Best cheap Quick Change Tool Post?

Gigantor · May 5, 2013

I’m ready to pluck down my money for a Quick Change Tool Post and have decided to go with a AXA wedge type for my South Bend 9A, but with money being tight I’m going to have to settle for an import. An Aloris would be nice but this being a hobby, a disinterested wife and two boys to feed I just can’t drop that kind of coin for a tool post.

My questions:
- Are all the imports coming from the same factory in China so I can just focus on price alone?
- Are there different factories making them and does the quality vary from factory to factory?
- If different, who in the states carries the best one?

Thanks for the help.
John

Tony from KY · May 5, 2013

I consider all Chicom the same, so I buy from a vendor I like and trust. I use CDCOtools.com and Enco a lot.

bedwards · May 5, 2013

Enco has been running a good sale on and off of the Phase 2. I bought one and have been very satisfied with it. Its not the cheapest and certainly not the highest either. I did replace the tool set screws in mine with some from McMaster-Carr as the originals were soft.

bedwards

Tony from KY · May 5, 2013

+1 on bedwards' comment about set screws. The set screws for my Chicom AXA were total cheese-bolts. My next McMaster order will include a box of replacements.

rbent · May 5, 2013

I've got a CXA from tools4cheap that has worked well. The holders of course had junk screws but were soft enough to re-tap the holes with a standard HSS tap and I put 5/16" SHCS in all the holders.

paulsomlo · May 5, 2013

This may be the only affordable QCTP that I've found that's made in USA: Omni Post - The quick change tool post system for your lathe!

The only drawback I've found is the cost of additional holders. I've used this for a while now and been happy with it.

Paul

rjs44032 · May 5, 2013

John,

This is the one I purchased back in August: 6 12" Wedge Quick Change Tool Post for Aloris 100 AXA | eBay It's a Shars. I paid $110 including free shipping at the time. Looks like the price has gone up a bit.

Overall I love the tool post. All mating surfaces are hardened and ground. The holders are fine exept + 2 on bedwards comments about the screws being junk. But that aside it's a great toolpost.

One final comment: The clamp that goes into the T-Slot on the compound was oversized and definately hardened. I had heard the rumor so I was ready with Carbide end mill to machine to size. Just thought I'd pass that on.

Edit: I have also heard good things about CDCO. They did not have an AXA Wedge type at the time I bought mine, but they do now and the price is right $98 + $17 Shipping. Can't personally vouch for the quality though. Good Luck.

Best Regards,
Bob

MountainGoat · May 5, 2013

Used Aloris from e-bay may not cost too much more.....I personally would rather have a used Aloris than a new China anybrand.

TimW(PA) · May 5, 2013

I bought one of the ebay wedge types for around $125 a couple years ago and have been fairly satisfied. The handle broke and had to be replaced but all in all it has been fine. But what makes it almost useless is only having two cutting holders. If I was to do it over I would buy the $98 wedge set from CDCO and with the extra $25 bucks you would have spent anywhere else buy three extra holders. they are only $8 a piece at CDCO

CDCO Machinery Corp.

without having several holders the quick change is not so "quick change" and is just as much of a pain as using the lantern tool post. All you do is end up loosening and tightening set screws and readjusting center all day long!

rjs44032 · May 5, 2013

Here's an Aloris listed right here on PM with just the cutoff holder:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...nted/aloris-axa-tool-post-cutoff-tool-265291/

kozzmo99 · May 5, 2013

buy a used Aloris AXA, you will not regret it.

oldster · May 5, 2013

You are always going to pay for what you get, but you don't always get what you pay for.

If, as you say, this is a hobby...then time has no value. BS!

As some others on here have said "Buy used Aloris on Ebay".
Support MADE IN USA.

Cheap is what supported the building crash in Bangladesh.

Lee (the saw guy)

SteveM · May 5, 2013

Good, cheap - a contradiction in terms, like congressional ethics.

If you can afford it, a used Aloris or Dorian. If you can't, then a used Phase II.

Steve

Avrgjoe · May 5, 2013

The title to your thread: "Best cheap Quick Change Tool Post", Its a bit of an oxy moron

I have not been machining for too many years but I have learned in the Machine world there is no such thing as "Best & Cheap". I am rebuilding a SBL for, like you said, "Hobby use", when the time comes for my tool post purchase I don't know exactly what I will get other than the fact I know it will be American made.

jkruger · May 5, 2013

If you gave me a toolpost for free and it was not Aloris I would sell it and buy Aloris.

47nomad · May 5, 2013

If you have time on your hands to rework China junk
you have time to use a lantern tool post.

Gigantor · May 5, 2013

Gentlemen,
Thanks for all the advice; I really do appreciate you taking the time to respond. I too believe that old American iron will beat the pants off anything that China is producing now, that’s why I own a South Bend lathe and a Nichols mill. I’ve never bought a foreign made cell phone, major appliance or car my entire life. I like supporting the American economy and I also think it’s more economical in the long run. However, dropping $350 for a tool post just doesn’t fit my budget right now; even $225 is a stretch (though I would have taken that deal from Mark if I had been quicker). With all that said I think I’m going to follow the advice given about using a good reputable dealer like CDCO, ToolsforCheap and Enco. In the mean time I’ll keep looking for a good used American made unit, who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to spend $700 and by a new Aloris

Again, Thank you for all your help.

Keith Krome · May 5, 2013

I'd recommend Create tool's mutifix copy over Phase II's Aloris copy. Both are Chinese. One is more faithful to the original in craftsmanship over the other. They both suffer from inferior materials. Still, I'd choose the Create tool multifix over an aloris clone. I've got an A size post on my SB eleven. I use an E size on my 13" "barely meets machinery discussion guidelines" lathe at work. Much happier with it than the 200 size Phase II it replaced. Both because of better manufacture and design.

Edit: but I'm really not trying to start a toolpost option opinion piece. They've all got their place. I still keep the lantern around.

urquidezj · May 5, 2013

I got a phase II kit on enco. 185 I think. It's a crucial part IMO on a lathe but I don't have money's for an aloris. Some day lol but for now it's better than the lanter post it had.

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