Lathe Alignment Buttons, or I always learn more from my failures than successes

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GrahamC:
Didn't make the 11 o'clock show ;(

However, I did make a choice and proceeded with the repair of these lathe alignment buttons.

I choose to bore the taper rather than rely on that made by a center drill. Reason being that if the tailstock is out of alignment then the hole will be out too.

First task was to set the compound to cut a 60 degree included angle. First photo shows how I did this using the head stock dead center as a reference and indicating off that with a DTI held in the QCTP.

Next step was to modify a 5C emergency collet to hold the alignment buttons while I bored out their taper to the proper angle. The second photo shows the 5C collet after modifications with the wee boring tool I ground up. Interesting how some of the simplest and utilitarian cutting tools work so well. This little wee boring tool I made up some years ago and all I did was touch it up with a stone and put it back to work. It certainly isn't very pretty but it does work well. The third photo shows the 5c collet with button mounted and boring tool in position (this was a staged shot).

The boring went well and easy. A couple of easy and delicate passes to clean up the incorrect taper and to put the taper on center and the fix was done.

And last but not least, the last photo shows the buttons mounted for use on the lathe fitting snugly between the head stock dead center and the tail stock dead center.

A couple of measurements shows just what I already knew - the tail stock center is about .003" high and front to back alignment (across the lathe bed) was spot on. I can see how these will come very handy for quickly aligning the tail stock after I have offset it to turn a taper, it will get it close enough for a lot of uses but not as close using a DTI.

If anyone wishes to try and make something like this, I know think that it is best to bring the taper hole on the backside to final dimensions by boring rather than relying on a center drill to produce the correct tapered hole. Start with the center drill and finish by cleaning up by boring - this will ensure concentricity and the correct angle regardless of how the center drill made the hole.

It has been an interesting little project that had a few interesting twists. Started on a whim to try something different, a bit of tooling I had only seen a brief description of and one picture. So simple in design and use that I couldn't fail.

I got to practice turning to a target diameter. Spent some time in the garage where I do "the treatment" with the doors open for lots of ventilation and enjoyed the days warmer winter weather (0 degrees C).

After having a try at making the newly finished buttons work I discovered much to my dismay that they didn't work as expected. Thinking through the problem, identifying the source of the problem and then coming up with a solution and in the end having made something that worked as it should. Got to use my tools, my hands, and my brain.

And I learned from my failure that it is still a good practice to get only good quality tooling that you can trust. I would have never known that the center drill of Asian origin was not really 60 degrees and for most work it really wouldn't have mattered. It will be good enough for starting a center for further drilling but I won't use any more for anything else.

cheers, Graham in Ottawa Canada

Rob.Wilson:
Hi Graham

Very handy tool ,yet another to add to my long list ,,thanks for sharing

Regards Rob

Darren:
Very interesting bit of knowledge you have shared with us ... :clap:

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