Lathe taper turning attachment

Hi, all,
Needing very occasionally to do external and internal tapers on the lathe longer than my available compound slide travel, I came up with this version of a taper turning attachment made from scrap materials which I had available. A similar one could readily be made to suit most lathes with the attachment brackets tailored to suit.
Although I have added no angle graduations to it, (due to the fact that this would vary depending on the spacing of the clamp brackets,etc.), it is a simple matter to set it up to a given angle using a dial gauge, some basic calculation, and/or a master piece, e.g:- a Morse taper sleeve, etc.

I hope all is clear in this video, but if not, don't hesitate to message me for clarification.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdLVfnrC88

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Thanks brianhw! We've added your Taper Turning Attachment to our Machining category,
as well as to your builder page: brianhw's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-taper-turning-attachment-3"> <img src="/uploads/205381/homemade-taper-turning-attachment-3.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-taper-turning-attachment-3">Taper Turning Attachment</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/brianhw">brianhw</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/lathe'>lathe</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/taper'>taper</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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brianhw,
I like your adaptation of various used parts to build the lathe taper turning attachment.
Regards, Paul Jones

it seems simple and very usefull and adapable to any lathe, i have one question, how do u disconnect the threaded crosslide shaft, so crossslide follows taper shaft?? i watched vid, crossslide handle did not move.

Good question.

You need to disconnect the cross slide lead screw from the feed nut. This usually means either remove the cross slide feed screw, or the nut, whichever is easier. On my Logan, the cross feed assembly is held in with two easily accessible socket head cap screws. If I had a taper attachment, I would just remove those two screws to that assembly. Then you might want to make a plate to cover the hole in the carriage apron to keep chips out of there.

Great build and something I have been thinking of doing, this is what HTM is all about, looking around the shop to see what can be made out of what you have.
Well done.

Ingenious and an awesome display of what can be done with materials laying around at hand.
It even has a nice looking finished quality.
Well done sir.

Thanks for favourable comment, madokie.
In answer to your question, the cross slide acme nut is removed by, on my machine, winding the cross slide threaded spindle fully out of the nut and removing an Allen screw, whereupon the nut drops out thus leaving the slide free for operation solely by the taper attachment and the handle therefore becomes inoperative.
Hope this answers your question clearly enough.

Brian
Are there any plans drawn for this? it would be awesome to have a set of tech drawings for this. I have a 10x22 grizzly lathe I love but it is a bit ruff on turning tapers of any kind.

Sorry, Charron63, I didn't draw up any plans for this - (other than a few doodles on the back of a cornflakes box at the time !). Having said that, if there are any dimensions of this particular device that would assist you in making one, please feel free to ask.

with all the super cheep linner ball bearings&rods nowdays this would be a cheep addition to any lathe.even my cheep9x20 enco.....I may just have to make one....good post!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by madokie

it seems simple and very usefull and adapable to any lathe, i have one question, how do u disconnect the threaded crosslide shaft, so crossslide follows taper shaft?? i watched vid, crossslide handle did not move.

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The cross slide nut is disconnected by removing its attachment allen screw, thus allowing the cross slide to move freely in and out.
Hope that (belatedly) answers your question.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Charron63

Brian
Are there any plans drawn for this? it would be awesome to have a set of tech drawings for this. I have a 10x22 grizzly lathe I love but it is a bit ruff on turning tapers of any kind.

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I didn't make any plans because I thought that there would be too many variations between lathes to do this. You should be able to come up with something suitable for your particular machine by examining the video closely.

I have been planning a taper attachment like this for my Myford ML7 for ages. I have the shaft from a McPherson strut that I have removed the shoulder on, but that is as far as I have got. Several parts of the strut could go into the manufacture of this attachment.

I have found that its hard to get a smooth finish moving carriage feed by hand; using power the finish comes out very smooth. I was cutting a 6° taper using the compound. Feeding by hand no matter what I tried I could not get a smooth even finish.. I rigged up a driveshaft from the end of the lead screw to the compound, what a difference!!