andremajic
01-22-2011, 11:19 AM
I used an old 5C collet closer that didn't match my logan lathe's proprietary taper and decided to use it as donor metal to make my spider.
Main problem was it's made of hardened tool steel. So, down the street to the welders and after heating to red hot and cooled, it machined like soft butter.
Drilling was done on a Vee block on the drill press with a cheap set of round gauge blocks to prop the back end up and make it level. Tapping was fast and easy and I did that by hand.
It fits in the inside of the outboard spindle with a press fit. I used wd-40 to keep it from getting stuck in there permanently. A simple rap with a broomstick from the font end knocks it out.
With small barrels I can do the machining with the gearbox cover closed, but for heavy bull barrels, the screws stick out too much and would run into the cover, so I just keep it open for those.
Sorry I didn't think to take pics during machining, but I'm still pretty proud of how it turned out. Just to show how much room I have in there, this barrel O/D is .780" so there's plenty of room for larger parts thru the headstock.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24940707@N07/5378125462/
Update; Finished machining the barrel and added pics to my flickr account.
Main problem was it's made of hardened tool steel. So, down the street to the welders and after heating to red hot and cooled, it machined like soft butter.
Drilling was done on a Vee block on the drill press with a cheap set of round gauge blocks to prop the back end up and make it level. Tapping was fast and easy and I did that by hand.
It fits in the inside of the outboard spindle with a press fit. I used wd-40 to keep it from getting stuck in there permanently. A simple rap with a broomstick from the font end knocks it out.
With small barrels I can do the machining with the gearbox cover closed, but for heavy bull barrels, the screws stick out too much and would run into the cover, so I just keep it open for those.
Sorry I didn't think to take pics during machining, but I'm still pretty proud of how it turned out. Just to show how much room I have in there, this barrel O/D is .780" so there's plenty of room for larger parts thru the headstock.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24940707@N07/5378125462/
Update; Finished machining the barrel and added pics to my flickr account.