What's new
What's new

Lathe With Built-in Dividing Head?

machinehead61

Titanium
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Location
Rochelle,IL,USA
Saw this Schaublin "Jewelers" lathe on ebay and wondered if anybody here knew for sure if this is a dividing plate in the headstock. Never saw this before, nor ever heard of Schaublin.

Steve

SCHAUBLIN LATHE

141038k.jpg
 
Sure looks like a dividing head, doesn't it?

The Atlas/Craftsman lathes had a very simple provision for dividing...one circle of (I think) sixty holes in the bull gear and a pin in the frame which could be pushed in or pulled out.

Nowhere near as sophisticated or versatile as that one appears to be.

Charles
 
Thanks Charles. Just curious, what do you do with dividing head capability in a lathe? Bolt some kind of milling/drilling attachment to the toll post? I've seen those for bigger lathes but not for bench tops. Or shaper operation with the tool post? I've never done anything except shape a keyway in a pulley on a lathe and I could only put the lathe in granny gear to lock the spindle. I'm not sure if that is a spindle lock on top of the head stock.

Steve
 
Schaublin also sold a milling spindle that would be mounted on the cross slide.

Their lathe was much more able to be (and meant to be) adapted to many functions that most would think needed a specialized machine. Similar to the mindset of the watchmakers lathe, where it was able to make up for being the only machine in the shop, by doing all the things it was able.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/schaublin/page5.html

Cheers
Trevor Jones
 
It is an indexer, I put one on my lathe recently, you want some form of lockout to prevent starting the spindle while indexing. FWIW I have 3 rows of holes 60, 72 and 88, works nicely with a toolpost drill. Useful for drilling any PCD after machining the part, saves the setup time of putting it in a mill after turning.
 
Watchmaker, instrument and precision bench lathes almost always have indexing holes in the headstock pulley. Most have 60 holes and some have one or two other circles of holes. Most Hardinge Cataract 7" and 9" flat belt drive bench lathes have 60 holes for indexing. I have several dozen assorted make watch lathes, and can't think of one that does not have indexing holes.

The Schaublin 102 is one of the precision bench lathes, certainly not a watchmaker or jeweler lathe.

These lathes had available optional equipment for filing, milling and drilling that makes the indexing feature useful. I don't recall seeing any original equipment dividing attachments (with worm drive) for the Schaublin or any other make lathe. But I have seen aftermarket dividing attachments for watch lathes, and plans to make your own. For instance, I have seen plans for adding both dividing and indexing attachments to the English Myford 7" lathes.

Larry
 
A lot of the old British home machine shop books show drilling and milling attachments on the lathe, so the dividing function was handy. There is a Myford dividing head that has a worm gear that mates to the bull gear for even more flexibility.

I used the 60 holes on my Atlas to locate the holes for a backplate.

t_indexingpin_133.jpg

t_indexing_157.jpg


By setting a sharp tool at centerline, I could use the cross slide to make 6 equally spaced marks.

You can see the whole thread at:

Machining a backplate

Machining a backplate - part 2

Machining a backplate - part 3 (or how not to)
 
I remember we had six Schaublin 102 lathes at school all with an indexing plate in the headstock. We mainly used it for making straight knurls, splines (in holes) and dials on micrometer thimbels etc. by clamping a v-shaped cutter on it's side in the toolholder and moved it with the top slide or the apron.

Schaublin (made) makes very high quality lathes. They run very smooth and almost silend. I think you can put them on top of the list (OK....top five) of best lathes ever made..Real Swiss super quality! Schaublin website

Indexingholes are very common on German and Swiss lathes I think. I have an old German Wolf Jahn instrumentmakers lathe and a Boley&Leinen and they both have indexingholes in the drivepulley.
Here's a picture of the Wolf Jahn headstock
wolfjahn.jpg


The next to pictures show a dividing attachment with wormwheel that can be mounted on the back of the headstock of the Wolf Jahn..
div1.jpg

div2.jpg


Some day I really hope to find one of these..($$$$... :( )

Regards, Gerrit
 
My little Boley & Leinen, has index holes on the headstock pulleya, absolutely ideal when using her filing attachment,( making tiny squares on shafts etc), and when holding workpiece in the collets or chuck, & using its vertical slide with milling attachment,mounted on top slide, for more complex work. This Machine, is only used for tiny work.
 
Although Myford manufactured a dividing head as an accessory it was G.H.Thomas who designed the bull wheel dividing attachment seen here.
divght4.jpg

Before making this I used a simple detent that engaged in the bull wheel teeth.
With the GHT attachment you can divide any number up 3600 (should you ever feel the need !)
BTW took a photo of the Atlas bull wheel just this evening but I see someone beat me to posting it.
Mark
 
Well, I never knew so many lathes were equipped for dividing.

Did any of these have some kind of lock for the spindle to prevent vibration during machining ops? Or did they depend soley on the indexing pin to absorb the shock of an endmill trying to rotate the spindle while cutting?

Steve
 
I have had wood lathes with a dividing head. I used them with a router for fluting and for cuting dovetails in round legs. On a metal lathe you can use it for splining shafts and cuting gears. However these jobs require a strong arm as you provide the power and the motor remains off the hole time.

Mike :cool:
 
Check out the hardinge picture above, there
are two pins. The lower one with the thumbscrew
is used for indexing. The second one is a larger
spindle lock, I added the spring under it
because the common failure mode for those is to
have the pin slip in while the spindle is running.

But aside from locking the spindle for tooling
change, it could be used as a four-way indexer
as well.

Jim
 
The Boley I just acquired has two sets of index holes, the outer ring of 60 and the inner set of 4.

I don't know what the 4 are intended to be, since the pin is not in line with them and can't be put in line with them. You can see part of the pin at bottom left of picture

bindexholes.jpg


(sure looks rusty in the picture, it isn't like that in person. Spindle spins easily, and will rotate on its own to let heavy side down, although there is no shake)
 
Universal Dividing attachment

;)The Hembrug AI DR1S along with many other fine tool room lathes !
Had an available option when ordered of the "Universal Dividing attachment" as equipment for drilling that makes the indexing feature very useful as a real timesaver.
Hembrug AI machine is of superb quality, with headstock and V-way bed cast as one massive unit and mounted on a heavy cast-iron stand with hard steel ways,
the A1 is now sought after by knowledgeable enthusiasts and prized for its great attention to mechanical detail, handsome appearance, rigid construction, ease of operation and wide speed range when using this indexing attachment, the spindle held steady and ran in a double-row cylindrical roller bearing at the front and a pair of single-row angular contact bearings at the rear; as an option, a set of ultra-high precision bearings could be supplied which the makers guaranteed would allow a surface finish to be obtained on a 1-inch diameter brass bar - over a length of 1.25 inches and using a diamond tool - of better than 0.075 microns.
 
Nearly every small bench lathe (Hardinge, Rivett, P&W, ect) has a ring of indexing holes around the cone pulley. Not nearly as sophisticated as the Schaublin.
Andy
 
In case nobody has spoken about the 4 holes here, they are just markers to indicate which holes to insert the pin to divide the work into quadrants.
As when filing four opposing flats onto round stock.
 








 
Back
Top