Lathe Part: Machinist Opinions?

[BearPipes-1]

Hi folks,

I've got an old woodworking lathe that needs a part for the
self-ejecting tailstock.

The photo attached is of the dead center that fits the tailstock; it works fine (the crud buildup is the previous owner's, and will be dealt with soon), but I'd really like to be able to use my #1MT live center. This isn't a valuable lathe, but it's the one I've got, and it would be nice to have it be more widely
useful by accepting standard taper parts, rather than this weird
straight-shanked thing.

So here's what I'm contemplating:

13/16" cylinder, 4" long
.25" wide channel along its length, .1" deep

There's a hole through the center:
One end needs a #1 morse taper to hold tail centers
The other end tapped 1/4" x 20 (this opening
is engaged by the screw on the self-ejecting tailstock).

My quick eMachineShop diagram/price tells me that's not a solution, which leads me to ask if someone with some machining experience would like to tell me, "No, that part's going to intrinsically cost more than your lathe is worth."

[kwgeorge]

Off the top of my head making this piece would not be too difficult. I assume we are looking at the quill of the tailstock in the picture or at least part of it. The slot could be easily milled but turning the taper takes a bit more skill. I have seen it done a couple of ways but the one that comes to mind is to machine the taper with a boring bar and then finish the inside with a reamer. I have also seen the taper drilled with a tapered bit and again finished with a reamer. This was all many, many years ago so there are probably different ways to do things today.

Ken

[Jim Boyd]

Back in my machine shop days I used a standard drill bit to remove the waste then a tapered reamer to finish the part.

[Imadunatic]

It is a pain to get the tapers perfect. I have made a few on a OD/ID grinder at work, But getting the taper perfect is the tough part. If its a "skosh" off, it will never want to lock together. If you had access to a metal working lathe, your best bet would be to step drill the hole with succeedingly smaller drill bits to first to remove as much material as possible, (hopefully you remember your trig. lol) They do make tapered drill bits, but they are widow makers. They always have a tendancy to grab and bury themselves in the piece.

Then go back with your taper reamer:http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...&PARTPG=INLMK3

and clean up the steps. You could probably accomplish most of this in your drill press if you had a solid way of holding the piece.

[Black wallnut]

First I am not a machinist nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night! I do know a bit about such things and know several hobby machinists that have made parts for me in the past. This part should be rather simple to make but finding someone with the correct tapered reamer that will work in essence for free will be the problem. Setup takes time and so does the actual cutting with a reamer, which IMHO is the best way to do this. Rifle chambers are cut this way; piloted tapered reamer.

The last part I had machined was just a bushing 11/16" dia x 3/4" long with a 1/4" through hole and 3/8" rabbet on one end centered. It took about 45 minutes to make.

It seems to me that it may be less expensive to just replace the lathe unless you have a close friend that is a machinist. Lee Styron is a hobby machinist (maker of the Shark Guard) and might be able to give you a differing perspective.