Centers, Chucks, Arbors & Accessories

Centers, Tailstock Chuck, Follow Rest, Steady Rest, Faceplate, Dogs, End Mill Holders
 Chucks, Arbors, Floating Reamer Holder, Tap Holders, Die Holders, Turret, Wedges

Centers

Top to bottom: Škoda (Czech Republic) MT-2 live center, MT-2 dead center & MT-3 dead center.
 The smaller centers are for the tailstock & the larger center is for the lathe spindle.

High accuracy (±0.0001") triple bearing CNC live center with a heat-treated tool steel extended tip (USA).

An MT-2 live center with multiple interchangeable tips (Taiwan). Bull nose range is for ½" to 1.2" ID cylinders.

An MT-2 live center bull nose. Range is for ½" to 2½" ID cylinders.

Tailstock Chuck

1-13mm drill chuck mounted on a center bearing & MT-2 arbor for use in the tailstock.

It rotates with the part, like a live center. Supports small diameter work where a live center is not practical.

Follow Rest

A follow rest keeps long, thin parts from flexing under cutting pressures.
It is bolted to the carriage. Capacity is ¼" to 1⅛".

This part is shown for illustrative purposes only.

Pocket-cut each tip with a 5/16" end mill to hold a ⅜" OD x 0.1555" thick x ⅛" ID sealed radial ball bearing.
The axle is a press-fit (to the bearing hub) dowel pin. Radius the pointed finger tips first.

Steady Rest

Use a steady rest to hold/machine the end of a part. It is bolted to the lathe bed rails. Capacity: ¼" x 1⅞".
Bearings were subsequently used at the tips for lower friction, higher gripping pressure, & increased accuracy.

This part is shown for illustrative purposes only as a ½" rod can be inserted deeply into the lathe spindle.
Before the addition of bearings, note how the fingers marred the part surface.

Changed from roll pins to press-fit (into the bearing's hub) ⅛" dowel pins. The holes were precision reamed.
These bearings were also designed to withstand non-radial forces.

A similar modification was performed for the Taig Micro lathe's steady rest.

Faceplate

An example of turning between two centers. This crankshaft has three different centers.
A counter-weight was added to the faceplate for balance.

Dogs

Various types & sizes of dogs used with a faceplate to grip & rotate stock being turned between centers.
Top: the tapered center with its dog are accessories for the dividing head.

A wooden stand for the dogs.

Accessories in a red oak holder: MT-3/ER40 collet chuck, bull nose live center, MT-3 end mill holders, arbors,
drill chucks, MT-3/Taig accessories adapter, MT-3 to MT-2 adapter, live centers for wood, dead centers, die holders.
The wooden holder draws moisture away from the metal.

End Mill Holders

MT-2 holders for ⅜" & ½" shank end mills.
For using end mills or Silver & Deming drills with ½" shanks in the tailstock.

Chucks

High gripping power using a Jacob's ball bearing Super Chuck (0 ~ ½" or 0 ~ 13mm) with an MT-2 arbor.
Shown holding a ½" stubby HSS drill.

1/64" to ¾" capacity keyed drill chuck with a 3JT-½" arbor. This large chuck is 2.95" in diameter (Taiwan).

The ½" arbor allows mounting in a variety of ways including a ½"-MT2 end mill holder.
Other tapers (e.g., 3JT-MT2 or 3JT-R8) are available but that requires removal & re-install steps.

The main use for this chuck is to hold large diameter tools (e.g., this ¾" reamer) in the 9x20 lathe tailstock.

Chuck with an MT-2 arbor.

Chuck mounted in the RF-25 mill holding a ½" stub drill. See drill presses.

Drill chucks with 3JT-MT2 arbors.

Size comparisons among several chucks.

A small 0 ~ ¼" (0 ~ 6.5mm) Jacobs industrial drill chuck on a threaded MT-2 arbor.
The tang has to be ground off the arbor in order to obtain the entire tailstock travel range.
Imported keyless chuck (above) can not take heavy loads e.g., drilling with a 1" bit.


0 ~ ½" keyless drill chuck on a JT-33/MT-2 arbor has holes on the body to allow tightening with a pin spanner.
 This Taiwan produced keyless is of higher quality materials & is heavier built.


Ten drill chucks of various sizes & arbors in a wooden stand.

Arbors

A ⅜-24 threaded arbor can be used to adapt the Taig die holder to the 9x20 tailstock.
MT-3 arbors can also be used to mount drill chucks in the spindle.
Note that all are hardened & precision ground.

WARNING: Tapered arbors (press-fit) mounts can not withstand sideways forces unless held in by a drawbar.
These mounts are intended for use in drilling-type operations, only. Mills & lathes use drawbars to securely
hold tapered arbors safely in place. Typical drill presses using tapered arbors are not suitable for milling-type
 operations. The sideways forces can loosen a chuck holding a cutter & fall off, spinning at dangerously high
speeds. Adding an X-Y table to a drill press for use as a mill is not advised.

MT-2 to MT-2 extension.

MT-3 to MT-2 taper adapter sleeve.

Floating Reamer Holder

Floating holders allow a chamber reamer to self-align with the barrel. The floating portion
of the holder has a precision-honed hole that fits chambering reamers with 7/16” shanks.
¼” shanks use an adaptor bushing. A set screw secures the tool in the holder (Clymer).
Shown are 22 short rougher & finisher reamers, go & no-go gages, MT2, ½” & ⅜” shanks.

Tap Holders

Smaller tap wrench.


Larger tap wrench.

The micro-tap guide (top) has a hardened, reversible tip. The pointed end fits into a center drilled tap wrench end &
the cupped end captures/guides the shank end of the tap, itself. Both have adjustable spring tension.
A Taig spring-loaded center is shown (bottom) that also works well as a tap wrench pivot.
A spring-loaded guide semi-automatically adjusts as the tap cuts deeper into the hole.

This tap handle slides on a steel rod & the 1" diameter handle that does not easily over torque the tap.
The long, precision fitted guide rod gives good, rigid support & tapping range.

Die Holders

1" & 13/16" round aluminum die holder that slides on a 9/16" steel rod with a MT-2 adapter for the tailstock.
Refer to Machinery's Handbook for the proper major diameter dimensions for any given threaded rod.

The body is knurled for good grip & the removable steel bar can be added for more leverage.
Hand use without the bar gives good, low-torque control for threading delicate parts.

The collar on the left kept the taper out of the tailstock so 2mm had to be removed to allow full insertion.
The tip on the right was too short to allow proper tool ejection so a 10-32 set screw extension was installed.


Die holders for threading while the part is on the lathe. The top holder is for 1.5" dies.

Turret

A tailstock turret can speed production, though in these machines it may add some flexing, too.
This turret uses ⅝" straight arbors. I cut & grind them to length as needed.
Turret drill-tap fixture manual.

A stubby ⅝" to JT-33 arbor (cut & ground down) allows staying close to the work.
This Rohm chuck (from Germany) is a high quality (0.0035" TIR) chuck.

Wedges

Use Jacobs wedges in pairs to remove chucks from their arbors.

Wooden tool holders can help organize the numerous lathe accessories into a high-density storage area.

Centers, Tailstock Chuck, Follow Rest, Steady Rest, Faceplate, Dogs, End Mill Holders
 Chucks, Arbors, Floating Reamer Holder, Tap Holders, Die Holders, Turret, Wedges