setting up a box tool ?

I have a Leblond 15" regal with a fairly nice turret setup on it. I've just recieved a job where it might come in pretty handy. I have to turn a bunch of small brass pins .172 dia from 3/8 stock. I have a nice micro adjusting box tool, but have never used or set one up. Can anyone steer me towards a site that might help or tell me where I can find any information on setting these up and grinding tools for them?

Thanks in advance
Nolan

I set them according to the instructions in the Ward book.You sometimes see them on Ebay.co.uk.Warner Swasey may have done a similar book.
Basically turn a short section to the diameter you want using a tool in the toolpost.Bring the box tool up and set the rollers gently against the bit you have just turned.With the machine on a low speed you should be able to stop the rollers turning with light finger pressure.Then set the tool to the diameter as near as you can.
It is normal to chamfer the end of the barstock prior to the boxtool operation.If you cannot manage this as part of the partoff operation there is a tool similar to a box tool which has the rollers in front of the tool which you can do it with.For brass you don`t need top rake on the tool just front and side clearance.If it`s a tangental tool even easier.A lot of boxtools for brass don`t even have rollers,just a hardened vee.
Mark.

The key with box tools (which took me a long
time to figure out) is that on most of them,
the tool is cutting so the sides doing the
cutting are not the usual ones.

If you have a regular 1/4 inch tool in the
thing, the correct grind is basically one
hit on the wheel, against the end of the
tool, to form the back rake and side rake
for the tool. The clearance front clearance
angle is pretty much set by the tool holder.

To put this another way, the *end* of the
tool for these things is doing what the top
surface of a regular lathe tool does.

When you set them up, the spindle turns the
regular forward direction. You have one roller
on top, to keep the work from climbing up,
and one at the back to keep it from springing
away from the tool. One the box tools I own
(boyar schultz) I adjust the tool on center
by rocker it on the teeny rocker using the
two clamping screws. The diameter is set
by moving the tool fowards or back using the
micrometer adjustment screw. You take a rough
cut, measure, and tweak the screw till it's
right.

Don't try to set these up with the spindle
running backwards, and don't try to bring the
tool on center with that micrometer screw.

On the ones I have, you can set the tool leading
or lagging the rollers - I seem to find that
the tool leading works pretty well, which
means the finished diameter has to pick up the
rollers. I'm just a novice at this so listen
to what the old hands have to say, and do that.

But the things that got me into the most trouble
were:

1) spindle should be turning forwards

2) tool set on center with rocker and clamp screws

3) tool can be made to work with one single
grind on its end

Good luck - Jim

One problem I would warn of is spindle speed. That small diameter needs a very fast spindle speed in order to use a reasonable turret feed rate and still get a decent finish. Use your fastest spindle speed and try to adjust your feed rate so that it feels smooth as you work the lever. Maybe a 15" lathe will not run fast enough to make your parts at a decent rate. A Hardinge DSM59 would easily run fast enough.

Put a little radius on the cutter if the design allows a radius in the shoulder. And be sure to get the radius on the correct edge of the tool. The bigger the radius, the smoother the finish.

As Jim explained, a HSS tool bit is actualy ground at about the right angle on the end for box tool use, right out of the box. Which reminds me, you need the ground type of bits, not the ones with a rough black finish on the long sides.

Larry

What Larry said. I would probably have my
ESM-59 running at near top speed doing a job
like that.

Jim