Lathe cross-slide jig plate

[Skun Knuckles]

Nice work I always read your latest posts with great interest, I’ve often contemplated something similar for my lathe. The question has always been how to mount it, are the dovetails on your cross slide factory machined or did you machine them yourself?

[thehomeengineer]

Nice work I always read your latest posts with great interest, I’ve often contemplated something similar for my lathe. The question has always been how to mount it, are the dovetails on your cross slide factory machined or did you machine them yourself?

The lathe I have is a Colchester Student 1800 and has factory fitted dovetails. I think they are possibly used for a hydraulic copying attachment?

However don’t be put off if you haven’t got dovetails on your cross-slide and they are square. A similar set up would work with straight sides (a bit like vice). This would also be even simpler to make as the two pieces that straddle the cross-slide could be bolted to the main jig plate. (Making it more like a fabrication) and the jib strip would act like the loose jaw. Alternatively if you have a cross-slide with tee slots already fitted (like a Myford ML7) an additional jig plate would be easy to mount, or tooling/components clamps directly to the cross-slide.

I hope this has helped and look forward to seeing your solution.

Andy

[Philip Davies]

You are a lucky beggar with your skip finds, but it’s just as well that I don’t have that opportunity, I am really quite overwhelmed with what I have salvaged already! And congratulations on your 10th award.
Do you know of anyone who would like a disc sander (homemade) ? The platen is 16” diameter.

[Skun Knuckles]

Unfortunately my cross slide doesn’t have t-slots, before I purchased my mill I fitted a vertical slide to my lathe’s cross slide using one of the compound slide mounting studs and two threaded holes that I drilled and tapped.
I have often considered more tapped holes to mount a fixture plate but I am not keen on the cross slide ending up like Swiss cheese, your suggestion of a vise like arrangement has given me something to lie awake at night thinking about.
Cheers.

[thehomeengineer]

[QUOTE=Skun your suggestion of a vice like arrangement has given me something to lie awake at night thinking about.
Cheers.[/QUOTE]

please don’t have nightmares
Once you have made your jig plate I will be keen to see how you made it.