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  1. #1
    Hey all,

    I'm having difficulty turning the ends of my ball screws down. The material seems pretty hard and it seems to be a lot of hassle to get things to cut and then it turns out pretty sloppy and inaccurate with a terrible finish.

    Am I best going with a toolpost grinder or is there some trick or other turning tool I could try?

    Thank you.

  2. #2
    Easiest way is just to anneal the end of the screw. Heat up the end and wrap a damp cloth round slightly further back to stop most of the heat conducting down the screw.

    If you're careful you'll end up with maybe 10-20mm of the portion you're not machining no longer hard ... but if your ballnut doesn't go that far then it's nothing to worry about.
    Old router build log here. New router build log here. Lathe build log here.
    Electric motorbike project here.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Jonathan For This Useful Post:


  4. #3
    as Jonathan says annealing is not that hard to do. if the screw is not too long, you can put the screw in a bucket of water with the part you want to anneal sticking out of the water. also remember that after annealing you will most likely need to straighten the screw and you will be best to use a collet rather than a chuck.

  5. #4
    For the visual type:

    https://emvioeng.com
    Machine tools and 3D printing supplies. Expanding constantly.

  6. #5
    So, all you need is a convenient induction heating unit! I was a little surprised at the straightening that was done. Assuming that any distortion would occur in the annealed section or at the boundary between that and the "left hard" section, wouldn't any slight loss of straightness be taken care of in the machining? If you are using the untouched threads to hold the screw (decent collet, etc) then I would have centre-drilled, brought up my tailstock centre, and just turned to dimension, confident that the turned part was going to be concentric with the body of the screw. What have I missed?

    - Brian

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Neale View Post
    So, all you need is a convenient induction heating unit!
    I've been resisting the temptation to buy one of these for a while:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000W-ZVS-...4AAOSwcu5URhOk

    Perhaps I should stop resisting....
    Old router build log here. New router build log here. Lathe build log here.
    Electric motorbike project here.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan View Post
    I've been resisting the temptation to buy one of these for a while:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000W-ZVS-...4AAOSwcu5URhOk

    Perhaps I should stop resisting....
    I gather that you've used the annealing method yourself - how did you heat the ballscrew, and do you think that there was any distortion? Was it machined out if so? I now have a lathe with a big enough spindle clearance for ballscrew machining, and trying to make sense out of the various sources of "advice" available via Google...

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Neale View Post
    I gather that you've used the annealing method yourself - how did you heat the ballscrew, and do you think that there was any distortion? Was it machined out if so? I now have a lathe with a big enough spindle clearance for ballscrew machining, and trying to make sense out of the various sources of "advice" available via Google...
    There are some pictures of one I did here - got a bit carried away with the heating, but I didn't notice any distortion - neither did I check carefully if I'm honest.

    http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/4497-...0297#post30297

    I used my Mum's cooker to heat it - it's a gas hob. Better off using something with a bit more power output though.
    Old router build log here. New router build log here. Lathe build log here.
    Electric motorbike project here.

  10. #9
    Clive S's Avatar
    Lives in Marple Stockport, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 13 Hours Ago Forum Superstar, has done so much to help others, they deserve a medal. Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 3,333. Received thanks 618 times, giving thanks to others 78 times. Made a monetary donation to the upkeep of the community. Is a beta tester for Machinists Network features.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan View Post
    I've been resisting the temptation to buy one of these for a while:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000W-ZVS-...4AAOSwcu5URhOk

    Perhaps I should stop resisting....
    Not sure if that would do it from what I have been reading you need about 10Kw. Funnily enough I have been reading this today https://github.com/joshcam/ReactorFo...ctorForge-Core but decided a good Mapi gas blow lamp would achieve the same result cheaper
    ..Clive
    The more you know, The better you know, How little you know

  11. #10
    I have a propane torch with range of burners from tiny to teenage dragon flame sizes. One should match "Mum's gas hob" plus a bit!

    Thanks - always good to hear from someone who's actually done the job.

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