[PROJECT] Filing machine build

[marfaguy]

The constructions notes suggest mounting the the base onto the lathe carriage (assuming your lathe carriage has T-slots) to bore the drive shaft. If your lathe carriage doesn’t have T-slots ( which mine does not) then you have a couple of choices. One is to use a mill with a boring head or somehow mount the base in the lathe to bore out for the drive shaft bearing. My mill is just shy of being able to mount the base with a boring head AND have a boring bar capable of clearing out the necessary 2.5+” depth. Andy offers some good suggestions for mounting the base in the lathe and then boring the drive shaft. 

Here’s what I did based on Andy’s notes. First mount the base so the flattened bottom is vertical with the already milled drive shaft end surface resting on the bed of the mill. 
   
Note: I had previously welded up a right angle plate that after machining requires about .003” shimming to make it just about perfect vertical off of the mill table. 

With the “Plug” end now facing up I milled off the horizontal surface just enough to clean it up over most of the surface and then bored the recess for the plug and drilled/tapped for the plug bolt circle. 
   

I then turned a spigot to fit the plug end and mounted it in the mill to drill for matching bolt circle holes.     
I then bolted the spigot to the base and mounted it in the lathe 
   
   

I didn’t grab a picture of it but first tried to bore horizontal shaft without the steady rest. That didn’t seem to be working very well so I took a few vey light cuts on exterior and then used the steady rest.
   

I then bored the base 1.25 +- .001 for the bronze bearing.