Well ok, drawbaring I suppose (Yer it's a word!?

)
I just got this new mill you see, and well it's got a stupid drawbar with this odd 3/8 16tpi thread on the end of it!
Well, I'm certainly not going to but all my MT3 tooling again! it's all in M12x1.75 thread.
So I figured I'm make a drawbar.... Shouldn't be too hard? Unless you have nothing suitable to make it from!
So, I thought up a plan.... This might not work, so in a day or so this post will revert to making a new drawbar after all? But this is what I did instead....
There was an odd drawbar in the bits I got, far too long for this mill, it almost came out the bottom of the spindle. It probably fits something but.... Needs must! (I can always replace it!?)

I cut it's thread off and made a new one to M8x1.25

Then made a M12x1.75 thread on a bright mild steel bar (better quality than the drawbar too!)

I drilled and tapped it M8x1.25 and made an 8.5mm relief in it.

Then altered the drawbar to fit the thread and relief I had made.

And finally, threadlocked the one onto the other, held the blank in the vice and tightened using it's own hex. cut it off and trimmed/finished off the new thread.


And I've still got the original drawbar that came with it that fits the drill chuck that was in it too
Now I'm just leaving it to set while I tell you guys about it
Tell you if it works tomorrow!
Ralph.