Well, it seems no one's interested in simple tool holders Nigel.

I'm not allowed down the 'big' shed at the moment, as my wife is firmly of the belief that even a short visit in these temperatures will (at best) result in a bad cough that will keep us both awake for two or three nights. I'm afraid her views have some foundation in past experience. So I just have access to a few small machines in my warm (e.g. inside) workshop at the moment but I still like to keep a few things moving along.

I need a large blanking plug for one of my boilers (for testing) and found a suitable piece of brass in stock. As there wasn't anything 'spare' to hold on to – I used a shellac 'wax' chuck to hold it and turned the outside edge and inside face on my EW (you can see the partially turned part in the toolholder photos above. I find my soldering 'station' hot-air gun very convenient for this operation (it was really acquired to solder SMD components). It gives very controllable temperature and doesn't overheat things – albeit it's slower than using a gas torch. The photo shows the part being "un-attached".

I then needed to index the part and drill six mounting holes. I normally use my rotary table for this (but it was down the Shed). I'd gripped the part in an ER32 chuck to face off the other side, so decided to use my Hex collet block to drill the holes. First problem was (with the vice mounted) there was insufficient clearance to set the block vertically. A simple solution was to bolt two 20-40-60 blocks directly to the table (via 8mm bolts and the table slots) with a front stop. These held the block very firmly. This then allowed the holes to be part-drilled – I couldn't go right through as I didn't want to damage the collet.

I should mention that whilst still chucked in the EW, I'd run a spotting drill into the centre. Dividers were used to then mark the hole radius. A sticky pin in the drill chuck was trued and set to this radius mark (easy to see with my Optivisior). My Cowells drill has a very useful design feature in that the table's 'arm' can be swung, as well as having a table that rotates. So a part can be fixed to the table and then simply aligned by moving the part through the two arcs possible. I've fitted a collar/clamp (which sits under the arm) to the drill's main column so that when the arm itself is unclamped – the table doesn't just drop but can be swung to either side.

To finish through drilling the holes, the part was clamped in my finger plate. Something that may not be obvious is that the long (8mm) central bolt can be screwed right through the base plate and in this instance there is a wing-nut holding the plate in place on the table. The finger itself is then tightened using the finger 'knob' & cap-screw.

Anyway – that's the blanking plug finished hopefully. I will try a test fit this evening and all being well make a gasket for it. I hope this wasn't too basic for the experts here and that maybe there is something here of use to others.

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 11/02/2021 17:59:37

I've thought about several 'improvements' over the years Nigel (including guides on the blocks) but never quite got around to them. I did fit a 'guide' piece/block that a) generally positions the blocks and b) supports the clamp adjusting screw and its foot. This guide isn't currently fixed in place and can swivel – allowing the blocks to also be angled, which can be handy for chamfering etc. I may drill it for a removable taper-pin one day. I have considered fitting an 'end' stop (to make things a bit more 'repeatable' ) but haven't found a desperate need for one yet.

One thing I didn't mention is that when making these holders (from bright mild steel) the bottom will NOT be flat. I took a very light skim over the bottom surfaces. Otherwise they will tend to move, even if firmly clamped.

These blocks are very simple to make and use and perhaps it's best to keep them that way. A spring lifts the clamp when changing blocks and (again) whilst I've thought about a handle (instead of the nut) but it's never quite reached the top of my TUIT list…

I've also thought about index holes on the edge of the Cowells table but in use it would require careful set-up of any required radius (via the arm). I am happy with my new variable speed (with remote-control) DC motor though!

egards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 11/02/2021 18:52:25

Hello Nigel & John,

Nigel, If you haven't already seen them, Martin Cleeve wrote quite a long series of articles about "improving" the EW – including making a new 7/8th" spindle (with nose plate) to replace the original 3/4" one. This might be a useful way to restore your headstock. I have the articles if you'd like copies.

I do use the top-slide occasionally for some work but generally just leave the boring table in situ, as it's slotted table makes many things more convenient. The only real drawback is that it's a good bit wider and my scroll chuck & 4Jaw will foul it I get too close to them. This is not a problem with the ER32 chuck, where it will pass underneath.

John, having a small lathe "indoors" is very convenient and there are lot of simple (but still useful) things that you can do with one. I am very fortunate that my 'Manager', although very firm about visiting cold workshops, does provide an excellent in-house restaurant service in exchange. My friend (who is widowed) is very organised in this area and makes a whole tray of stuffed peppers and home made soups that get stored away in the freezer as 'instant meals'. His daughter is currently delivering Sunday Lunch to his doorstep but I know he misses eating it with her family. I'd like to be able to get down the Pub with him again too.

The blanking plug fitted well and I've made some paper gaskets for it. Amazon use a nice thick brown 'packing' paper that looks ideal, so I've used that. In the past I've used a plastic 'circle cutter' to cut these but never been very happy with them – especially on smaller diameters. After throwing several attempts in the bin, I simply used a compass to draw the inside hole and cut it out with a scalpel. I then cut the outside diameter using the plug itself as a guide. I don't think my circle cutter will see use in this area again. Sometimes simple and obvious is best!

The holes I've made in the past with a (leather) hole punch but I again decided to change tack and made a simple custom punch. It's very easy. I chucked some 6 mm mild steel rod, faced it and then centre drilled it with my smallest centre drill. I then turned it down to 3mm (to fit the holes) – which gave a sharp end. Then using low-peel masking tape (to hold the gasket in place) I punched away on top of a wooden block. There was no need to harden the punch.

I hope this helps someone here – it was (and still is sometimes) often the simplest things that caused me the most headaches.

Regards,

IanT

Nigel – if you PM me with your email – I'll send you the MC EW articles.

Regards,

IanT