Which Quick Change Tool Post to buy?

[L1A1Rocker]

I've decided that my Christmas present to myself this year is a quick change tool post set for my Atlas 12x36 lathe. Three names keep coming up; Phase 2, All Industrial Tool Supply, and Little Machine Shop. They're all within about 50 bucks of one another but I'm not sure which one to get. Can any of you kind folks point me in the correct direction?

Thanks

[smokeywolf]

Haven't had experience with many different brands/types of tool posts & holders. KDK has always been a favorite. All of the Hardinge lathes I've ever operated were equipped with KDKs. I currently have a Dorian Quadra Indexable on my 17/25 x 40 engine lathe. The Dorian and Aloris posts have a great reputation, but price-wise their higher than a cat's back.

If you can afford to, try and stick with the wedge type post. They have a track record of having greater rigidity than the piston type.

smokeywolf

[nhrifle]

Most any QCTP available will be sufficient for what the average hobby owner does. I would say go for one you can afford and get as many tool holders as you can manage, as you can never have too many. I made to one I use on my 7X12 lathe, a simple design that could be adapted to any size lathe. It's just a 1-1/2" square block with a hole drilled through for the attaching stud. One side has a large T-slot milled to allow the tool holder to slide up and down and is locked in place by a bolt threaded in from the back. Easy to adjust, it added some mass for better rigidity, and was cheap since I made it from scrap that was lying around for years.

[L1A1Rocker]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I do plan on the wedge type, sorry for not including that in the OP. Yes, those brands you mention are a bit pricy for my blood. Unfortunately I've always had a champagne taste but a beer budget. I'd like good quality USA made products at a reasonable price.

What has set me off on this is the ENCO circular that I got for December. They have a Phase 2 set on sale for more the 100 dollars off regular price. An AXA wedge set is right now 185.95. That includes the post, and one each of a Style #1, #2, #4, 7, and 10.

And to complicate things further. I just read on a machinest forum someone recomending "tools4cheap". The same set from them is 125.00: http://www.tools4cheap.net/proddetail.php?prod=wedge

So many choices I'm not sure where to turn. . .

[smokeywolf]

Don't forget to check fleabay for tool posts. Sometimes a used U.S. made post is better than a new foreign made. Can't remember the KDK size codes right now, but I think you'll be wanting a #100 post. If I remember right, this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KDK-100-QUICK-CHANGE-TOOL-POST-2-HOLDERS-/141135041673?pt=BI_Tool_Work_Holding&hash=item20dc4dd489 is what I had on a 9" Hardinge 2nd operation lathe in the MGM Studio Machine shop. The company selling this one has a pretty good rep. but be sure to take the shipping charges into account.

smokeywolf

[uscra112]

I got the Little Machine Shop one, but I'm not overjoyed with it. Had to replace every single clamp screw, because the OEM ones are carp. Cut my finger on a burr on the cutoff tool holder. Had to clean and rethread the hole for the clamp screw on it, too. Seemed to be full of grinding swarf. The wedge on the post doesn't move properly so starting a holder onto the post can be frustrating. Had to disassemble the knurling tool to get chips out of the axles.

To add insult to injury, the lost adaptors for my Loris toolpost turned up about a week after I started using the LMS one. [smilie=b:

My Loris is for sale in Swappin and Sellin, btw.

[bangerjim]

Grizzly sells some different types also. Enco. Rutland-Airgas. A couple of sources.

If you can afford it Aloris is what I use on one of my lathes. Great quality. I have a Chinese one on another lathe and it holds up pretty well.

If it is for general hobby usage, anyone of them will be perrrrrrfect. If for production/porfessional work, you will what the best you can afford!

banger

[nhrifle]

One for sale in the S&S section that should work nicely for you

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?220082-Loris-100-toolpost-for-12-quot-lathe

[W.R.Buchanan]

In post #5 the KDK tools post is pictured. The outfit selling it is Reliable Tool in El Monte CA.. I have bought stuff from them in the past and they are a good solid outfit to do business with. They have a large inventory of stuff and a high turn over so they are a good outfit to watch.

I believe the #100 KDK is the smallest one and that's exactly what you need. If you keep an eye out on Reliable's website you can probably pick up the extra tool holders you need.

You need about 2-3 for turning tools, and these will house your normal turning tool and a chamfering tool. You also need a cutoff tool holder and a boring tool holder. One other one that is pretty versatile and nice to have is the one that has a 5C collet in it... It can be used with drills and boring tools as well.

You don't need to get all of them at once but it would be nice. Understand there is a lot of this stuff out there so finding what you need is not that hard. If you do searches for machine tool tooling you will find what you need.

Also you will pay literally pennies on the dollar for the stuff. This beats paying full pop for tools you couldn't wear out in three lifetimes. just get good name brands if buying used.

The vast majority of tooling I have for my lathes and mills was either bought at auction or from other shops. I have very few tools I have bought new in the last 30 years. 90% of the 5C collets I have bought were used, and you can get them for literally a buck a piece or sometimes even less. Hardinge is the name to look for and they are generally considered the best made collets out there. I bought one box load of Emergency Collets at an auction for $25 and their was over 100 collets in the box. All of them can be recut to use for new jobs and I have never bought a new one yet in the 25 years since.

My "Buck Chuck" for my Hardinge Lathes cost me $175 at that same auction and it is a nice one. They are over $900 new.

Plenty of access to used tooling that is more than good enough for the most discriminating home shop machinist. This is definately an area where second hand is better than second rate.

Randy

[smokeywolf]

I bought one box load of Emergency Collets at an auction for $25 and their was over 100 collets in the box. All of them can be recut to use for new jobs and I have never bought a new one yet in the 25 years since.

This is definately an area where second hand is better than second rate.

Randy

MMMMMM, emergency collets, I only have 6 or 8, they can be worth there weight in gold. Great score Randy. Really great on the Buck Chuck too.

I got my Dorian Quadra tool post on fleabay. It was new, I think MSRP at the time was around $1400.00. I got it on auction for $168.00. Most of the time those great scores are made in mid-day or the wee hours of the morning.

smokeywolf

[akajun]

get the phase 2 from Enco, in the axa size. If you sign up for an enco account, they will send you email discounts every month, usually in December they will run a 25% sale. The bxa was too big when I had my 12x36 atlas. The phase holders have quality screws that wont strip out or crack on you like the other imports.

[NoZombies]

I've used the phase 2 on 3 lathes and been fairly happy with them. I had one on my Leblonde 13x60 as well as the smaller lathes.

[Marvin S]

Have only used Dorian and Aloris. The Dorian is my pick.

[Jeff Michel]

Try CDCO. They offer import BXA size that would work well on a 12" lathe. They have all sorts of inexpensive tooling. For home use, it will work just fine, though you will pay a couple bucks more, opt for the wedge style.

[Frank46]

Pretty sure I have a phase 2 "B" size qctp. Mine is a jet 13x40 gearhead. Frank

[Any Cal.]

I have a little OXA size from AllIndustrialTool supply. The screws in the toolholders are soft, but I am very pleased with it for the short money. If you call, you get a real person who knows their stuff, and their shipping rates were good. I will be doing more business with them.

[cwheel]

Good tool posts and chucks are some of the most critical parts of any lathe. In a machine shop, time is money. Home use is a different animal, speed isn't as critical because in most cases, it's a hobby. I like the Aloris dove tail style, with a close second being the KDK. Aloris has a double dove tail, KDK has a single in front. KDK has a shorter profile that helps at times depending on what you are doing. I run a Aloris AXA on my 13" lathe, perfect fit, think it would still be find down to a 10". Under that, KDK would win the contest. Cost of both of these is well above what you are talking about. But consider the real cost will end up in two other areas. One is the tool holders, or slides. Issue here is how available are they and at what cost ?? Second is how much time do you want to save using this type of tool post ?? Sure you can get a cheap import that will do the same job, but how long will it last and how much aggravation is it going to cause fixing it. Answer with home use is much less than in a commercial shop. I have run these for more than 40 years on many different machines, Aloris and KDK hold up to almost anything. If I was on a tight budget for my tooling, I'd keep an eye on ebay for one of these to come up and get some slides with it if you can. Think the Cadillac of tool posts goes to Dorian, generaly more expensive than Aloris or KDK, slides are as well. Made in the good old USA is the way to go here if you can swing it.
Chris

[deltaenterprizes]

I bought the AXA from CDCO for my friends 12" Atlas and it fits well , the top slide is kind of small for a BXA