As I stated in my introductory post I wanted to explore the possibility of using my X-2 mill to turn ball knobs. This thread is a report on my findings.
The first thing I did was make a ball turner similar to the ones found on this forum. I then mounted it on a piece of heavy, 1/2", angle iron that I had on hand. What I have now I consider a prototype. It works well with wood, which I intended it for, but is prone to chatter badly with brass or aluminum. Here is what it looks like:
I found out after I had completed assembling the turner that some changes had to be made. First there was on room to operate a control lever that was in the conventional location. The control point had to be moved to the base of the main body. Since I was stuck with the short spigot I drilled and tapped the retaining nut and put in a soft pointed, long, grub screw. I was able to slip a piece of brass tube over the grub and it operated the turner smoothly. A bonus feature is that your hand is safely away from the spinning parts.
Now I will try to explain my how I completed the project. I started with a piece of 1 1/4" dowel rod 3 1/2" long in my lathe.
I turned 2 1/4" of it down to fit in a 3/4" R-8 collet.
After that was done I went to the mill to see if my idea really worked.
It DID!!
I took the blank back to the lathe for sanding and drilling the hole to make it into a knob. I did not make pictures of that operation but this is where it ended up. The contraption it is on is a tool to service the mainsprings in old, and some new, 8 day, wind up clocks. These springs can be difficult to work with without special tools.
What do you think? I know the entire project could be done on a lathe but then I would not know if it could be done on a mill.
And... did I post enough pictures?
Joe
