Skip to main content

Quick Change Tool Posts for Vintage Lathes

My recently acquired Logan 400 9" lathe was originally equipped with and currently uses lantern-style or rocker-style toolholders. While effective, they are a pain to work with because they can be awkward and difficult to adjust properly, and by properly, I mean that the cutting point of the tool must be at the centerline of the lathe. This is because the cutting geometry must be correct to be not only efficient, but capable of producing a good finish.



This is the toolholder (and wrench). Their is an additional long serrated piece of metal is the rocker that is used to adjust the vertical angle of the tool that holds the cutting bit. Of course, the toolpost is intended to be held in the compound slide of the lathe.

The benefit to this style of toolholder? They are usually included with vintage lathes when you buy one. The downside besides the inconvenience of adjustment? The tools themselves are about $30 each and only accommodate one size of HSS bits.

Enter the Aloris-style toolholders. They come in two basic types: piston and wedge, with the wedge being believed to be superior. There are also several different types of toolholders that attach to the QCTP (Quick Change Tool Post), depending on the cutting tool you want to use.

Several sizes are available that are scaled to be appropriate to the height of your spindle centerline above your lathe bed. The two most popular hobbyist sizes are 0XA for mini-lathes and AXA for 9-12" lathes. The BXA quick-change tool post is designed for lathes with swings from 12” to 15”.

Little Machine Shop offers a good discussion on the choices available. It also lists the swing heights appropriate for the toolpost size.

Imports version are available on eBay and Amazon and, of course, directly from Aloris. It all depends on the money you want to spend and the precision and reliability you need.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WTF is a Franzinator?

Sometimes the most useful things have the oddest names. Take the Franzinator, for instance. Named after Franz©, its curmudgeonly inventor, the Franzinator is a device used to separate moisture from compressed air. Having moisture in compressed air is not a a good thing, especially in painting where it contaminates the painted surface, or in media blasting where it causes the media to clump and not work as well. As well as causing rust in the air tanks and air tools, moisture is best removed. A number of methods have been developed from expensive refrigerated driers used to pre-condition air before it gets to the compressor, to simple mechanical separators that sit in the air line between the tanks and the air tool. Here is a tank that uses a chemical desiccant to dry the air. There are also ways to install the air lines that are intended to either cause moisture to condense or collect before it is sent to the air tool. A non-mechanical separator causes the moisture in the hotte

O-Ringing the Block and Heads for Higher Compression Engines HOWTO

I found some useful advice in this forum thread from user AK's REX. "To my understanding o-ringing the block or the head prove to be about equally effective. That said I would say it depends if you want to have receiver grooves machined. The most conventional method is to machine and o-ring the block, then machine receiver grooves opposite the o-rings in the heads. I guess it can probably be done in reverse fashion as well. As far as the receiver grooves are concerned, it not only helps in high compression and or boosted applications, but helps wet motors from losing fluid which is a common problem with copper head gaskets. It allows the o-ring to literally push the gasket into the receiver groove to provide a better seal. Speaking of copper gaskets here is a bit of info from SCE regarding this stuff; O-ring grooves may be cut in either the block or cylinder head. When using copper head gaskets thinner than .050, O-ring height should be no more than 25% of gasket thickness

Retrofit Hydroboost Brakes

Traditional power brakes have used engine vacuum to reduce the physical effort required to stop a car. Some high performance engines, because of the design of their camshafts, do not produce enough vacuum to used vacuum-powered brake power boosters. One alternative is to add a vacuum pump to the accessories driven by the engine. Another is to use the hydraulic pressure supplied by the power steering pump to power the brake booster. This device is called Hydroboost and it replaces the vacuum-operated brake booster. It provides more than twice the pressure than a vacuum diaphragm booster. There are commercial kits to use a hydraulic booster, like Vanco . They offer kits to match the car you are modifying. The most complete kits provide the Hydroboost unit, a new master brake cylinder, a power steering pump and the appropriate hoses with fittings and they are priced at around $900. You can see the parts of the kit by visiting this link . A nice step-by-step installation of the Vanco h