QED4803 Posted March 24, 2010 Posted March 24, 2010 I recently acquired an old Craftsman Atlas bench lathe for a really good price (free). The guy who gave it to me told me that the tail stock was a no.1 Morse Taper, so I got a live center, etc. in MT1. Unfortunately, they don't fit! I'm guessing it may be MT0, though I haven't measured. Do any of the machinists among us know where I can find a reamer for a MT1, so I can use all this crap? Many thanks,Smitty
dagabu Posted March 24, 2010 Posted March 24, 2010 (edited) Here! http://www.mcmaster....reamers/=6d04l9 There is also the diameter of the shanks listed as well so you should be able to identify the taper you have. Edited March 24, 2010 by dagabu
FrankRizzo Posted March 24, 2010 Posted March 24, 2010 Good luck with the reamers. Those parts of a tail stock tend to be hardened.
Arthur Posted March 24, 2010 Posted March 24, 2010 Before you ream out a hardened taper socket think about how you are going to maintain accuracy during the operation as the tailstock is part of the turning accuracy of the whole lathe. Also be very sure that you do have a morse taper there are other tapers too. Lots of research before you spend more money!
Bonny Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 Before reaming anything you should measure and figure out what you have. If it's hardened as FrankRizzo said then don't bother messing with it. It's better to buy what you need to fit what you have than try to modify.
TheSidewinder Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 Before you do *anything*, wait for a word or two from Swede. I suspect he'll have some good info for you.
MilkyJoe Posted March 25, 2010 Posted March 25, 2010 Instead of modifying your tail stock which could cause you a lot of grief and loss of accuracy as others have pointed out, you may be able to find a suitable adapter similar to this one or have one made up (obviously suiting your tailstock). But as a first plan of attack, I would identify what taper you actually have, there should be plenty of drawings and measurements on the net! ~Milky~
QED4803 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Posted March 26, 2010 Thanks so much for all the good advice. I suspect I'll try to return and exchange what I've already accumulated to match the tail stock I have (whatever the heck it is) rather than to attempt to modify. I'm just too far down the learning curve to jump into something this risky.
Arthur Posted March 26, 2010 Posted March 26, 2010 Can you take the tailstock with you and go to your suppliers to get a set of bits. Once you get a tail pin and a live centre you will want a taper chuck and.......! Chose a supplier who will HELP! The cheapest mail order place only wants to SELL.
QED4803 Posted March 27, 2010 Author Posted March 27, 2010 Can you take the tailstock with you and go to your suppliers to get a set of bits. Once you get a tail pin and a live centre you will want a taper chuck and.......! Chose a supplier who will HELP! The cheapest mail order place only wants to SELL. Thanks again to all for the helpful advice. I did, in fact, get the live center from a local supplier who has been quite helpful. The mail order stuff I got is either still useable or so cheap as to be discarded without a tear. After measuring it does appear that I need a MT0. Thanks,Smitty
Swede Posted March 31, 2010 Posted March 31, 2010 Hi Smitty - A good supplier of decent tooling that is very inexpensive is Shars. They offer imported tooling which is fine for most of what you'll want to do. Other good tooling sources are MSC and Enco. Good luck with your lathe! You'll be able to make some nice tooling with it.
QED4803 Posted April 1, 2010 Author Posted April 1, 2010 Hi Smitty - A good supplier of decent tooling that is very inexpensive is Shars. They offer imported tooling which is fine for most of what you'll want to do. Other good tooling sources are MSC and Enco. Good luck with your lathe! You'll be able to make some nice tooling with it. Thanks, Swede. The problem I had was finding anything in MT0. Fortunately my local dealer recommended Sherline, who markets a line of micro- and mini- hobby machine tools. They have what I need for $40, and with luck my immediate problem is solved! So one of two things is about to happen: 1) I make some cool tooling, or 2) I amuse you all with my abortive attempts. Either outcome has at least some value in my mind.
gordohigh Posted April 1, 2010 Posted April 1, 2010 Go for it, looking forward to seeing some nice things before long. I have a mini lathe and a seperate mini mill and have made quite a few things, although I have seen Swede's tooling and it is very nice. I have had some things I tossed and started over on and others came out nice the first time, its really a matter of good planning and staying within the limits of your machine and ability, and staying safe! I have picked up a nice little stash of alu from 6061 dude on ebay and he combines shipping and is fast and reasonable, FWIW. Good luck!!
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