Steering wheel on the mill

[akjeff]

Finally had time to finish and mount a steering wheel in place of the lever style quill feed on the mill. I've been wanting to try one out, but didn't want to drop $200+ on a commercially made one, only to find out I didn't like it. So, I found a Cub Cadet steering wheel on ebay for about $25. Some CRS bar stock, a few 5mm dowel pins, and a little time. So far, I really like it. The wheel size is perfect, about 13" diameter. Will see how it feels after using it a few weeks and decide if it stays, goes, or is used occasionally. Loosen a few set screws, and it comes right off.

 

[westerner]

Very Nice!
I have entertained this notion for a time.

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[akjeff]

Thanks. I got the idea from Tom Lipton's youtube channel. This steering wheel is stamped 3042, but not sure if that's a Cub Cadet part number or not. It's splined, but unlike Tom, I wasn't about to cut mating splines in the mounting shaft. I hit the easy button and cleaned the bore out with a 3/4" end mill, and used a dowel pin for anti rotation purposes. The shaft has three 5mm pins to turn the quill feed. A trio of dog point set screws locate on one of the grooves in the quill feed.

 

[Brento]

The only thing i see is then wheel would be to big for me and my machine. It looks like you have a bridgeport or something of size though.

 

[akjeff]

The only thing i see is then wheel would be to big for me and my machine. It looks like you have a bridgeport or something of size though.

Yes, it's a Lagun FTV-1, which is a Series 1 Bridgeport size class mill. So the 13" wheel is just about right size wise.

 

[Brento]

I miss using the Lagun at an old job. It was a nice machine.

 

[projectnut]

My Bridgeport came with the original style quill feed handle. I didn't really care for it so I took a look at other models available. The "steering wheel" style seemed clumsy to me so I went for the spring loaded style sold by H&W Machine.

Quill Downfeed Handle | 1021

We offer three different styles of the Quill Downfeed Handle: 1021-B: The original Bridgeport style of the handle 1021-R: The spring loaded quill downfeed speed handle 1021-T: The spider quill handle with three arms To see a picture of the individual item please select it in the pull down.

www.machinerypartsdepot.com

It's easy to operate and can be either turned in a complete circle. Which seems a bit clumsy also, or pulled down through a comfortable range and reset. All you do to reset the stroke is pull the handle slightly away from the machine body, raise it to a comfortable working height, and let it spring back into a detent

It only takes 1 hand to operate it, and less than a second to reset the handle position.

 

[Brento]

The Lagun at my old job had that. Very handy

 

[akjeff]

My Bridgeport came with the original style quill feed handle. I didn't really care for it so I took a look at other models available. The "steering wheel" style seemed clumsy to me so I went for the spring loaded style sold by H&W Machine.

Quill Downfeed Handle | 1021

We offer three different styles of the Quill Downfeed Handle: 1021-B: The original Bridgeport style of the handle 1021-R: The spring loaded quill downfeed speed handle 1021-T: The spider quill handle with three arms To see a picture of the individual item please select it in the pull down.

www.machinerypartsdepot.com

It's easy to operate and can be either turned in a complete circle. Which seems a bit clumsy also, or pulled down through a comfortable range and reset. All you do to reset the stroke is pull the handle slightly away from the machine body, raise it to a comfortable working height, and let it spring back into a detent

It only takes 1 hand to operate it, and less than a second to reset the handle position.

That looks like a great option! If it turns out I don't like the wheel, I'll look into that. So far though, I really like the wheel.

 

[hman]

Classy!