Hybrid_From_Hell Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Right, this could be an intersting thread I have a Boxford Lathe, nothing special, nothing big and for YEARS it has annoyed me that some things were just 'too big' for it, b...ear in mind I have no Lathe training or knowledge at all, just what I have picked up. For some months I have been thinking about a "Bigger" lathe, but size and space is an issue, and the Boxford is a nice small compact single phase unit that I actually like,.......... just wish It was more powerfull .........bigger A chance discussion with a Prof Enginner set my thoughts going He said - "Up the Motor Power" and Up the Chuck size" "It will transform it" So I did .....and he was 101% right The 1/3 HP motor is now 3/4HP and the 3" chuck now a 6" chuck WHAT a differnce Without his input I would have changed the entire lathe to get a bigger F chuck ! Also he said the 'buy a roller taper Tailstock Chuck Mount' and shove the old 3" chuck on that as a 'steady', I have steadys but frankly have found they get in the way 99% of the time The lathe has been transformed, so it made me start thinking So, who else has things they have bought, modified know about / how to make a small lathe a better bit of kit ?, stuff I didn't know existed is here x 2 what else is there maybe ?? Post away..... I am now focused on what else I might like that I didn't know was out there ? Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Serenity Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I saw the title of this thread and immediately assumed Nige had lost a finger. Or an arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 I resemble resent that comment Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 A quick change tool post will also give you another 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 A worthwhile mod indeed. Those Boxfords are very good tools. So, having tripled motor HP, have you had any problems with the drive belt slipping? My Dad has a Boxford AUD, same as yours, and that has trouble with slip when taking an even slightly large cut, or drilling large holes. I assume you still have a single vee belt driving it. I'm not sure what HP the motor is in Dad's machine, just a single phase one we had lying around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 So, having tripled motor HP, have you had any problems with the drive belt slipping? My Dad has a Boxford AUD, same as yours, and that has trouble with slip when taking an even slightly large cut, or drilling large holes. I assume you still have a single vee belt driving it. that won't be a problem - he can make some new pulleys now...... I saw the title of this thread and immediately assumed Nige had lost a finger. Or an arm makes two of us........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I have a quick change toolpost on my Myford, and sometimes I miss the indexable 4 way (as nige has) so I wouldn't be too quick to get rid. On the other hand, a rear mounted toolpost with a parting tool (mounted upside down) is by far the best way to part off on a smaller lathe.... Got to admit I have a 1HP 3ph motor with running off an inverter on mine, so power is rarely an issue. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superpants Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Not got round to sorting it out for mine yet, but my dad had a cross drilling attachment (he built) that replaced the toolpost- This got used a suprising amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 A quick change tool post will also give you another 100% I have seen these, but am genuinely unsure what advantages they give over the 4 way rotating toolpost that I have on there now, I can set the cutter N W E S or halfway between, and then lock it up, what is then the advantage of a quick change post ? Genuinely asking ?? On the other hand, a rear mounted toolpost with a parting tool (mounted upside down) is by far the best way to part off on a smaller lathe. Erm nope lost on this trick - explaination /pics would be good ? Not got round to sorting it out for mine yet, but my dad had a cross drilling attachment (he built) that replaced the toolpost- This got used a suprising amount. ?? please explain some more / and or pics. I feel my wallet is going hide any second ..... Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Nige, QC tool post gives you the opportunity to have more than 4 tools setup, on centre height, and ready to go. whereas the indexable post you have only allows a maximum of 4 tools. When I had my indexable tool post, I also found that having a lefthand tool mounted for facing stopped another rh tool being mounted for turning work, so effectively only had 3 tools available. The QC posts usually allow the holders to be mounted in one of two orientations to cope with turning and facing operations. The holders also allow for quicker centre height adjustment, without the need for shims etc. They are however, not quite as stiff as the Indexable tool post. Rear mounted tool post: having a tool post at the back of the cross slide allows you add another tool holding capability to the lathe: The tool is mounted upside down, as the work is now travelling in the opposite direction to if you were working on the normal tool post. I use this on my myford for parting off as the tool mounted like this is far stiffer that that mounted on the top slide. Also when parting (or turning) the forces involved when working normally are trying to force the work, and therefore the spindle upwards. The only thing resisting this force is the bearing caps on the spindle. However, with the tool post on the rear, working the other way up, the forces are now attempting to push the work down into the body of the lathe, rather than up. There is an awful lot more lathe underneath the spindle than above it, so to my mind this is a better setup... As ever Nige, you are welcome to come up and have a look... hth Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I have seen these, but am genuinely unsure what advantages they give over the 4 way rotating toolpost that I have on there now, I can set the cutter N W E S or halfway between, and then lock it up, what is then the advantage of a quick change post ? Genuinely asking ?? Assuming you have enough tool holders, more than 4 tools set ready to go. Applies much more with boring bars where tip heights are critical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Rear tool post http://www.hemingwaykits.com/acatalog/Rear_Tool_Post.html the idea being that parting off is done a lot so you can leave the parting tool set up (as well as whatever other tool you are using). Quick change tool posts are good for getting centre height set but good quality ones are expensive, I had a cheaper one and managed to break the retaining t bolt shaped bits, the fitting also had a tendency to work loose hence the over tightening and breaking of the other bits. I'm now back using the same holder as you Nigel and tbh I'm quite happy with it. I think the cross drilling attachment is a block with V grooves in it at the centre height of the lathe that can be used to hold round bar/bolts etc and by mounting the drill in the lathe chuck allows you to drill exactly accross the bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 .... as ever I discover I am far too slow at typing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yalan Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I think the cross drilling attachment is a block with V grooves in it at the centre height of the lathe that can be used to hold round bar/bolts etc and by mounting the drill in the lathe chuck allows you to drill exactly accross the bar. I like the look of that - surely with that attachment you can also put a milling cutter in the chuck and use it to fishmouth tubes at various angles..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Hancock Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Rear tool post for parting tool was std fitment on the Ward capstan and turret lathes at GEC when i was there, the cutting action of the rear tool post is such that the forces lift the cut off as things flex which prevents dig in's and snapped tools against the front tool post which the forces drive the tool tip further into the job as the job tries to climb over the tool with the result of snapped tools. I just wish the cross slide on my 16" Southbend was long enough to enable the fitment of one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_d Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Will a rear tool post resolve the chatter problem I have when parting off or is it just something I'm doing wrong? Steve Myford Super 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Steve, I find the rear tool post is very much stiffer than the topslide mounted front tool post, so does indeed stop a lot of the chatter. Parting on the myford is fun generally as it is not the stiffest of machines... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Plus, you wont have that swarf heading for your face, read this carefull Nigel Daan, No lathe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Find the lathe that you think is big enough for anything you think you would need it for. Then go and buy one that is at least twice as big! Ask me how I know........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Hancock Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Will a rear tool post resolve the chatter problem I have when parting off or is it just something I'm doing wrong? Steve Myford Super 7 It should solve the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 If you want to machine things accurately, then a 4 jaw chuck is a must. They can be a fiddle to get set up correctly when you haven't used them before, but you get used to it very rapidly. I'll add to that a variable frequency drive for the motor would be fun to play with. You could of course convert it to a full blown CNC machine....but I know how you are with electrics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 That leads nicely to my post.... I bought an inexpensive 1980's CNC lathe about the size of a Colchester / Boxford. I think, because it was CNC it actually made it cheaper and mechanically it was perfect with very low hours, ball screws, hardened bed and an ultra precision chuck. Unfortunately, the CNC controller was from the same era as ZXSpectrums and was fairly useless. I converted it to run a piece of free software called Mach3 which is a state of the art controller running on a PC. It talks to my CAD software via the CAM app and a post-processor written for Mach3. It has built in macros for most of what you would ever want to do on a lathe (facing, boring, parting, slotting tapers and spherical cutting) which I use for quick jobs - much like a manual Lathe - except, you can chain them together to make a complete part then run it multiple times to make loads of them. The software is very easy to expand and adapt to any machine - and it means you can expand the capabilities of the machine too. I'm building an automatic tool-change for it at the moment. I'll have to write a simple macro to execute it so when I type in T01 it will move the changer to a safe distance and change to tool 1 - but it's not rocket science and there are loads of ready written macros if you build hardware to an existing design. I built a simple bar-feed system with a macro to drive it in combination with a pneumatically driven power-chuck. I was so impressed with Mach3 that I also converted my Bridgeport Interact CNC mill to run it. It has dramatically increased it's capabilities and usability. It has built in macros for things like circular & rectangular pockets, circular bolt patterns and even 3D scanning an object using a 3D touch probe I designed & built. When I sold my Myford Super7 (on here) several people thought I'd regret it - but I have not, for one second! The lathe is far easier and quicker to use and for the boring (no pun intended) jobs, instead of having to stand for hours turning the handles, I can set it off and go drink coffee and see what junk I can buy on eBay instead! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Will a rear tool post resolve the chatter problem I have when parting off. It means that the cross-slide is not properly adjusted and there is too much play on the slides. There is a row of grub screws along the sides of the X & Z slides - try tightening them up a tiny bit, making sure it is still free to move. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_d Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 It means that the cross-slide is not properly adjusted and there is too much play on the slides. There is a row of grub screws along the sides of the X & Z slides - try tightening them up a tiny bit, making sure it is still free to move. Si "the cross-slide is not properly adjusted" that's worrying I bought it off you. I did go over it when I first got it and stripped/cleaned all the slides. It is a valid point though that I have not been back and adjusted them again after a period of use so they may have bedded in after reassembly. Loving the lathe just wish I could remember all the things they tried to teach me during my apprenticeship. In my defence (a)It was a long time ago. (b) I moved straight to the drawing office after my time and didn't get the real world workshop experience. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) Like any mechanical thing, it needs love and adjustment over time. The reason the slides are adjustable is because they need adjusting over time. I tended to run it fairly loose (which reduces wear) but would tighten the slides for screw cutting and parting. Si Edited June 14, 2011 by Hybrid_From_Hell Edited by Moi with smilies for the real effect and more accuate meaning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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