The Shop > Tools
My Cowells ME lathe
raynerd:
Rob
Although over the last 4 years I`ve enjoyed everything I`ve made in my workshop, clockmaking is the way I want to focus in the future.
I totally appreciate you can do small work on a large lathe, but to sit down with my optivisor on and turn small wheel arbors on my precise but small Cowells is more comfortable and enjoyable. Also, with the little ones now in the house, it means that it can also come out on the dining room table while everyone else in the house sleeps - as it currently is now!! (don`t tell the wife, she`ll kill me!)
When I was first ever looking at lathes in 2000, I use to go on the Cowells and think, "I`ll never afford one of those". This one came up at a price I was happy with and I couldn`t say no. To be honest, it is quite a dream having it! They always say a poor work man always blames his tools and that is certainly the case with me!! At least I know now I can`t blame my lathe anymore.... damn!! :lol:
hopefuldave:
Quote:
I now have a full set of gears including some teeth count that should give me imperial BA threads on this metric lathe.
Unquote
A pedant adds....
BA are actually Metric by design...
0BA is defined as 6mm major diameter, 1mm pitch - but then it gets messy!
First, as you probably know, the included angle is 47.5* - not shared with any other system, not easy to construct in old-fashioned drafting...
For each BA number, there's a repeated pitch reduction on each in the series - by a factor of 0.9, so 1BA p=0.9mm, 2BA p=0.81mm, etc. so the pitch defines the rest of the thread measurements for instance:
The major diameter similarly reduces on the series, but based on the pitch - D=6 x p^1.2 (lovely, use a non-integer power to make life easy).
*Then* round everything to the nearest thou" (I kid you not) because they were designed to be Made In Britain!
I use taps and dies for BA myself :) I missed the "accessory gear set" (in its nice polished oak box) on Ebay a few months back - 10 extra gears (half of them prime numbers) for BA / DP / Module, *before* it gets to the QCGB... Bum.
That Cowells looks a nice little lathe - I keep thinking I should get one from that end of the spectrum!
Dave H. (the other one)
raynerd:
Hi Dave
Thanks for your post. If I`m being honest I need to cut some more metric thread first! With my boxford imperial, I`ve only ever cut a handful of threads as I mainly use metric fastners.
The extra gears come from this thread started by Jo - cutting BA and imperial threads on a Cowells: http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php/topic,1020.90.html
I was having my gears hobbed and thought I may as well chuck in the extra 37T and 47T gears to be cut. I make no pretense that I could use them to cut BA gears yet but I have them if I can use them in time. Like you, I only ever use taps and dies for BA.
Thanks again Dave,
Chris
Rob.Wilson:
Hi Chris
Totally agree , as you say you can make small parts on a large lathe ,but it is easier to make say clock parts on a smaller lathe , especial hand turning using gravers , were you can sit at a table with your legs under the machine .
I have a Lorch :dremel:
Rob
raynerd:
:offtopic: -but then it is my thread!
Does your Lorch have a cross slide. Something I feel my Boley is missing but the cost of buying one on ebay would cost more than the value of the lathe itself!
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