steel supply

[BillTodd]

Bill, for the sake of the uninitiated (i.e. me, but a few others here i suspect) can you explain how the radius turning tool works and how you made it?

Well, the bearing block is (I think) part of a motorcycle hub; I fitted a couple of 5/8" centred ball races and turned it down to fit the clamp (the right-angled bit) from my home-brew T&C grinder. The clamp is bolted to another steel plate drilled to fit the tool-post bolt.

The tool is a broken solid carbide PCB drill, re-shaped into a pointed lathe tool. It fits into a cross drilled hole in the main 5/8" vertical bar clamped in place by a grub screw. The radius (7/16" in this case) is pre-set by the tool over hang.

The 'design' is determined by the semi-circular profile required and the size (7" diameter) of the part. It has to hang off the compound 'cos the Hardinge cross-slide will not fit under the part.

It's simple to use; once the tool is centred on the part, the cross-slide if fed in by 10-15thou then the tool is turned with the handle AKA 4" allan bolt :) - Repeat 'til complete.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oR3QTDLpcI"]YouTube - radiusturning[/ame]