Lathe Tool Height

[Ian MellorsParticipant @ianmellors72388]

Looking for advice, On my Clarke CL250M with the optional compound slide my cheapie 8mm square bar lathe tools fit perfectly, bang on centre of the work. I do have however a Fohrmann RP25 train wheel flange cutter tool that is 6mm square.

How best to pack up the tool? I've searched for some 2mm steel strip to no avail. SHould I just take my feeler gauges apart and use them?

[Ian MellorsParticipant @ianmellors72388]

[john fletcher 1Participant @johnfletcher1]

Drink cans are very thin material, which can be cut into strips. using scissors. John

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

What about pieces of hacksaw blade with the set ground off?

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

John's suggestion of drinks cans is good – use them myself. However, most are aluminium these days which can be OK up to a point, but ideally get your pocket magnet out and find steel ones – much better. They are a very consistent thickness.

I have a handy small tray with strips like these, plus offcuts from jobs etc (any old bits will do – isn't critical) and you soon build a good selection that will suit all your needs.

[Ian MellorsParticipant @ianmellors72388]

Thanks all, I've been able to get by without for ages using the standard tool post which has a half moon on one post location so have been able to adjust tool height using the fixing screws. When cutting RP25 train wheel flanges a 3mm angle is needed so the compound slide is necessary, hence my issue

I'll dig around and see what I can find, but keep the suggestions coming

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Buy a pair of tin snips and start making yourself a collection of shims from various bits of sheet metal that you can scrounge from just about anywhere. Plenty of old advertising signs use a standard 1mm sheet metal, easily cutable with snips. Plenty of other thicknesses around. Tin cans, old computer cases, kids toys, old appliances, bits of car body etc etc.

Or buy a pack of steel shim material in varying thickneses and cut bits out of them to suit. (Steel shim is cheaper than brass)

Tip: Cut the corners off by a chamfer of a few mm so the shims do not slice your fingers when sticking out of the toolpost right where you are measuring with micrometers, clearing swarf etc etrc.

[Ian MellorsParticipant @ianmellors72388]

All sorted, save a 10 minutes with the hacksaw. A quick chat with the workshop at work and more 2mm steel plate than I will ever need is in my hands. I'll make sure I keep aquiring more offcuts etc for finer adjustment though

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

Steel packing case strip can be usefully recycled as shims.

It;s quite consistent both in width and tihickness

* Danny *

Edited By Danny M2Z on 18/01/2021 11:29:29

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Garden suppliers have packs of 0.5mm aluminium strips about 10 x 30 mm used for glazing clips between panes in greenhouses. They are very useful for packing lathe tools, clamps etc.

[Grenville HuntParticipant @grenvillehunt47315]

+1 for Danny's idea I have a large box full, more than adequate.

Gren.

[Ian MellorsParticipant @ianmellors72388]

You know I used to have a coil of packing case strip, was going to make a magnetizer coil using it, but threw it out years ago

[pete hammondParticipant @petehammond94283]

Ian,

Donuts- I have found a pack of donuts for the workshop crew ensures ongoing plentiful supply of offcuts- stuff they would bin normally but so valuable to us.

What do others maintain 'communications' with?

Pete- retired and wishes he had stockpiled -even more scrap!

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

I like the idea of using shims made from drinks cans. It just means I'll have to drink more beer.

[Ian MellorsParticipant @ianmellors72388]

Posted by pete hammond on 18/01/2021 11:39:19:

Ian,

Donuts- I have found a pack of donuts for the workshop crew ensures ongoing plentiful supply of offcuts- stuff they would bin normally but so valuable to us.

What do others maintain 'communications' with?

Pete- retired and wishes he had stockpiled -even more scrap!

LOL,

wouldn't work here, they are all on diets! I have a good working relationship with the workshop though, no problems relieving them of bits and bobs, I just didn't expect they would have anything that thin. we tend to deal with large agricultural machinery here

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Packing case smetal strip (aka Bandit strapping) as already mentioned. Comes in different widths and thickness from about 0.5 – 1mm and is thrown in the bin at warehouses when they unpack goods. It is a type of spring steel and useful for 100 and 1 applications. For thicker packing use flat bar or any other scrap material.

Is you have a number of different thickness tools and its always a hassle to measure and find the correct thickness packing, make a shim for each tool and loctite it to the tool and never search again.

Paul.

[VicParticipant @vic]

I use a four way tool post on my lathe but don’t often need packing. My most used tool is a Tangential Tool holder and this has height adjustment built in. You can make your own or buy them commercially:

Tool Holder

I also use carbide inserts and either trim a bit from the bottom of the tool holder to permanently put them on centre height or epoxy packing on them.

Once in a while I’ll need to use a form tool or boring bar etc. and in this case I have a selection of steel or aluminium strip in a tin next to the lathe. Some of the best stuff is the steel packing bands often used on wooden crates etc.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

I’ve used dead hacksaw blades in the past. Teeth stick out for narrow cutters, but easy enough to remove them first.

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

It is very good advice above to keep the shim with the tool so you only have to set it up once.

I think there used to be a set of shims you could buy precisely for this purpose. They would look like a square-ended,very fat set of feeler gauges. I have seen pictures of them used in a four way indexing toolpost, with the unused leaves rotated 90 degrees into one of the unused tool positions. I cannot find a picture of them but found a similar concept in wood:

Anyone recall them or remember what they were called?

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

An old 1 gallon tin or 5 gallon drum cut up will give you a life times worth of thin shim steel. But when cutting it make sure your cutting tool is very sharp and tight. Scissors will do at this thickness. YOU MUST wear gloves as at this thickness it will cut like a razor and deep. Good luck Noel.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Ian Mellors on 18/01/2021 10:54:02:

All sorted, … I'll make sure I keep aquiring more offcuts etc for finer adjustment though

Classic problem, me too!

You fill a workshop with metal munching tools and then discover a few simple shims are difficult! What's needed is a common bit of scrap you don't happen to have. It's all part of the fun…

Dave

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

+1 for Tangential Turning Tools. But you need to make a Centre Height Gauge to set them!

But for others, such as boring or screw cutting tools, biscuit tins or similar, if you can get them are 0.010" steel. Non corrugated food tins are a good source also.

Howard

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Tangential tool and/or QCTP. Use a height gauge for setting.

[derek hall 1Participant @derekhall1]

I recall many years ago during my apprenticeship scrabbling around looking for bits of shim to set my lathe tool at centre height, I thought at the time there must be a more efficient way to do this….then I discovered the Dickson quick change tool system, never going back to cutting bits of tin can!….

Regards to all

Derek

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