Micromatic Odee-Hone

have a Micromatic Odee-Hone from an auction lot i internal hone engine cylinders for Karts and bikes but have never seen one like this i assume its an external hone for shafts? is it hand held while the material turns in a lathe? has anyone used one at all.

Bob

A nice tool and quite handy for honing rods,pistons Etc It shows no sign of a mounting so I would take it is hand held, I have used the interior ones to hone bores using paraffin as the lube and to wash debris away. Interesting ! Noel.

I use the Sunnen and Delapens internal mandrils all the time but i have never seen anything like this.

Bob

Bruce Engineering do a couple of external hone kits (now sold by Polly Engineering) of a single stone + vee block design - current catalogue shows the 1" capacity kit at £20.50 & the 2" at £30.50. Kits include castings, bar stock & stones, but you need to look in the downloadable .pdf catalogue to see them as the Polly website isn't great for descriptions or pictures.

Similar function devices appear to be available from Sunnen.

Nigel B.

I would be cautious about using it hand held on the lathe as it is. The Sunnen equivalents usually have a torque arm on them that engages with a guide bar on the honing machine to prevent it spinning around if it grabs on to the rotating job. I reckon you would want to have it at least rested against the carriage or a block of wood on the lathe bed etc to prevent it spinning if it grabs.

It may have originally fitted into a honing machine that had a carriage and holder and moved along the job a bit like a travelling steady on a lathe. Seems to be a few of the pictured unit for sale on the net, but no detail of how they were originally used. As Micromatic were a US manufacturer of honing machines, I would guess it was for use in one of those rather for general use in a lathe. But possibly not.

Edited By Hopper on 10/06/2022 09:33:55

I notice Bob's example is marked something Shipman and MADE IN ENGLAND on the arm. My guess is the tool was popular enough to be made under licence in the UK by Jones & Shipman.

No idea how it was used; doesn't look to be either handheld or a fitment.

Another guess is the name Odee comes from the abbreviation for Outside Diameter.

Dave

Sorry for late reply so busy at work but thanks guys all interesting reading.

Bob

+1 for Hopper's advice not to hand hold, in case it grabs

It really needs some means of preventing it from rotating in use.

Howard

As there's no obvious way of holding it perhaps the device sits balanced on the work like a saddle while the job spins freely under it. Perhaps the weight provides the right amount of force - it's a hone, not intended to remove lots of metal.

Dave

I have used the sunnen external hones. I used them hand held and had the carriage well clear of the work piece. I use light pressure and oil at the same time. Of you use too much pressure, yes it will grab. But you will know when it's going to grab by the resistance you are feeling. The sunnen ones have another piece that puts a little bit of pressure/preload on as it being used. Like bore honing, their is a definite skill or technique to be able to get the best out of them, despite the sunnen flyers saying that you can used unskilled labour to make round holes or round shafts. With care you can get down to microns of roundness or even better. You can feel the out of round condition, and there is a large stone selection, for different types of materials being honed.

I suspect that tapered hole in the right-side element, as shown in your pic, is there for some means of supporting the tool while in operation?

Contacting Hardinge may be a worthwhile check?

They do say, quote:

Today, we continue to service our Jones & Shipman legacy products worldwide.

:unquote.

Edited By not done it yet on 03/07/2022 07:06:35

If one of the arms was extended and a rest like a wood working lathe was was fitted to the toolpost, it would be relatively safe to use in a lathe at low speeds, say 200 rpm or less. As long as it was kept away from the chuck, that is.