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Making my own handwheel collet closer - material question

Kevin T

Stainless
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
I want a 5C collet closer for my 1941 16" lathe and it looks like a great project for me. I bought a prefab threaded tube and am planning on finishing it off myself by turning a shoulder and a handle. I am not very experienced with my lathe yet I just got it going recently but I am even more green when it comes to material selection.

Does anyone have recomendations for me on a relatively free machining material (semi rust resistant) that would be good as the indexing shoulder of the assembly? So far I have only dabbled with a couple operations w/cast material.
 
12L14 rusts just looking at it! I used plain old 1018 mild steel when I made closer's for both of my lathes. Bought thrust bearing and washers from McM/C ,also made my own draw tube out of DOM tube.
 
12L14 rusts just looking at it! I used plain old 1018 mild steel when I made closer's for both of my lathes. Bought thrust bearing and washers from McM/C ,also made my own draw tube out of DOM tube.

Same here. Scrap yard tube, Whatever was laying around for the shoulder, hand wheel a 1/4" aluminum disc with an oak outer edge riveted on with brass rivets. No thrust bearing just a bit of moly grease now and then.
Works very well and has lasted a long time. Cost...Zilch........Bob
 
Off cut / drop box for the tube, scrapped Alu wheel ''thingy'' from a customers scrap skip, Loctited assembly with a nylon washer.
 
Same here. Scrap yard tube, Whatever was laying around for the shoulder, hand wheel a 1/4" aluminum disc with an oak outer edge riveted on with brass rivets. No thrust bearing just a bit of moly grease now and then.
Works very well and has lasted a long time. Cost...Zilch........Bob

Nice, I am thinking about a wood outer also. I havent seen a thrust as part of the stock ones for sale for my era lathe.

I saw this one that I liked.

collet wheel 3.jpg

collet wheel.jpg

collet wheel 2.jpg
 
Shouldn't there be bearing where the drawbar snugs up against spindle on the left side of the headstock? Seems like it would be useful. My Stark #4 has one.
 
Shouldn't there be bearing where the drawbar snugs up against spindle on the left side of the headstock? Seems like it would be useful. My Stark #4 has one.
I dont think so unless this is more sophisticated that I am led to beleive.

P1050390.jpg
 
I dont think so unless this is more sophisticated that I am led to beleive.

View attachment 285492

there is a thrust bearing in that, hence the oil hole here;

IMG_1546.jpg

the collar with the oil hole rotates independently of the tube on a thrust bearing.

thats from a 16 also, but I'm intending to trim it down to fit a 10L I have for sale. I have the original hand wheel, the shop it came out of had turned a larger wooden one for it, but I found the original on a dusty shelf. untouched since about 1952 I'd guess.


actually, anyone have a draw tube for a wartime production 10L they want to swap for a 16? that would save us both some hassle.. SBlatheman..? depends on your stock and what folks want.. let me know. cheers!

(P.S. I've got the thread protector for the nose of a 16 and would throw that in..)
 
i would abandon the large diameter "wheel" in favor of a smaller diameter piece turned from the solid with some tommy bar holes in the periphery.

but thats just me. :)
 
That’s the stock part. I don’t know enough to say they are all like that, but I didn’t modify it, and the shop it came out of almost certainly didn’t either.

(One more reason to just buy the stock drawbar..save a lot more in time than you have sunk in materials, unless you have nothing much else to do... )
 








 
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