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Micro Lathe Accessories


WeekendMiniaturist

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What are your favorite micro lathe accessories?  I have a taig lathe that includes the WW Collets, Drawbar and closing Arbor. I have tapped my Taig lathe bed and purchased the Unimat 3 tool rest - lathe is ready to rock 'n' roll out stair spindles if life cooperates.

I am at the beginning of my next 100 hours of bonding with this piece of equipment - so forum folks, what are your favorite micro lathe accessories?

Tonight I am wondering if I should purchase the Taig Part 1225 milling vice that can be attached to Taig Part 1220 Milling accessory.

http://www.taigtools.com/c1225.html

After collets and 3 and/or 4 jaw chucks - which I DO UNDERSTAND their function and necessity....what are your favorite accessories that I should add to my list?

If you use the milling vice what have you used it for?

Thanks, Tamra

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Tamra,

When I'm repairing a tiny metal bolt, one of my favorite bits of tooling to get to use is named a "lantern chuck" that I made for my Emcomat 8.4 lathe.  If you type in "watchmaker lantern chuck" on google images, you'll see examples, but here is an illustration I found on Google... look to the far right, see the bolt threads? As you turn the lantern chuck down along it's arbor, it will cause the arbor to tighten up against the bolt head (this example being a bolt with a slotted head), then you can work on repairing any damaged threads.  My version is a bit bigger, and the threads turn out so much better than when I used to hand file them before I made the chuck.

berg-2003a.gif

Another favorite bit of tooling I like to use is a t-slotted faceplate... this isn't my image, but a quick example I found on Google images of a small t-slotted faceplate holding some work.  The faceplate gets mounted like a 3 or 4 jaw chuck in the lathe, and it allows countless set ups when a regular chuck can't hold the part accurately or securely.  Every time I get to use this on a custom operation, it's just cool.

FP1.jpg

I've been super busy with work, sorry I haven't been online in a couple of weeks!

- Jason

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Thanks Jason for adding to the conversation.  hmmm lantern chuck - this topic had recently come up in the unimat forum too, and I am looking forward to learning more.  I had ordered some micro lathe books and am hoping to absorb some knowledge from those books.    I can't imagine filing threads by hand - (shudder) as I'm sure my results would not be accurate... but using a tap & die successfully is still pretty high on my 'fun' list.

T Slotted faceplate also looks very useful -

I really like using the machine vice to hold my pieces of metal to my saw rest - so I know I will be adding a machine vise to the acquisition list soon.

I am guessing that all our forum members would agree we all need lots of tools!

I do hope you will continue to post as time permits, and glad that your customers are making sure you are busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 10 months later...

     I made some goodies for my Taig.  I made a simple holder that adapts a (cheap) dial indicator to measure travel on the Z-axis.  This is the most useful thing *ever*.  I just don't know how I ever lived without one!  The holder mounts in the T-slot on the headstock using a T-slot plate.  I made a square metal back that replaces the round back of the dial indicator.  That new indicator back bolts onto the holder.  This works fine with collets, but the dial indicator doesn't reach the cross slide when I use a chuck.  So ....  I tapped the bottom of the cross slide and made a little sliding block for the dial indicator to touch off against.  (In the photos, you can also see the tool post I made for 1/8" bits).  

     I used a full-sized Bridgeport mill to make these, but it could easily be made on any micro-mill (Taig, Sherline, Proxxon).  

     Since I appropriated the T-slot, I can't put a travel stop bar in there, so I also made a dovetail block that clamps onto the ways to use as a travel stop.  (The Lee Valley wood turning tool rest has a similar dovetail block, so I can clamp one on each side of the cross slide if I choose to.)

dial_indicator_mount_800px.jpg

IMG_5941_sliding block_800px.jpg

dovetail_5863.jpg

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MM, congrats on the new Taig modifications.  The dial indicator seems like it would be much easier then the cross slide dial.  Think of all the taig users in the world... you could sell this! 

 

 

 

 

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Nice upgrades!

Those Taigs are a great value for what they are capable of doing.

Jason

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