Lathe spindle handle

Hello all,

I have made this spindle handle for my mini lathe (a bit old project, but its worth mention it).

Attachment 28929 Attachment 28930

The design is not mine; I've copied it from toolsandmods. You can find it on toolsandmods library and projects, original design Ralph Patterson.

In the original design the barrel assembly has three parts, the barrel itself, a sleeve (milled square at one end, for attaching it to the arm) and a nut for securing the barrel with the sleeve in the arm. Since I hadn’t a milling machine (I still don’t have one) to make the sleeve from one piece of steel, I used two pipe fittings, a steel threaded connector and a brass pipe cap.

Attachment 28931 Attachment 28932

I did a couple minor changes for securing the parts and some for the appearance of the tool; you will see these on the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Isot6KaWs0

I use this tool almost in every project that I have for the lathe; however in order to have a more versatile tool, I made a bigger arm and changed the tightening bolt with a threaded shaft that has a knob.

Attachment 28933 Attachment 28934 Attachment 28935

All the best
Dimitris

Nice and well done. Yes a crank can be very useful on the lathe

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Thanks Dimitris Polychronis! We've added your Lathe Spindle Handle to our Machining category,
as well as to your builder page: Dimitris Polychronis's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-lathe-spindle-handle-2"> <img src="/uploads/222507/homemade-lathe-spindle-handle-2.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-lathe-spindle-handle-2">Lathe Spindle Handle</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Dimitris+Polychronis">Dimitris Polychronis</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/lathe'>lathe</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/handle'>handle</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Thanks Christophe! Allow me to say that the hand crank is a 'must to have tool' for all of us we have a mini lathe.

Regards from Greece
Dimitris

Dimitris Polychronis,

That is a well made handle for your mini-lathe and I am sure it comes in handy. Very nice workmanship!
I also made one similar to the Ralph Patterson version but he handle on mine came from an old bicycle crank and rotates on ball bearings. It is quite easy to turn.

Thanks Dick! Yes it's handy, I'm using it almost on every lathe project. I would like to see your handle, can you post some pictures?

Cheers
Dimitris

Dimitris Polychronis,

Here are some pictures of my mini-lathe hand crank. Like I said before it is based upon Ralph Patterson's design. The only part of the bicycle crank I utilized is the pedal shaft and bearing parts. I turned the plastic pedal shaft down to fit my hand. It works well and carries out it's intended function. With it I have parted off 2" diameter 303 stainless with no trouble. like Ralph's design it also functions as a spindle lock.

Attachment 29093
Attachment 29094
Attachment 29095

It’s an awesome crank Dick, thanks for the pictures!! I really like the brass knob, its big enough to have good grip in the hand.
Unfortunately, the design of my lathe's gear train doesn't allow using the crank for locking the spindle. Thanks again for the pictures!

Regards from Greece
Dimitris

Dimitris Polychronis,

Thank you for the complement! I also have a spindle back stop with various length rods to aid in setting stock length. It functions similar to a collet stop.

I have also a spindle stop. I made it a few months ago. Mine is adjustable. To be more specific, it is combination of two different designs (Ralph Patterson and Harold Hall); anyway, I see it more like a hybrid.

Cheers
Dimitris