows again each time you decide to make something practical. Tooling up is part of my learning experience :)
Thankfully Lee Valley keeps a good stock of things such as blank arbors.

I used the 'pattern follower' type of threading when I made my ER16 collet chuck: http://hobbies.psgv.ca/making-an-er16-collet-holder/

Nick Carter's site has links to a couple of threading implementations for the Taig, well worth the effort (they are on my 'tools to make' list somewhere)

Gerrit
 
Thanks! gerritv, that collet holder looks great! I like the pattern follower approach and my plan is to do an expanded setup similar to Keith Brooke's approach: http://www.cartertools.com/brooketh.html

I want to use the existing t-slots on the carriage and headstock for the main mounting points of the setup. Instead of the drill chuck to hold the threaded rod, I want to use a drawbar to attach various threads to, like Monty Remon's setup here: http://cartertools.blogspot.ca/2011/01/monty-remons-taig-lathe-mods-part-2.html
 
I am slowly working toward building Monte's version. Don't know how either turns the spindle though, no place for a handle. Re-reading Keith's version he built a slow speed set up so he can get down to 45RPM. Every tool seems to need another tool, never ending fun :)

Gerrit
 
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