Effective ways to dial in live tools on slant bed lathes?

BluishInventor · Oct 22, 2021

We have a Haas ST30Y and my experience with lathes isn't much better than mediocre. I've made and programmed some cools stuff, but now I have a part where I need every bit of accuracy I can get. While the tool setter can set X and Z, what are some proper methods for dialing in Y for live tools?

I've tried loading up my coax in the spindle and dialing in the shank of the tool or the collet seat of the live tool block. But it still seems off. In some cases couple thousandths. I've also used a test indicator on a mag base, but the droop I get from gravity seems to affect my results.

What methods do you use to dial in your live tools(or static for that matter) to be absolutely on the money?

MaxPrairie · Oct 22, 2021

Typically I take a test cut and see how far off in y the tool it. Are we talking about drills, taps, or endmills you are trying to setup?

GENERALDISARRAY · Oct 22, 2021

I have several different sizes of bar with a hole reamed through them to hold a test indicator on a round shank. There is also a setscrew to snug the shank. That way you can minimize gravity pulling your indicator down.

Just pop it in the spindle.

How true your head is to Z needs to be checked also. Clamp a longer straight tool in the head and run a indicator on two sides of it.

BluishInventor · Oct 22, 2021

MaxPrairie said:
Typically I take a test cut and see how far off in y the tool it. Are we talking about drills, taps, or endmills you are trying to setup?

Pretty much all of the above.

What kind of test cut do you take? I thought about making a program that makes a few cuts for which I can measure. For instance, turn the OD of a bar and then profile a square that is aligned with XY and measure. But for Y, I suppose I could make a cut above and below centerline and measure the difference to centerline.

BluishInventor · Oct 22, 2021

GENERALDISARRAY said:
I have several different sizes of bar with a hole reamed through them to hold a test indicator on a round shank. There is also a setscrew to snug the shank. That way you can minimize gravity pulling your indicator down.

Just pop it in the spindle.

How true your head is to Z needs to be checked also. Clamp a longer straight tool in the head and run a indicator on two sides of it.

I'm not sure. I will look around for a test bar or something that can act as one. I could also use feeler gages with the test bar, but not sure how accurate this would be...

Orange Vise · Oct 22, 2021

BluishInventor said:
I've tried loading up my coax in the spindle and dialing in the shank of the tool or the collet seat of the live tool block.

A coax is by far the easiest tool to use for this job, but it must be held very concentrically in the spindle because it doesn't self correct for runout the way a test indicator does. That's the tradeoff for not having to bend your neck around to see the indicator dial.

Collet chucks make this easy because you can just pop in a 3/8" collet. In a 3-jaw chuck, I like to bore a set of jaws to 1" or 1.25" and use a straight collet for milling chucks.

MaxPrairie · Oct 22, 2021

BluishInventor said:
Pretty much all of the above.

What kind of test cut do you take? I thought about making a program that makes a few cuts for which I can measure. For instance, turn the OD of a bar and then profile a square that is aligned with XY and measure. But for Y, I suppose I could make a cut above and below centerline and measure the difference to centerline.

For whatever reason my mind went to thinking about dialing in radial live tools. For axial live or static tools I use a 16mm collet and a Haimer centro with say a 1/2 dowel or gauge pin if it's a 1/2" endmill. For radial live holders is where I will take a test cut and see where I am at. A lot of the time it's not worth me setting up all those live holders when I have a mill 5 feet away I can cut softjaws in quickly and run the mill features on that. We do have parts that run batches of about 500 that we spot drill and tap radially and those holders never leave the machine. For static turning I just play with y until there is a nice flat face and no nub in the center. Parting tools are better to run lower center than above center so there is some freedom there.

BluishInventor · Oct 22, 2021

MaxPrairie said:
For whatever reason my mind went to thinking about dialing in radial live tools. For axial live or static tools I use a 16mm collet and a Haimer centro with say a 1/2 dowel or gauge pin if it's a 1/2" endmill. For radial live holders is where I will take a test cut and see where I am at. A lot of the time it's not worth me setting up all those live holders when I have a mill 5 feet away I can cut softjaws in quickly and run the mill features on that. We do have parts that run batches of about 500 that we spot drill and tap radially and those holders never leave the machine. For static turning I just play with y until there is a nice flat face and no nub in the center. Parting tools are better to run lower center than above center so there is some freedom there.

Well, I was generally speaking to both radial and axial. Again, I just don't have the experience with lathes I wish I did.

You mention 'For static turning I just play with y until there is a nice flat face and no nub in the center.' and I don't quite understand what you're saying. What kind of cuts are you making?

BluishInventor · Oct 22, 2021

Orange Vise said:
A coax is by far the easiest tool to use for this job, but it must be held very concentrically in the spindle because it doesn't self correct for runout the way a test indicator does. That's the tradeoff for not having to bend your neck around to see the indicator dial.

Collet chucks make this easy because you can just pop in a 3/8" collet. In a 3-jaw chuck, I like to bore a set of jaws to 1" or 1.25" and use a straight collet for milling chucks.

We have a Royal QG-80 chuck I'm using right now, which is ~4.5" collet. I avoid my coax because it's a pretty cheap one.(yeah yeah, i know) just have almost always used a test indicator on mills which is all I have needed. But even then, I've never used a coax(even a really nice one) that can get me better than .0005"-.001" of what it shows as perfect.

GENERALDISARRAY · Oct 22, 2021

facing
he is facing it and changing his tool center height until there is no tit.

MaxPrairie · Oct 22, 2021

BluishInventor said:
Well, I was generally speaking to both radial and axial. Again, I just don't have the experience with lathes I wish I did.

You mention 'For static turning I just play with y until there is a nice flat face and no nub in the center.' and I don't quite understand what you're saying. What kind of cuts are you making?

Facing cuts. A nub on the center of the part at the face will throw a spot drill off center (which is why indexables are nice in lathes and being a little off center with them isn't as big of a deal)(not to be confused with indexable tip drills which should run very true). If you were running a lathe without a y axis you would have to use a shim under the tool to move the tool in y. You shouldn't have to adjust the y on a static turning tool more than about 5-10 thou.

BluishInventor · Oct 22, 2021

MaxPrairie said:
Facing cuts. A nub on the center of the part at the face will throw a spot drill off center (which is why indexables are nice in lathes and being a little off center with them isn't as big of a deal)(not to be confused with indexable tip drills which should run very true). If you were running a lathe without a y axis you would have to use a shim under the tool to move the tool in y. You shouldn't have to adjust the y on a static turning tool more than about 5-10 thou.

Wow, I actually misread the 'With Static turning' and was thinking radial milling cause that is what I want to dial in(aside from wanting to dial in the axial).

The nub on the facing with a static turn tool, I have no issue with and can adjust for that no problemo. My fault on the misinterpretation.

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