I want to make new lathe feed dials
I want to make new lathe feed dials
I watched a video on how to make new lathe dials. In it , a 100 tooth saw blade was used to index the 100 scribed lines on the dial. Great! I can do that, but I checked the dials on my Sheldon lathe and those dials are scribed with 125 divisions. I searched for something that had 125 divisions on it and came up with nothing; no saw blade or gear. I don't have a dividing head, only a spin indexer that has 1° increments. Do you have any ideas how to get the 125 divisions without a dividing head. The increments on a 125 dial are 2.88° apart.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Could you use the old dial as a guide?
I used a dial from my lathe as a guide to make a dial for another machine with the same pitch feed screw.
I used a dial from my lathe as a guide to make a dial for another machine with the same pitch feed screw.
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Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Make a strip of material which wraps exactly around your dial.
Then mark it out -
https://www.mathopenref.com/constdividesegment.html
Grade school geometry, or it used to be,
Then mark it out -
https://www.mathopenref.com/constdividesegment.html
Grade school geometry, or it used to be,
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Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
4 teeth on your 100 tooth blade is 5 divisions on your dial. Mark every 5th division using the 100 tooth blade and then interpolate.
Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Maybe put the new dial on your lathe, an indicator on the toolpost, then crank the dial 0.001" on the indicator and make a mark to line up with the index line. Don't forget about backlash, always move in only one direction.
Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
The old dials are small and pretty worn. I want to make larger dials. Possibly I can layout a strip with 125 divisions using Autocad©; cut it out and wrap it around a cylinder, the circumference of which will accommodate the strip.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Take a length of band saw blade and count 100 teeth. Now, cut a disk of plywood either using a sander or mounting it on your lathe to cut it true. Wrap the saw blade around to test the circumference. Then, very carefully reduce the circumference a little at a time until the blade is a perfect fit. Get the picture?
Now, back up to step one. Make that saw blade, say, 110 teeth long. When you test the wooden disk for size, aim for a perfect overlap of those extra ten teeth. When you get the disk sized correctly, attach the blade to the disk with whatever works for you: holes in the blade and screws, holes and nails, epoxy, or whatever.
If your blade pitch is too fine, double the count to 200.
Above all, do not use a variable pitch blade!
Now, back up to step one. Make that saw blade, say, 110 teeth long. When you test the wooden disk for size, aim for a perfect overlap of those extra ten teeth. When you get the disk sized correctly, attach the blade to the disk with whatever works for you: holes in the blade and screws, holes and nails, epoxy, or whatever.
If your blade pitch is too fine, double the count to 200.
Above all, do not use a variable pitch blade!
So many projects, so little time.
Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Why didn't I think of that! You are a genius. Thank you much.Orrin wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 8:59 am Take a length of band saw blade and count 100 teeth. Now, cut a disk of plywood either using a sander or mounting it on your lathe to cut it true. Wrap the saw blade around to test the circumference. Then, very carefully reduce the circumference a little at a time until the blade is a perfect fit. Get the picture?
Now, back up to step one. Make that saw blade, say, 110 teeth long. When you test the wooden disk for size, aim for a perfect overlap of those extra ten teeth. When you get the disk sized correctly, attach the blade to the disk with whatever works for you: holes in the blade and screws, holes and nails, epoxy, or whatever.
If your blade pitch is too fine, double the count to 200.
Above all, do not use a variable pitch blade!
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Every *4th* division.John Hasler wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:58 pm 4 teeth on your 100 tooth blade is 5 divisions on your dial. Mark every 5th division using the 100 tooth blade and then interpolate.
Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Nope, every 5th division which would be every 4th tooth.John Hasler wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:34 pmEvery *4th* division.John Hasler wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:58 pm 4 teeth on your 100 tooth blade is 5 divisions on your dial. Mark every 5th division using the 100 tooth blade and then interpolate.
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Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
Sorry I was unclear. I was thinking of the teeth on the saw as divisions on the saw.
To be clearer (I hope) using the 100 tooth saw blade as an indexer put a mark on the new dial for every four teeth on the saw blade. You will then have marked every fifth desired dial division.
To be clearer (I hope) using the 100 tooth saw blade as an indexer put a mark on the new dial for every four teeth on the saw blade. You will then have marked every fifth desired dial division.
Re: I want to make new lathe feed dials
I'm really a proponent of how things are done. We are talking .001+ dials now. Sorry but I wouldn't trust my used or even new stock for this.