Tailstock turret

[Philip RoweParticipant @philiprowe13116]

I've decided that after 30 odd years of sitting under the bench it is high time I made the Sparery design of tailstock turret kit that I have. The drawing shows six stations but to my mind this looks rather crowded, thinking about how I'm likely to use it, perhaps station 1 centre drill, 2 pilot drill, 3 full size drill, 4 tap, 5 spare. I can't think of a situation where I would want 6 stations so at the moment I'm thinking of making it with only 5 but I would appreciate the wisdom and practical experience of any users of such a device. I see that the commercial offerings from ME suppliers seem to all have 6 stations so maybe I'm worrying unnecessarily but I would still like to hear the thoughts and observations from the members here. Thanks, Phil

[Philip RoweParticipant @philiprowe13116]

Opinions on number of stations

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

5 stations would fit better in a smaller lathe such as a Myford.

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

I found a picture of it on AJ Reeves' site. It looks like only one part of it would need to change whether it had five or six stations. So perhaps keep your options open and buy two pieces of steel and make one of each number. While you are set up to make one, it is quicker to duplicate most of it than to start afresh if you only make one and it turns out to be the wrong one. If you use a 30-something when doing the dividing, it will cater for both.

[Roger BestParticipant @rogerbest89007]

If you have just 5 then you will need six within a month.

There is a law about these things.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I would be tempted to make it with six stations, but only populate three whenever feasible.

Reason: It lessens the risk of injury to the back of one’s hand

MichaelG.

[egaParticipant @ega]

I have an Atlas six-station turret on my Willson slantbed:

Its value for repetitive operations is obvious, also that careful working is needed to avoid fouling the rear tool post, which was a later addition. I have to say I very much prefer the individual Radford QC tooling I have on my Myford's tailstock.

The plain mandrel in the photo is used with a Vertex tapping chuck and shop-made die holder.

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

Some time ago I made a 5 station turret for use on my mini lathe. I'm sure that the Sparey design is excellent, but I was worried about all those sharp things ripping my flesh. So I copied a Schaublin TT and made the inserted tools parallel with the tailstock. The overall diameter is a bit over 62mm, the toolholders are ER11 collet chucks, as they are smaller than Jacobs type chucks. The ER11 chucks were sourced from CTC reasonably priced and I already use the collets elsewhere. Have a look in my albums…………..it works quite well

cheers

Bill

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

As you say it can get a bit crowded with 6 but there will come a day when you wish you had them,until then leave a gap between tools.

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

I've got one of the Arc ones.

Because I run front and rear tool posts, I've never ran more than 3 tools (centre, drill and tap).

I bought the turret for one job I was doing, making 300 threaded bushes, totally transformed the job from nightmare, to a walk in the park!

Good luck!

Jim

[egaParticipant @ega]

Bill Pudney:

I looked at your turret album. Your solution seems excellent for small diameter work, particularly if it could be combined with a five-way adjustable stop arrangement.

Might you post a photo of the turret in action?

Edited By ega on 02/02/2021 11:20:08

[Philip RoweParticipant @philiprowe13116]

Many thanks for all the advice, it would seem that my original thoughts were justified. However as it has been pointed out if I don't go for six stations at some point l will inevitably wish I had. So at the moment my plan is to machine the casting to accommodate 6 but when I'm using it just populate with as many holders as I need. It's funny but every time I do a drilling and tapping operation in the lathe which is a minimum of three steps, centre drill, drill, tap I curse the fact that I've had this unmade kit under the bench for so long.

Phil

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

Posted by ega on 02/02/2021 11:19:48:

I looked at your turret album. Your solution seems excellent for small diameter work, particularly if it could be combined with a five-way adjustable stop arrangement.

May I suggest an enhancement?

Right now, the length, design and position of the indexing plunger means the eccentric part of the turret has to be at the top or at the operator side of the tailstock.

If the plunger were rethought or relocated, the eccentric bit could be positioned towards the rear of the lathe, minimising potential for laceration.

Potentially, it could go perpendicular to its current axis. If it had a 45 degree end on it, pressing on a ball, the locking force can be made to turn the corner.

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

ega wrote "I looked at your turret album. Your solution seems excellent for small diameter work, particularly if it could be combined with a five-way adjustable stop arrangement.

Might you post a photo of the turret in action?"

Thank you, it was intended for small stuff. Yes an adjustable stop set up is probably the next thing on the list. "Action" photos are a bit unlikely at the moment, but when I can get into the shed for some mess making activities I will try and take some!

 

DC31k wrote "May I suggest an enhancement?

Right now, the length, design and position of the indexing plunger means the eccentric part of the turret has to be at the top or at the operator side of the tailstock.

If the plunger were rethought or relocated, the eccentric bit could be positioned towards the rear of the lathe, minimising potential for laceration.

Potentially, it could go perpendicular to its current axis. If it had a 45 degree end on it, pressing on a ball, the locking force can be made to turn the corner."

Not to sure I am completely with you, however….As it stands the plunger/detent plunger is about the simplest arrangement. It does work, it is slightly awkward to use, it is very positive.  I haven't left any bits of flesh or sprayed any claret over the lathe.  Changing the detent plunger to being perpendicular to it's current position, would entail remaking several parts for an undoubted improvement in function. The increase in complexity of the revised parts might be a bit offputting. Certainly, if I was starting the project again, and knowing what I now know, revisions to the detent pin arrangement would be investigated. Thanks for the interest!!

cheers

Bill

Edited By Bill Pudney on 02/02/2021 20:37:49

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Is there room for 8 positions, but leaving alternate ones unused for general use?

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