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South Bend Impulse Purchase

Kevin T

Stainless
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
I saw one of these in the fat Grizzly catalog and have been thinking about it for a while. They offer one for 5C and 8C collets. I think they may be about to discontinue them because online it was in the blowout section. I had a thought to turn some grommets out of brass to put in the holes so that I could display all the MT3 drills I have but since I recently learned that the tailstock isn't for drilling I am not sure what I will do!

The drawers are hastily made and there is a large, although uniform, gap on the sides. I have aligned them to look good in the picture but they need to be shimmed to always look well crafted. Pretty sturdy box though, if money were no object I might like to have a few of these next to each other near the lathe but I can't do that right now.

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Here's the sweatshop where they get made. I don't like the idea of my money going to China but it was an impulse buy!

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Oh gee! Tailstock isn't for drilling eh? I wonder how I've managed to do it all these years. I guess I was mislead!
See bottom left photo on p. 56 (30 of 82 in the .pdf).
http://www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/17726.pdf

See also illustration p.12, middle of left column, Lever operated tailstock - "A Practical attachment for quantity centering and drilling".
http://www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/17971.pdf

Thanks Rudd, It seemed pretty strange to me to hear that the tailstock isn't strong enough to drill large holes. My tailstock is the standard tailstock though for a 16" lathe and not the lever actuated one in your link. I will double check the post and get back. It was said that I should only use power feed to drill large holes. It sort of made sense except a ton of large bits (up to 1.25 dia.) with MT3 tapers came with my lathe that was previously used at the Navy Yard in Pearl Harbor. I was really looking forward to using them! Thanks for keeping the good info flowing my way!

EDIT: It was user "Thermite" who said not to use the tailstock with big twist drills to "open up" holes to larger sizes. Maybe it's different if I use the big drills to go straight to the larger diameter without steps or maybe he assumed my steps were gradual instead of going from 7/16 to 1-1/4. hmmm
 
That wooden cabinet looks real nice. I need to sort out something along that line myself. Just undecided a direction yet. The manufacturing year of that is a bit surprising, lol.

Having read Thermite's post starting about here:
Smoke

I thought he might have been a little excessive, if I read correctly, in how he said it, but he does have a good point, at least in larger size twist drills.

As i have one 16" like yours, I'd say the tail stock is in the area of 75 to 100lbs. If you're drilling the quill is not locked, and there is rotational stress. For pilot drills and sizes 1/2" and smaller I think its fine.

One thing I can tell you, my 2H, the tailstock has about 5 times the weight. While drilling I can seriously lock down the rotating head, as well as the adapters that would serve like a quill:

175.jpg

I can run powerfeed with clutch handle, that's inside of 4 spoke wheel. Or I can use the 4 spoke wheel like a drill press, manually, as easy or hard as I want to push.

I mentioned all that because if using it manually, I have to hang on for dear life if using 5/8 or 3/4 twist drill bits, :D.

As long as its cutting, its fine. The problem is when a large bit hangs up in the work. . . All that torque from chuck is transferred into tail stock, and into what keeps quill from spinning.

On the 2H, all that weight ain't moving, and everything is locked down, so usually it tries to draw tailstock into work, or until something gives, which usually is the drill bit spinning in chuck.
 
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Wood Box and MT2 Organizers

Kevin; nothing wrong w/impulse buys, especially those that end up getting used and help
with organization. Similar to yours, I bought two of the little wood cabinets from Grizzley and I think they
are great, and were rather cheap (I think about 50 bucks each). I've currently got them on my bench, seen in the photo below.
The only prob is that they take up space, and the tops make perfect places to collect even more crap! And I
don't have a fancy SB emblem either.

Being a wood-worker of sorts, it would take me a month or longer to duplicate these boxes if I had to,
although hopefully with a little better quality. So these were really a no-brainer. I've got way
too much stuff...It looks like a hardware store in here!

In one of my lower bench drawers was a collection of MT2 drills and reamers (with a few MT3 thrown in).
If I'd had an MT2 drill, I probably would have made a holder out of wood and mounted to the
inside door of my lathe bench, similar to the collet holder in the photo. But instead, I found a site called
COLLETIZER.COM where a company makes all kinds of inexpensive holders out of plastic. For as little as I use them,
it works for me. They have both bench top and door mount organizers...and it saves me the expense of getting yet another
tool that I rarely use. (I can only imagine how expensive these would be if made of metal).

I hate to see you have to go to the trouble of making brass collars for your drills. Seems you'll need to make them all
with a MT3 taper, or you'll have to make a plank on the bottom to hold the shank ends, otherwise they will just
be all wobbly and leaning. Will be a bitch to keep clean too. If you didn't already have a collet rack, I'd say put your
collets on the wood organizer and your drills on the collet rack...but that's just me. It's all good.

PMc

View attachment 290209 View attachment 290210
 
tailstock is fine for drilling...at least as good as your arm is for cranking it.

where i think youre going to have trouble is drilling through 20ish inches of stock if its that collet closer tube youre working on.

thats going to be hell.
 
tailstock is fine for drilling...at least as good as your arm is for cranking it.

where i think youre going to have trouble is drilling through 20ish inches of stock if its that collet closer tube youre working on.

thats going to be hell.

Ahh I am sure I am responsible for any confusion and maybe you just hit it on the head! I am only machining the end adapter and handle because I bought a pre-threaded tube! (I wasn't sure I could do those internal diameter collet threads)

Man how about that box?! LOL
 
I have one or two of the older Chines tool boxes {12 drawers} that showed up about 10 years ago, there not too bad to hold
lathe tools....
 
Looking at your nice wood chest got me looking around. I don't need the collet holders though. But really, I needed to sort out clutter in a big way.

I prefer neat and orderly, but over time and accumulation, Ive been feeling itchy and scratchy with the state of things.

Your post got me thinking of older wooden tool chests I used to see more of. Scanning ebay and such I think I'd like one or two of this type for my work bench area:

178.jpg

The vintage type, being oak plus USA made can be a bit pricer:

179.jpg

New, no doubt Chinese or the like, plus I guess pine or fir at $100 to $120:

180.jpg

My work bench area is U shaped. Two parallel benches, with my main tool box at one end. I really want one or two for that area. But my bench area is the opposite corner of shop from my lathe.

To best help un-clutter everything, I was thinking a tool box at the lathe for lathe tooling, and lathe related items might be the ticket.

I found a craftsman upper toolbox in really pristine condition on craigslist for $120. The guy kept it in his house, not his garage, I'm guessing for wood or electric work, it doesn't look like its seen oil and grease before. All the tray mats are perfect too. I'm sure I'll fix all that, lol.

Setting it up on a cart that I decided to use for chucks and heavier items. Helped clean up a bit, and will save me trips to the work bench area.

181.jpg 183.jpg
 
Looking at your nice wood chest got me looking around. I don't need the collet holders though. But really, I needed to sort out clutter in a big way.

I prefer neat and orderly, but over time and accumulation, Ive been feeling itchy and scratchy with the state of things.

Your post got me thinking of older wooden tool chests I used to see more of. Scanning ebay and such I think I'd like one or two of this type for my work bench area:

View attachment 290519

The vintage type, being oak plus USA made can be a bit pricer:

View attachment 290520

New, no doubt Chinese or the like, plus I guess pine or fir at $100 to $120:

View attachment 290521

My work bench area is U shaped. Two parallel benches, with my main tool box at one end. I really want one or two for that area. But my bench area is the opposite corner of shop from my lathe.

To best help un-clutter everything, I was thinking a tool box at the lathe for lathe tooling, and lathe related items might be the ticket.

I found a craftsman upper toolbox in really pristine condition on craigslist for $120. The guy kept it in his house, not his garage, I'm guessing for wood or electric work, it doesn't look like its seen oil and grease before. All the tray mats are perfect too. I'm sure I'll fix all that, lol.

Setting it up on a cart that I decided to use for chucks and heavier items. Helped clean up a bit, and will save me trips to the work bench area.

View attachment 290522 View attachment 290523

Very nice vintage stuff! I would take the time to build it all myself and blend it into where I am now but this is not a forever location for me. We will end up somewhere more friendly to pensioners at some point and we need flat land and one story when we get old so this is not it. I would like to have a few Chinese herb/medicine cabinets to hold all my tooling, or a good part of it, but that would be the most expensive way to go!

Chinese Apothecary Medicine Herb Spice Cabinet 164 draws!! Pick up only | eBay
 








 
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