Phase II QCTP. Not what I expected.

[projectnut]

The fit and finish of the current Phase II tool posts and tool holders appears to be far inferior to what it was 20+ years ago. When I purchased mine, they were near perfect clones of the Aloris models. If neither had identifying marks it would be hard to tell which was which.

As for tool holders I have Aloris, Shars, Accusize, and All Industrial. Some are standard size (up to 5/8" tooling) while others are oversize (up to 3/4" tooling). They all interchange and register perfectly with the Phase II tool post.

 

[Dan_S]

One question, though, the knurling wheels wobble around a fair bit. Is this normal, to allow them to float and make good surface contact?

Even really good ones will have some amount of wobble. Generally speaking, what you want to do it get the tool height close and then snug down the nut and wavy washer. You want it as tight as you can get it, without needing a wrench or excessive force to loosen it.

The set screws are short, with a cup shape on the contact face.

These holders are much larger than the Phase II's. The set screws are flat bottom, with a so-so finish.

Screw length is always a compromise. If you have long screws, and a thick tool, the screws might project so far above the holder, that they make it hard to use the adjustment nut. If you have small tools and short screws, then you need to worry about thread engagement. I personally have a mix of both, because I use everything from 1/8" HSS blanks to 1/2" HSS blanks, and indexable tooling in my AXA holders.

Cupped screws are great for soft shank brazed tool bits, as they will bite into the shank. For HSS blanks and hardened shank indexable tools flat screws work better.