The Home Machinist!

If you really want to do it cheaply, mark out your hole and file it with a 3 corner file. Maybe cost you $10. Low tech to be sure, but then of you want when you get real close to size if you want to get real fancy, you could make a 1 tooth broach to finish it as long as youre only trying to get off ...

I have had a variety of 6" calipers. B&S: nice tool-stolen. Starret 120: nicer tool, after a few years of use, narrow part of jaws was worn. Used many Mitutoyos: early ones showed .200 per revolution. Not happy here, and very light weight- not happy here either. Now, Starret 6" electro...

Matt: a broach would be better in my mind. Not cheap, but far less of a headache and for sure less trouble than the kind of conversion you are thinking about. No?

No apology necessary. The only dividing I've done is on a clock wheel cutting engine where you have to have a plate. The rotary table and index are new to me, and the table needed a part which Troyke still had after 40 years. The index has a 15 hole circle on it and I think I'll be able to figure it...

Matt: got lots of pictures of shaper tools, but can't post any (no scanner). But one book I was looking in today after seeing your first post on the subject says to make sure the bit is as close to the vertical plane of the ram as possible, so as to NOT dig in. Remember all the lathe manuals and pic...

The Troyke table is 90 to 1, the L&W universal, I'll have to check. The L&W btw, has no provisions for anything but an index plate. I'll check the peice; be back later. Thanks, Greg Vasale

John: I own a 150 year old tower clock that someone electrified many years ago tossing the escape wheel. Mentioned up a few posts. I want to make another one. I have a 12" rotary table, and universal index too, but the index has no degree wheel (actually, I think it was turned away) and no plat...

Any plate with 150 holes?

Why not take it to a shop thak can do the "end bends" for you and save a lot of welding. The "brush finish" you are referring to is generally done by "timesaving" (a large belt sander.) You can get close to that with a small belt sander and the right grit paper. A "...

John: My Chronos catalog is from 1997, so perhaps the layout and some material has changed. I see the plates you mention, but near the end of the catalog where the page starts "wheel cutting in the lathe" are the plates I mentioned. Matt: I guess the plates are made with modern tooling, ma...

Mosey: checked plates I have. No 32 or 64 holes. Another alternative. Try [email]chron11@aol.com.[/email] Hobby supply house in UK. They had and may still have plates that meed those requriements. # dd61 100-96-84-80-78-72-64-62-60-59 #dd62 120-100-96-90-84-80-78-72-64-62 #dd63 88-75-70-63-59-56-54-...

New dividing plates are really expensive, the only ones I seen are in the MSC catalog, about $400. for the set. I have a couple of second hand ones with the same number of divisions on two of them. 6 inch i believe. I'll check and reply later. Right now on Ebay there are some in UK. Look under Busin...