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Anyone around in Hamilton / Oakville corridor available to mill my QCTP base?

Noltez

Member
I received my Accusize quick change post and need to have the base fit to my compound. I will remove the compound and bring it for measuring / fitting. See photos of block and of the old post base attached. If anyone is available to do this operation asap please drop a message. Thanks.
 

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Noltez

Member
I'm very, very new to machining and after reading on Practical Machinist that the results of lathe milling are not great. Technically I think I have enough equipment to do it, but I lack experience. Also my milling attachment has no vice on it so I'd be relying on the two set screws to hold the workpiece, while milling it. Not exactly what I've been watching on TOT and Blondiehacks :)
 

YYCHM

(Craig)
Premium Member
I'm very, very new to machining and after reading on Practical Machinist that the results of lathe milling are not great. Technically I think I have enough equipment to do it, but I lack experience. Also my milling attachment has no vice on it so I'd be relying on the two set screws to hold the workpiece, while milling it. Not exactly what I've been watching on TOT and Blondiehacks :)

Turn it out of round stock. The nut doesn't have to be rectangular (as per your second image).
 

PeterT

Ultra Member
Premium Member
It can be turned from round as you say, but ideally should still have 2 flats on opposing side to prevent it from spinning inside the T-slot while tightening.

Also, pay attention to this corner fillet on the nut (red arrow). Looks like there isn't much of a chamfer on the casting corner so this condition could put the full force on the corner contact vs the top face of the nut resulting it a cracked T-slot. You can either turn a sharper internal corner, or recess it a bit, or loosen up on the tolerances... anything that mitigates this. Also I would keep the top face of the nut say 0.020" beneath the top face of the T casting just so it has a safe distance. If its flush or bends over time it will bottom out prematurely & not be fully tightened.
 

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Hruul

Lee - metalworking novice
When I bought my lathe the tool post it came with had an aluminum block made just like what @PeterT posted a picture of. I made the my new toolpost nut from steel and hacksawed and filed it to fit. Not super great looking but it works so far.
 

Noltez

Member
I appreciate the suggestions! I tried mounting up the rectangular piece in my vertical milling attachment using just the set screws. However I discovered a lot of play in it. Even with the gib screws snugged the movable part of the attachment could deflect from under the wedge with little effort. I ended up making a small mess out of the one side of the block. It can still be fixed with a mill though. And I need to disassemble my milling attachment and see what's going on in there if I'm ever going to use it.

That's a good idea on turning it from round stock. I'll have to see what I have for taps.

It can be turned from round as you say, but ideally should still have 2 flats on opposing side to prevent it from spinning inside the T-slot while tightening.

Also, pay attention to this corner fillet on the nut (red arrow). Looks like there isn't much of a chamfer on the casting corner so this condition could put the full force on the corner contact vs the top face of the nut resulting it a cracked T-slot. You can either turn a sharper internal corner, or recess it a bit, or loosen up on the tolerances... anything that mitigates this. Also I would keep the top face of the nut say 0.020" beneath the top face of the T casting just so it has a safe distance. If its flush or bends over time it will bottom out prematurely & not be fully tightened.

I did remember to check for that. I think MrPete's channel on youtube, or maybe it was Quinn, who mentioned checking for mounting surface clearances. But yes I verified the block that came with the QCTP sits below the surface on the compound, so I won't need to machine the top at all. I could still turn custom bottom block and cut off the sides with a simple cutoff wheel. It doesn't need to be perfect, just keep it from spinning. But I'll see what the local machine shop says tomorrow.
 

Dusty

(Bill)
Premium Member
Post or PM the dimensions. I'll make you one, postage is on you.

Hey Craig great offer helping out another member. Surely to goodness there's someone closer to the Hamilton area who would step up to the plate and assist @Noltez with this. Just saying!
 
Hey Craig great offer helping out another member. Surely to goodness there's someone closer to the Hamilton area who would step up to the plate and assist @Noltez with this. Just saying!

I'm very close but no mill here yet I'm sorry to say. In fact I have a similar problem but now that I have another lathe I'm not sure any more what I'm doing with the tool post.
 

Noltez

Member
Post or PM the dimensions. I'll make you one, postage is on you.

That's great Craig! Thank you for the offer. There is a local shop that we've used but the guy I talked to before has left so I'm not sure if I can still use them for such a small job. If they're unreasonable I'll definitely take you up on that offer!!

I'm very close but no mill here yet I'm sorry to say. In fact I have a similar problem but now that I have another lathe I'm not sure any more what I'm doing with the tool post.

If I get a favorable reply from the local shop here I'll let you know. I can literally see a vertical mill from where I'm standing lol...
 

Noltez

Member
Ahhh! Ya that'd do it too. I just wanted to retain as much material as possible. Stopped over at our neighbours place and left it with him to see if he can fit it for me.

I have a lot to learn :)
 

Noltez

Member
Absolutely. I'm so new at this I don't have any supplies on hand yet. The one thing my lathe was "lacking" was cutting bits. Lots included for the lanturn post, but only 1 or 2 for the 4-position post. I found a carbide tip holder I had from a brake lathe and that cut much better than any of the others I had. To fix this I ordered the 6 piece carbide tips from Accusize (I can't find it on Amazon right now), and the QCTP. My work-neighbor is a fabrication shop and he's going to help me out today, but otherwise I'd be mounting up these new bits in the 4-position holder and probably use a cutoff wheel for cutting to width.

I do want to say thanks again to Craig (YYCHM) for the offer to make one up for me. You're a true gentleman. Thank you sir.
 
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