Thoughts and questions after a day at the lathe

[KyleG]

For my first lathe project, I decided to make a drawbar wrench/hammer. The head is a 3/4 impact socket. The square drive was bored round and threaded roughly 3/4-16, and I turned a flat, drilled, and tapped the side to accept the handle. The handle is from a bottle jack. I turned a plug, welded it in, and then turned down a threaded end on it. I'm reasonably happy with the result, but it's a little heavier than I'd like.



Turns out, sockets are made from tough stuff. (Perhaps this shouldn't have been a surprise.) Some observations along the way:

1. Facing the end of the socket was doable, but I had to wind from the inside out and cut with the face of the tool. If I faced inward, the nose would just rub. I made sure the tool was good and sharp, but got similar results each time. It seems like the inside was softer than the jacket, but it could just be cutting geometry.
2. I bored the square out with a brazed carbide bar that came with the lathe. that went pretty well, but I didn't push my luck with depth of cut.
3. Threading for the hammer face was a challenge. I used the boring bar pictured below, and even with <1" sticking out of the toolholder, there was visible spring in the setup. The finished threads were a little crusty, and an imperfect threadform since the toolbit started to blunt.
4. Turning the spotface and drilling for the handle was uneventful, but tapping was a real bear. Granted, it wasn't a quality tap.
5. I believe the plug for the handle is 12L14. What a difference! I could turn .050 DOC per side, no problemo! I believe I was running .010/rev.

Which leads me to some questions:

1. Does this all sound normal?
2. If I want to machine materials like this in the future, are there ways I can do it? Better HSS toolbit geometry? Do I have to go to carbide for jobs like this?
3. Similar to #2, what about single point threading materials like this? Carbide toolbit in my boring bar? Inserts? Or just correct something in my setup?

All in all, it was a good day at the lathe. It was fun to make something bigger for the first time.

More pictures. I didn't take a photo of the toolbit, so I modeled the geometry to the best of my recollection.

 

[benmychree]

For the stated purpose, another approach would be a partial anneal of the socket, since it will not be used as an impact socket, the loss of hardness would not be of any importance and would make all the operations on it quite a bit easier. A pArtial anneal would be heating to a low red or black heat and slow cooling in a low conductive medium.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I made a mill hammer-wrench from a VW lug wrench and a nylon soft hammer face 40 years ago. It's still my go-to, hangs on the end of the mill table. I always wanted to modify it like an automatic center-punch. Twist the handle and it strikes the drawbar, releasing the collet.

As you discovered, impact sockets are heat-treated to be extremely tough. HSS will get you through, but carbide is a better choice for hard/tough materials I recently made a mill speed handle using two Gearwrench brand 3/4 in. sockets. They parted like butter, didn't even need lube.

 

[Winegrower]

An easy annealing step, at least in the winter, is to throw the parts in the coals of the wood stove and fish them out in the morning. You get adequate heat and very slow cooling.

But say, today, I think I could have just left them in the sun all afternoon and picked them up in the morning. It seemed that hot, anyway.

 

[mmcmdl]

Hey Kyle , welcome to the site from a neighbor . What kind of machines do you have ?

 

[KyleG]

I have a Logan 825, and I snag time on my uncle’s Bridgeport when I have milling to do.

 

[rabler]

From my novice prospective, I’d say that was a definite success and typical experiences. Looks like the top face of your cutting tool is missing one rake angle which could effect the facing. The top face should be angled down on the side toward the toolpost. Check mikey’s thread on tool geometry.