9x20 Centers, Drill Chucks, Arbors & Accessories
Last updated on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 06:02:51 PM Eastern US Time Zone

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

Centers

Top to bottom: Škoda (Czech Republic) MT2 live center, MT2 dead center & MT3 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 MT2 live center with multiple interchangeable tips (Taiwan). Bull nose range is for ½" to 1.2" ID cylinders.

An MT2 live center bull nose. Range is for ½" to 2½" ID cylinders.

Tailstock Chuck

1-13mm drill chuck mounted on a center bearing & MT2 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.

Using a hex tip & the live center chuck to steady a very short bolt held in a collet at 30 RPM.

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 thrust forces.

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

Faceplate

Faceplate mounted & the MT3 center inserted into the spindle.

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 lathe dogs.

Accessories in a red oak holder: MT3/ER40 collet chuck, bull nose live center, MT3 end mill holders, arbors,
drill chucks, MT3/Taig accessories adapter, MT3 to MT2 adapter, live centers for wood, dead centers, die holders.
Wooden holders draw moisture away from the metal parts but composite woods can cause rust.

End Mill Holders

MT2 holders for ⅜" & ½" shank end mills.
For using end mills or Silver & Deming drills with ½" shanks in the tailstock.

Drill Chucks

High gripping power using a Jacob's ball bearing Super Chuck (0 ~ ½" or 0 ~ 13mm) with an MT2 arbor.
Shown holding a ½" stubby HSS drill bit.

1/64" to ¾" capacity keyed drill chuck with a JT3-½" 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., JT3-MT2 or JT3-R8) are available but that requires removal & re-install steps.

The large chuck is shown holding a ¾" reamer with a ⅝" shank in the 9x20 lathe tailstock.

Chuck with an MT2 arbor.

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

Drill chucks with JT3-MT2 arbors for either drill press or lathe tailstock mounting.

Size comparisons among several chucks.

Pin chuck set (# 406-C) with three collet sizes (India).

A small 0 ~ ¼" (0 ~ 6.5mm) Jacobs industrial drill chuck on a threaded MT2 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 JT33/MT2 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.


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

Arbors

Left to right: JT0 to ½", ⅜-24 to MT2, JT2 to MT2, JT33 to ⅝", JT3 to ½", JT3 to ⅝", JT3 to MT2,
JT3 to MT3, MT3 to MT2 adapter, ¾-16 to MT3. JT denotes a Jacob's Taper & MT a Morse Taper.
All arbors are hardened & precision ground. I grind the tang off if it interferes, e.g., in the Jet tailstock.

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.

MT2 to MT2 extension.

MT3 to MT2 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 setscrew secures the tool in the holder (Clymer).
Shown are 22 short roughing & finishing 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 MT2 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 setscrew 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 JT33arbor (cut & ground down) allows staying close to the work.
This Rohm chuck (from Germany) is a high-quality (0.0035" TIR) industrial 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.
Composite woods (e.g., particle board) that have resin seem to hold moisture & may cause rusting.
Hardwoods usually draw moisture away from the metal thereby reducing the chances of rust.

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

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