01-10-2013, 07:52 PM
Just finished building a ball turning attachment for my Craftsman 12" lathe. Now I need some help setting it up and thought that this forum was the perfect place to come to. If someone can go through the steps with me it would help.
1. center the tool height in the center of the diameter of the piece.
2. Using a 1" diameter piece of material,to make a 1" ball, should the tool post be set the distance of the radius of the ball from the center of the turning attachment?
3. Should the saddle be positioned the same radius distance along the side of the material being turned?
4. Should the tool rotate an equal distance to both sides of the diameter of the piece being turned to start with?
5. Does the diameter of the piece being turned have to be turned down to allow the tool post to clear when rotating the bit to the left when turning the left side of the ball?
First attempt to make a ball and concave cut turned out a 5 on a scale of 10. Tool cut great, but bottomed out against the left side of the material when trying to finish the ball radius. Concave cuts worked perfectly.
1. center the tool height in the center of the diameter of the piece.
2. Using a 1" diameter piece of material,to make a 1" ball, should the tool post be set the distance of the radius of the ball from the center of the turning attachment?
3. Should the saddle be positioned the same radius distance along the side of the material being turned?
4. Should the tool rotate an equal distance to both sides of the diameter of the piece being turned to start with?
5. Does the diameter of the piece being turned have to be turned down to allow the tool post to clear when rotating the bit to the left when turning the left side of the ball?
First attempt to make a ball and concave cut turned out a 5 on a scale of 10. Tool cut great, but bottomed out against the left side of the material when trying to finish the ball radius. Concave cuts worked perfectly.
ml_woy, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun since Jul 2012.