Turning small radii

[denton]

I'm a newbie and am looking for plans for a ball turning tool holder to use on my Myford Lathe. I've looked on line but with no luck. I'm attempting to make pucks for some shuffleboard games I've made. The pucks would be 2.125" dia x .625 thick. The edges are finished with about a 5/16" radius.
Denton

 

[marlow3a]

Hi Denton,

this might help:
http://www.haythornthwaite.com/Ball Turning.htm
http://www.bedair.org/Ball/ball.html
http://www.toolsandmods.com/docs/ralph_patterson_ball_turning_tool.pdf
The last link has full drawings.
There are quite a few other designs out there. Just google ball turning tool. Or check some of the yahoo groups on lathes and tooling.
Happy turning
Honore

 

[marlow3a]

And two other links:
http://homepage3.nifty.com/amigos/radius_cutting_attachment/radius_cutting_tool-e.htm
And in Popular Science, March 1960, look at page 165 ff. (includes plans):
http://books.google.de/books?id=wCo...sc=y#v=onepage&q=Popular Science 1960&f=false
Regards
Honore

 

[Tony Wells]

You're going to have a tough time holding that, being that it is full radius. You could run a parting tool in far enough to make the "left hand" radius, then part if off slightly long and then flip it around and face it to blend. I'd slab the radii on it with left and right tools rather than build a ball turner just for that. But if you want a ball turner, why not?

 

[denton]

Thanks Honore great sites, have to get busy on it.

 

[marlow3a]

My pleasure.
Be aware, that if you want to turn the radius on both sides in one setting, you need the tool offsetted, like in the top picture on the haythornthwaite site. Otherwise the handle of the ball turning tool will run into the chuck.
Alternatively, you could face and radius one side, then part off and use glue or double sided tape to fix the part to the remains of the blank. Center it using the independent four jaw chuck. Face and radius it. Take light cuts.
Have fun!
Honore