Author Topic: Making Simple QC Tool Holders  (Read 50610 times)

Offline vtsteam

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Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« on: April 08, 2013, 06:08:08 PM »
Davo J got me inspired to make more tool holders. Mine aren't very sophisticated compared to his fine examples, and making 7 is not quite as ambitious as his 48, but he said to put up photos as I make them, so here goes.

So far, only blocks cut out.

« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 11:07:27 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline black85vette

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2013, 11:45:10 AM »
What material are you using?   Looks like an Atlas 12" lathe.

Offline Pete.

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2013, 12:29:05 PM »
If I made a QC toolholder, that's the style I'd make too. Drummond M style!

Offline sparky961

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2013, 12:32:01 PM »
How are these indexed when you swap them out?  Is there a stop for the height and angle somewhere?

Offline Pete.

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2013, 12:43:55 PM »
A jack-bolt stops the height, angle is done by eye :)

Offline NeoTech

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2013, 02:45:25 PM »
This gotta be the simplest form of QC ive seen.. and still so damn effective..
Machinery: Optimum D320x920, Optimum BF20L, Aciera F3. -- I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. http://www.roughedge.se/blogg/

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2013, 06:24:05 PM »
Black85vette, I'm using just a piece of 1" x 2" hot rolled bar cut into 2-1/2" lengths.

And yup, that's a 12" Sears (Atlas mfg.) lathe. I don't have a QC gearbox like you do, but have the regular change gears (missing the 48 tooth, which I might just make myself).

Sparky96, Pete is right there is a screw that bears against the carriage top to set the height.

NeoTech, I'm looking forward to having more toolholders -- I only have 1 for this lathe -- which kind of defeats the "quick change" idea. I could have used a couple of them today, working on the others!

« Last Edit: April 09, 2013, 07:15:25 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2013, 07:33:27 PM »



Here is the my one QC tool holder about to face the end of a new one. I used the 4 jaw, and didn't set the block all the way in against the chuck face, since the back of the block isn't faced yet. The jaws alone are positioning the block.

To place subsequent blocks, I opened jaws 1 and 4 to release a finished piece and replace it with a new blank.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 11:08:52 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2013, 07:36:04 PM »



Here are the new 7 blocks with the first machined face on each. I checked them all with a machinist square after facing to make sure they hadn't been misaligned in the 4 jaw.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 11:09:17 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline black85vette

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2013, 08:07:34 PM »
missing the 48 tooth, which I might just make myself

Check ebay.  There are lots of Atlas lathes that have been parted out.   You can find about anything.

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2013, 08:20:24 PM »
After facing one end I decided to face the opposite end to dimension the block. The finished toolholders are 2-1/2" long.

I don't have have a carriage stop (one more project for another day). So I decided to just place a clock indicator on the magnetic base at the end of the carriage travel.





To load, this time I placed the blocks with their newly faced ends against the 4 jaw chuck face and lightly tightened jaws 1 and 4. I then tapped the block in with a soft face deadblow hammer to make sure it was seated. And then did final tightening.

I took a test cut, removed the blank and measured it with calipers to get the total amount that I needed to take off. I then reset the indicator so that it would read zero when I reached the finished dimension.

I replaced the blank and turned it down to within 10 thou of finished dimension and took it out again just to check the setup. A slight adjustment of the indicator and I replaced the blank and faced it to 3 thou over.

Unfortunately, without more QTC tool posts I couldn't do a finish cut on this face with a different lathe tool without wrecking my set-up. For the second sizing face I was using a more aggressive tool grind than on the first face and that left a rougher finish. I had to take up to 1/8" off, and with an interrupted cut, a finish bit would have been slow going.As it was I was getting about 20 thou cuts at best without chatter. I left the 3 thou over so I could finish up later.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 11:09:49 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2013, 08:27:54 PM »


I managed to face 5 of the blanks before it was supper time. The two others will have to wait until tomorrow. About 2 hours work total -- which is pretty good for me. I still have to spend half my time figuring out how I'm going to do something. And this lathe is not as well equipped as my Gingery lathe. But it's coming along.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 11:11:03 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2013, 08:30:53 PM »
missing the 48 tooth, which I might just make myself

Check ebay.  There are lots of Atlas lathes that have been parted out.   You can find about anything.

Thanks black85vette -- I have been checking ebay last few weeks. Seems like every number of teeth comes up but 48.  :coffee:
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg


Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #14 on: April 09, 2013, 11:12:12 PM »
Thanks! black85vette  :mmr:
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Davo J

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #15 on: April 09, 2013, 11:40:03 PM »
I am not sure how I missed this thread, but subscribed now. I am enjoying this venture of yours, great pictures as well, look forward to seeing the rest.

In the first op, do you face from inside out? I do it the other way.

Dave

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #16 on: April 10, 2013, 08:41:49 AM »
Davo, thanks for getting me going on this project!   :nrocks:

I faced outwards this cut because there was a hoogie on the near edge of the blocks, this end, that the band saw left behind. Figured I'd sneak up on it!
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Pete.

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #17 on: April 10, 2013, 10:26:04 AM »
Another great thing of those tool holders is that with a bit of planning/small design change you could machine both sides, use two jack-bolts opposite each other and get two for the price of one by flipping them over! All you'd have to do is make sure the thread of the jack-bolts sticks out more than the head.

Offline Davo J

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #18 on: April 10, 2013, 05:35:09 PM »
Good idea Pete.
Another good idea is what John Hill did. He slotted his tool holder just big enough to fit a piece of HSS but at an angle. This way it gave the HSS back rake built into the holder.

Dave

Offline RussellT

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #19 on: April 10, 2013, 07:27:06 PM »
Hi Pete

I don't quite see how that would work.  Where would you put the bolt to clamp it to the round post?

I have some similar tool holders and I can make them so you can flip them over to use either end of a boring bar.  I've also made some cut at an angle so I have more clearance for the tailstock.

Russell
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Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #20 on: April 10, 2013, 08:38:48 PM »
I made mine several years ago and couldn't remember where I'd found the plan for them. I thought it might be an old issue of ME, but I have so many of those scattered in different boxes that I figured it would take forever to look through and find again. So I was planning to just copy the one I have.

Thinking about the possibility of cutters at both ends of the slot, but without having two jack screws or flipping the tool holder, I remembered another old series of articles in ME about a kind of sub-tool holder. this was a small block that held a lathe tool at an angle, and itself was placed in a larger tool holder, but square t that one. You set the tool at a consistent height inside the smaller toolholder block -- at least that's how I remember it. Then it was always at the correct height in the larger.

I tried to do a search for that ME issue reference, and failed, but accidentally turned up the plan to my own tool holder. Great! Now I don't have to reverse engineer something I made myself!

Here is the link -- the original article and design was by L.C. Mason in Jan 2, 1970 ME.

http://steammachine.com/hercus/page6.html

I see I did an even simpler (cruder) version of it without any of the nice reliefs -- but back then I didn't own a mill.


Now if anybody knows what issue the other unusual tool holders articles were in, I'd greatly appreciate re-reading them. I'm sure I have the mags -- just don't recall what the tool holders were called or the author's name, so I can't locate the issue.
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #21 on: April 10, 2013, 09:17:45 PM »


Faced 4 sides on 4 of the blocks and 6 sides on 3 of them by supper time.

Slow going here, mainly because of the mill scale. It dulls the HSS pretty quickly, and it takes 3 cuts for each side face.  I honed the tool in the toolholder for the last cut on each face.

I used a carbide tool on the broad face to cut through the scale. Not a great finish, but at least it went a little faster.

I now remember that before starting on the first toolholder I made a few years ago, I soaked the blank overnight in a jar of vinegar and salt, and the scale was mostly gone by morning. Probably should have done that again.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2017, 11:11:34 PM by vtsteam »
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #22 on: April 10, 2013, 09:38:41 PM »
Speaking of removing mill scale with vinegar and salt, I was just kinda wondering if the washing soda-electolysis method of removing rust and paint that I saw elsewhere on this forum would remove mill scale? Might have to try that.
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline black85vette

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #23 on: April 10, 2013, 09:57:08 PM »

I don't have have a carriage stop (one more project for another day).


I bought 2 of these.  Because our ways are flat they clamp on to the edge very nicely;

http://www.shars.com/products/view/270/Quick_Clamp_Vise_Stop

I looked at the link you included.  I like the round base that the height adjustment rides on.   Wish I had seen this before I bought my QCTP.   Would have suited me just fine.   I really like simple and functional (and cheap)

Offline philf

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Re: Making Simple QC Tool Holders
« Reply #24 on: April 11, 2013, 03:49:44 AM »
[I now remember that before starting on the first toolholder I made a few years ago, I soaked the blank overnight in a jar of vinegar and salt, and the scale was mostly gone by morning. Probably should have done that again.

In the UK you can buy 'brick cleaner' from hardware shops which is dilute Hydrochloric Acid. I've used it further diluted (50%) and it shifts mill scale in 15 minutes as opposed to the hours it takes with vinegar. The scale just rinses off under the tap.

Phil.
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