Threading On A Turrett Lathe.

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I'm pretty thrilled to be the new owner of a 16" X 6' turret lathe (SB) but I am a bit puzzled about the lack of a compound rest. The cross slide & tool posts are quite stout and will undoubtedly withstand heavy loads if need be, but without a compound rest how does one cut a 45 degree bevel or cut threads without the ability to feed the cutter in at a 60 degree angle? I must be missing something.
 
Those lathes were made for production work, doing one job repetitively day after day, year after year, with dedicated tooling. Different machines were set up to make different parts. Most threading was done on automatic screw machines. Randy Richard in the Shop, on YouTube, has some nice recent videos of doing turret production style work. Check him out:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Catfish6945/videos
 
Threading on turret lathes or screw machines, as far as I know, is all done using geometric die heads, die holders, or taps.

For threading, you can feed straight inwards and cut on both flanks of the threading tool. It just requires a stiffer setup and a really sharp tool.
 
You don't have a lead screw and half nuts on a turret lathe, so threading in the conventional sense you can't do, unless it is some oddball special order turret machine. Andre is correct about the die heads, etc.

As far as bevels and such, you have to slab them on with a form tool. You don't cut long tapers or large bevels. There may be special accessories for your machine, but I doubt it.

Turret lathes generally aren't sought after by HM'ers because of this. They got HP a plenty, and are heavy and accurate (unless clapped out), and the power feed on the turret you will love for drilling, especially if you have a lot of it to do.
 
When I was in HS, I worked in a production MS and operated a screw machine. We made Sunnen honing machine knockoffs so many small parts needed. Set up was fun but standing there baby sitting the machine became monotonous to say the least. The stock was feed using weights and cables and became my primary job for well over 100K part runs.
Turret lathes are neat, but like mentioned are for production. I would find a "widget" project and run a bunch for $$, then buy a conventional lathe.
Post up a picture of your machine!
 
Thanks so much for all your thoughts on this. This lathe is quite similar to my SB 14-1/2", just a bit newer, less wear and a cool new turret to work with. It does in fact have a lead screw & a quick change gearbox as indicated in the original brochure so it has most of what it needs to cut threads on the outside of a 12" pipe. I know it is intended to expedite production work which usually doesn't involve that kind of threading, but it seems a shame to limit the versatility of this model by eliminating the compound rest. It could be a nice thing to use the double station cross slide for speeding up certain jobs but a quick change tool post (Aloris eg.) would give one nearly the same advantage. I will enjoy it the way it is for a while, but I may end up exchanging the existing cross slide with a conventional compound rest.
 
There's no law that says you need a compound on your lathe to cut threads. It's nice to have, but not necessary to single point a thread with one.
 
What they all said. Not intended for one off work. But if you have the qc gearbox you should be able to rig up something to get it done.
 
Still need half nuts and the QC box must have thread ratios. Are they there? Don't assume jut because it has a QC box that it will thread. Who would want to change gears on a production machine? Make sure they are marked for TPI or MOD, and that there are half nuts.

Any chance of a pic of this lathe?
 
While we're at it, how about a thread dial? I have a Logan 11" turret lathe in progress, similar to Randy Richards. It's the same as other Logan lathes of that size, but lacks a tailstock, thread dial, QC gearbox, and compound. In fact, the cross slide isn't set up for a compound, but is slotted instead. And comes with a tailstock turret and production cross slide. So the same, but way different. I suspect yours is a similar set-up, an engine lathe fitted with turret lathe cross slide and turret instead of a tailstock and typical apron.
 
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