# Impossible Location



## whydontu (Oct 29, 2021)

Couldn’t do this again if I tried. My lathe chuck is held on by three shouldered hex nuts. My bench is custom made from step racking. I dropped one of the nuts. Took fifteen minutes to find it. Sigh.


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## DPittman (Oct 29, 2021)

My lathe chuck is held on the same way but it mounts so close to the headstock the nuts can not be threaded off while the chuck is in position.
Well I believe that you could duplicate your situation if you tried but I wouldn't count on that not happening again by accident.


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## YYCHM (Oct 29, 2021)

This is the Black Hole on my lathe..... right under the chuck......






Loose something in there (which I have) and it's trapped under the Head Stock.  You might retrieve it with a magnetic wand or not.  I stuff a rag in that gap (if I remember) when I'm doing something fiddly up top.


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## YotaBota (Oct 29, 2021)

Hell,,,,, I don't need to drop stuff to lose it. I spent the last two weeks looking for my scriber that was hanging by it's magnet off the side of the lathe where "I" left it,,,,,duh,,LOL!
You could "Red Green" over the holes with red duct tape.


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## Susquatch (Oct 30, 2021)

You guys should try farming. Finding stuff that fell off (parts, nuts, bolts, etc) especially into grass or plowed dirt, is my biggest occupation, right before figuring out where I put stuff on purpose (glasses, phone, parts, tools). 

Ya, @whydontu, that was a weird one for sure! I'm not sure I would have ever found it. Have you figured out how it got there? 

@YYCHM - what's that piece of metal at the lower left with the two blue lines on it?


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## YYCHM (Oct 30, 2021)

Susquatch said:


> @YYCHM - what's that piece of metal at the lower left with the two blue lines on it?








Carriage stop.


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## Susquatch (Oct 30, 2021)

YYCHM said:


> Carriage stop.



I see. It never ever occurred to me to install a stop. But I do plan to make an indicator holder so I know where I am. 

A stop like that would bind the feed system or the half nut on my lathe and could do more harm than good under those circumstances. But still maybe better than crashing into the head....... 

But maybe your lathe doesnt bind up like mine does when you try to stop it externally...... 

How often do you actually use the stop?


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## BMW Rider (Oct 30, 2021)

You just need to place an open pan of really filthy used oil under whatever you are working on. Any dropped fasteners will automatically drop into the oil no matter how impossible or far away it seems to be.


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## DPittman (Oct 30, 2021)

Susquatch said:


> I see. It never ever occurred to me to install a stop. But I do plan to make an indicator holder so I know where I am.
> 
> A stop like that would bind the feed system or the half nut on my lathe and could do more harm than good under those circumstances. But still maybe better than crashing into the head.......
> 
> ...


You can combine the two in one...having a hard stop and an indicator built into as well.

Here is my version of one and initially I considered building in a indicator in as well but I have dro scales on my lathe so it is unnecessary.  

Yes you don't want to use a carriage stop with power feed but that is an easy problem to avoid.  You simply slide it out of the way.


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## YYCHM (Oct 30, 2021)

Susquatch said:


> I see. It never ever occurred to me to install a stop. But I do plan to make an indicator holder so I know where I am.
> 
> A stop like that would bind the feed system or the half nut on my lathe and could do more harm than good under those circumstances. But still maybe better than crashing into the head.......
> 
> ...



It will bind my feed system as well if I crash into it under power, but I figure that's better than crashing into the chuck. It does give a little so it's not a dead stop.  I use it quite a bit but mostly when threading as a safety net per say.


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## whydontu (Oct 30, 2021)

Susquatch said:


> You guys should try farming. Finding stuff that fell off (parts, nuts, bolts, etc) especially into grass or plowed dirt, is my biggest occupation, right before figuring out where I put stuff on purpose (glasses, phone, parts, tools).
> 
> Ya, @whydontu, that was a weird one for sure! I'm not sure I would have ever found it. Have you figured out how it got there?
> 
> @YYCHM - what's that piece of metal at the lower left with the two blue lines on it?


Only thing I can figure is it bounced off the playground mat and into the pocket. One of you engineer dudes should do the math to work out the trajectory of a multi-surface steel component bouncing off a rough textured low-durometer uneven polymer surface. Could keep your mind occupied for years and stave off old-guy brain.


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## Susquatch (Oct 30, 2021)

whydontu said:


> Only thing I can figure is it bounced off the playground mat and into the pocket. One of you engineer dudes should do the math to work out the trajectory of a multi-surface steel component bouncing off a rough textured low-durometer uneven polymer surface. Could keep your mind occupied for years and stave off old-guy brain.



Seems like you have it figured out pretty well. No need for any complicated math. 

The basic trajectory is actually pretty easy. It's no big problem at all when you know the exact inputs. It's the billions of combinations of possible inputs that make it complicated. That kind of project is usually best tackled by physicists. They do useless solutions with billions of near zero probability inputs all the time. Engineers prefer to focus on practical applications that solve real world problems - like figuring out how to design a system that can't fall off and get lost in the first place.


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## PeterT (Oct 30, 2021)

If you make one, may as well make two. Its useful to have one on the other side of carriage like when you are turning a recess between 2 reference dimensions.
I also like the sprung quick release clamp where the handle can be positioned or rotated out o the way.
I don't think driving into these under power feed is a good idea, clutch or no clutch. I disengage beforehand & then just kiss it manually.


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## YYCHM (Oct 30, 2021)

I agree with @PeterT.  Do not use them as an intentional hard stop when power feeding.


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