Just got a lathe to retrofit

[Hood]

Thanks, will maybe not get too much done next week as I am working away a few days but hope to make some progress this weekend and next.
Hood

[Dan13]

Phone is just a cheapo but suppose even the cheap ones nowadays have half decent cameras, think though the second pic was more to do with the light under the head of the mill making it look a bit fuzzy.

My apologies then

Dan

[Hood]

No apologies needed Dan

Got the turret plate finished today, slots cut, coolant holes from back drilled and coolant rig mounting holes drilled and tapped. On the way home from the workshop I thought about the turret I have on the front of the lathe (pic attached), it has exactly the same curvic coupling as this new one I am making. I am wondering if I could fit this disc to that turret  temporarily  until I get the new one made, will measure tomorrow and see. Reprogramming the PLC and the indexing drive would not be an issue but whether it will be worth it I am not sure.
Hood

[Dan13]

I am wondering if I could fit this disc to that turret  temporarily  until I get the new one made, will measure tomorrow and see. Reprogramming the PLC and the indexing drive would not be an issue but whether it will be worth it I am not sure.

Why might it not work for you? I mean if all fits, why would it be temporary?

Dan

[Hood]

Few reasons Dan, first I am not  sure what dimensions the shaft and what its mounting holes are so may require making a new shaft up, no big deal I suppose but would mean making another when I do make the new turret housing. Also not sure how the coolant ring would fit in on the old turret, dont think it would.
The reasons I wouldnt want this as a permanent turret are that I want the turret to the rear, also this turret sits a lot further forward than it should be as it needed that for clearance of tools, with the holders its about 400mm dia I think. I could of course remove the turret and fit it to the rear and at the same time make it sit further back onto the slide. Doing that however would be almost as big a job as just making up a complete new housing/shaft/cylinder I think. Will check things out tomorrow and see.
Hood

[Dan13]

Hood,

Thought you wanted to do away with the two turret setup?

Dan

[Hood]

I do Dan, want a single turret at the rear and have a block at the front with a 50mm dia hole for big bars/spade drills etc and also will have dovetails on it so I can mount the holders from the front turret if required, see pic.
Hood

[Hood]

Had a look at the front turret today and still not sure if it could be used or not, will have to dismantle it a bit before I know.
The front flange of the shaft is 85mm dia where mine will be 80 but that in itself wouldnt be an issue as it would have to go on the outside face of the turret plate rather than inside like I had planned. Where the problem would be is the holes for mounting on mine I have made at 65mm PCD and the front turrets is just 60mm. Having said that it looks like the shaft may have the flange bolted to it as there are 3 cap screws in the centre, if that is the case then I should be able to just make a new flange up for the front the correct size to suit my plate, also I should be able to shorten the shaft first so that I can have the flange inside as I had originally intended. The only other thing I see that could be an issue is the coolant ring, I wont know until I dismantle the turret whether it would be possible to make a face for it to fit in.

Well on to the turret plate, after looking at the front turret I saw that the curvic coupling half that attaches to it is fixed from the front via cap  screws, this makes sense as they are larger dia holes than the m8 capscrews and that allows you to clamp the turret and then with the screws slack you can tap the plate round to perfectly align the tool slot with the axis. So today I did the same to my turret plate, I bored the holes right through to the face and then took them out to 11mm and then counter bored the front of them by 13mm depth and 18mm dia, this will allow me to have a 4mm thick washer and still have the head of the cap screws under the surface.
 I also made the coolant ring, at the moment it is 20mm thick but I will turn it down on the lathe to approx 15mm thick but I will wait until I get the turret built up to get an exact size.
Hood

[Hood]

Pulled the front turret apart a bit and afraid its not going to be any use. If you look at the pics you will see the curvic attached to the turret plate protrudes quite a a bit and the one on the turret is recessed below the front of the turret body casting. I could machine the face of the turret and have the coolant ring bolted to it instead of the plate but it would make the casting quite thin in a few places and as it just Aluminium then its not something I want to do. I would rather keep the turret intact and make a new one up.

Hood

[Hood]

Managed to get a bit done to the turret housing, face is bored and recessed for the coupling and bush housing, back is machined and base is also machined. I made the front and base from 15mm thick steel and the back is 25mm thick. Hope to get the sides made and all tacked together tomorrow.
Hood