[How do I?] Turning Thin Wall "tube."

BellyUpFish

BellyUpFish

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Ok, I've got some 1.355" OD titanium tube I will eventually need to trim.

I've been using a lathe for a couple years, but haven't tackled anything like this yet..

What is the best way to chuck up the tube without deforming it? If I chuck it as it, it will deform either holding it on the outside or inside.

I've been thinking about making a spacer to the ID of the tube and then chucking it up like that.

Anyone?
 
That's a safe way to do it, and I'd add that a fairly thin sleeve be fitted to the OD to protect it.

Just how thick is it? Ti is pretty tough stuff so it may not need as much of the kid glove treatment as you're planning, Plus, part of it depends on what you are making and how nice a finish it needs to have. If the OD needs to be turned all at once, it's common to take a piece of random stock and machine a 60° angle on it and without removing it from the chuck, use it to drive the tubing as you turn. Of course, the tailstock has to have some sort of center. A bull nose center is best, but a close fitting plug with an accurate center hole that you use with a conventional ball bearing center can be used. If this is really thin, naturally you want to limit the end pressure you put on the tubing, because it will bell outward on the centers, and then spring back and be undersize when you take it out of the machine.

You say you are trimming it. You mean finishing the OAL? Then you may need to be using a steady rest if the pieces are very long. If so, be careful in the setup. If the rest is not set true with the spindle, the part will work itself outward, causing problems holding the length, unfortunately making the part shorter than you think. If this is your operation, the plug and chucking sleeve will be a great help.
 
The pieces are only 1" long. I honestly don't know the thickness of the pieces, but it's thin - less than .125 for sure.

Finish doesn't have to be nice at all. These will be serving as blast chambers in a couple F1 suppressors.

Yes, finishing OAL. I haven't sorted out my baffle stack and will need to adjust them for that, shouldn't be much. Just a kiss here and there.
 
X2....Not a fan of grabbing the id...thin material heats up quick and grows...next thing you know your part is flying across te room
 
Those work great, but for facing to length, you will end up cutting grooves in them. Those are more for turning OD's. They will keep things round and concentric. Used many, made quite a few.
 
Use a collet of the correct size and it won't deform. With collects, you don't need as much pressure to hold it because it has 360* support
 
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