Spindle Crank for South Bend 10L Lathe

[mikey]

Very nice job on a really useful device. This one goes on my list!

 

[MrWhoopee]

Nice work, and you can use the lathe when the power is out!

 

[woodchucker]

OK, that puts my idea that has been brewing in my mind for the last couple of weeks to complete and utter shame.

D*mn that is one very nice piece of craftsmanship! well done.

Yep, that's well done..

 

[woodchucker]

I won't! (But I'm tempted to flip it on for a half second to see what it would look like. I'm sure it would stay put, but that handle would really be moving! Maybe in back gear.)

Don't do it. Just leave sleeping dogs lie..

 

[T Bredehoft]

I'm tempted to flip it on for a half second to see what it would look like. I'm sure it would stay put, but that handle would really be moving! Maybe in back gear.)

Any RPM and the lathe wants to jump up and down. I did it inadvertently.

 

[wlburton]

Any RPM and the lathe wants to jump up and down. I did it inadvertently.

The voice of experience! I will not be trying it.

Bill

 

[gmcken]

Are you willing to share your drawings for the spindle crank. It looks great for finer threads close to a shank

 

[wlburton]

Are you willing to share your drawings for the spindle crank. It looks great for finer threads close to a shank

I'm afraid I just made it up as I went along--no drawings--so the "exploded" view above is probably the best I can do. I started with a 1 3/4" diameter piece of steel. The angle of the tapered parts isn't critical, as long as they match. I cut six slots in the expanding part but four would probably work as long as it fits fairly snug inside the bore of the spindle. I hope this helps.

I still haven't used it for threading, which is what I made it for, but I've used it for tapping and to finish parting off a piece which had to be "trapped" by the live center, making me nervous about finishing the parting off under power. It worked well for both of those things. I'm going to stick a label on it to remind me to never insert it without unplugging the lathe, after reading some of the comments above!

 

[gmcken]

Thank you for your response. Great project.

 

[SLK001]

This is my take on @wlburton 's spindle crank (I made my drawings based on the photos he provided).



In the above photo, the plastic grip isn't completed, because my knurler was disassembled for a trip to the blackening tank (along with the crank).

Here is everything completed:



... and assembled:



The next post will have photos of the individual parts.