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Does Anyone Still Make The Real Swiss or German Multifix Tool Post? (not an offshore clone)

carrdo said:
Hi All,

Just curious and I know it would be expensive.

Have a 9" and a 13" SB Lathe. One is 3/4 HP and the other is 1 HP.
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I hope you have a few kids you can sell... maybe one kidney will do

GROUP 100: QUICK CHANGE TOOL HOLDERS – SRW-Amestra

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Hi TorontoBuilder,

Yes, I know about Amestra. But they have no local rep. here which is a problem.

Maybe, I should rephrase my question to "which do you consider to be the best of the best clones"?
 
I have a multi fix on my lathe. I like the 4 way tool post better. One good thing about the multifix is the ease of height adjustment. I found mine on Kijiji.
Martin
 
I meant I prefer the 4 way over my multifix. My preference only. The multifix IMHO are not the best.
I got used to the 4 way and always wanted the multifix, but after getting one I am happier with the 4 way[

QUOTE="carrdo, post: 180135, member: 6948"]
Hi Martin,

I have 4 way SB tool posts for both of my lathes also but they are not Multifix.
[/QUOTE]
 
we have a huge multifix (C?) on a big tos (sn50?) at work and we got more toolholders from pewe tools in germany, just off their website. wasn't cheap but the quality is fine. I am fairly certain these are made in china though.

for what it's worth I have a multifix aa set from aliexpress that I used on a little atlas 6x12 and I was honestly shocked at how good it was for like 200$ or whatever it was. it wouldn't surprise me if all multifix clones from china were from the same factory but this is pure conjecture...
 
Why do people not like multi-fix? what bugs you? I briefly used one at SAIT while taking their intro lathe course. I liked it, seemed quick and efficient generally. It did seem to accumulate chips and require cleaning before changing tools. I did not like the 4 post on a lathe I use to own as it rotated unexpectedly when under load e.g. when parting. Maybe that was a poor 4 post? Operator error? I bought a BXA wedge type post and found it much better. I didn't like the price of the tool holders on the multi-fix but found it convenient. So curious why people don't like multi-fix.
 
Janger said:
I didn't like the price of the tool holders on the multi-fix but found it convenient. So curious why people don't like multi-fix.
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imo the only thing not to like is the price. Their great advantage is the indexing. (some others like Drehblitz do that as well). Their great disadvantage is it's about impossible to knock out a proper stock of 30-40 holders. I had one but let it go with a lathe as it only had 4 or 5 holders. This is the pre-clone days and thought it kind of useless with only a few holders and goofy prices for more.
 
Just had a look on Aliexpress. The price for tool holders is about the same as for BXA holders!
Posts start at about $100US. I’m not sure how the sizes compare to the AXA, BXA, CXA series though.
 
I find the indexing feature of the multifix kinda useless... it's kind of a work around for not having enough holders for a dedicated tool. IMO it's nicer to have more holders and dedicated tools for each op, and it's not so expensive/hard to buy/make dovetail type holders typically.

that said I do like multifix; it's just kinda hard for me to justify the price, especially the bigger size ones.
 
Choosing a toolpost style all depends on what the majority of your lathe work is going to be. If most of what you do is heavy depth of cuts, then 4-way tool post with anti-twist pin is probably best. But for me, the Multifix style is so much more versatile than any other toolpost. The simple feature that you can move the tip of your cutter to almost any position, (40 positions within a circle =9° increments) without having to tram for x and z planes afterwards is a huge advantage and time saver over the other types.

If I have the opportunity this coming week, I'll set up some different scenarios and take photos and post to show the Multifix versatility.
 
Susquatch said:
Your question assumes people don't like them. What makes you assume that?
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Above @Martin w says he prefers 4 way after buying and trying the multifix. I've heard that before from some people. I wondered if there is a functional reason people don't like them or if it's just the price of the holders. Like CAT40 milling holders, omg they are expensive, at least compared to R8.

@Johnwa reports BXA holders are $100 ish on aliexpress. On accusize.com they are $34CAD to $60CAD for various types. I have several Accusize BXA holders and I like them.
 
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