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  1. #1
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    Default Lathe feed controls

    So far in my fairly short metalworking career I've seen quite a number of different lathes (probably about 10 between work and school) and they all seem to have similar controls for the feed; a direction selector, an axis selector and an engagement lever (and they're all in different places and inconsistent as to which direction pull/push goes ). Except for the Tos Trencin lathe at work. This thing has, I reckon, the single best control system ever devised; a single lever that you just push in the direction you want to go and a button on top for rapid travel as well.

    IMAG3297.jpg

    I'm assuming the only reason everyone doesn't do this is because it's patented, but man I wish it was more common.

  2. #2
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    My CVA has quite a good system, two totally independent clutched levers and a reversing pull push control. I haven't found any use for feeding both at once but one day I might try power chamfering.

    My pet hate is lathes that have the feed reverse lever all the way at the back of the headstock.

    Sent from my Nokia 8 Sirocco using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    We have a Colchester and a Chinese lathe with a joystick on the right hand side of the carriage for the feed, with a button in the center of the joystick for the rapid. best system i have used.
    Worst is our Taiwanese lathe with the feed handle at the the bottom left or the carriage, right in the line of the hot chips spraying off the tool.

  4. #4
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    Pic? Or model number so I can look it up?

    Yeah, controls in the way of chips is just poor design. If they have to be there, at least include a chip guard

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    So far in my fairly short metalworking career I've seen quite a number of different lathes (probably about 10 between work and school) and they all seem to have similar controls for the feed; a direction selector, an axis selector and an engagement lever (and they're all in different places and inconsistent as to which direction pull/push goes ). Except for the Tos Trencin lathe at work. This thing has, I reckon, the single best control system ever devised; a single lever that you just push in the direction you want to go and a button on top for rapid travel as well.

    IMAG3297.jpg

    I'm assuming the only reason everyone doesn't do this is because it's patented, but man I wish it was more common.
    I like how the hand wheel is on the right, my Okuma hand wheel is on the left with chip guard but would much like a right hand wheel.
    Resize of IMG_5953.jpg

  6. #6
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    The 6 brands we have at work all have the handwheel on the right, the only other one I've seen on the left is the Leblond Makino at school. Very annoying position and not even guarded.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    Pic? Or model number so I can look it up?

    Yeah, controls in the way of chips is just poor design. If they have to be there, at least include a chip guard
    colchester magnum, the feed control is the only good design feature on that lathe.

    Colchester Magnum Lathe

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    The 6 brands we have at work all have the handwheel on the right, the only other one I've seen on the left is the Leblond Makino at school. Very annoying position and not even guarded.
    We tend to have right hand sided hand wheels because we are part of the old British empire and that's what the Brits used. The Americans (and I think a lot of Europe) go for the other style. I pretty much have only ever used right hand side hand wheel machines (except for the old Hercuse's at school back in the 1970's) and I don't think I could change over now.
    It wouldn't be too bad while everything was going well but in the event of something starting to go not so well, my instincts would take over and I would be winding the RHS hand wheel clockwise and the LHS anti clockwise. hmmmmm.

    pete

  9. #9
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    We tend to have right hand sided hand wheels because we are part of the old British empire and that's what the Brits used. The Americans (and I think a lot of Europe) go for the other style.

    I dunno...we've got English, Italian, Japanese, Czech and Taiwanese lathes and they're all on the right. Seems to be a bit whatever they felt like at the time

  10. #10
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    My lathe is English, but the wheel is on the left - although it is an evolution of a US lathe. I've made up a free standing deflector shield to stop the chip shower. John Stephenson had a similar lathe and hard bolted a deflector to his in roughly the same position. It is a (literal) pain sometimes, but then again if that is all that is wrong with it...

    Michael

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    [/COLOR]I dunno...we've got English, Italian, Japanese, Czech and Taiwanese lathes and they're all on the right. Seems to be a bit whatever they felt like at the time
    A lot of the better quality machines can be ordered with right or left hand wheels (or at least they used to be) so Brits and Aussies tended to order the right hand version while the USA favours the left. I have no idea why apart from what I said before . Maybe the yanks went for the left just because the poms liked the right.

    Heres another question that I've always wondered about and no one has ever been able to answer very well.
    Why do all manual lathes (not vertical lathes or cnc machines) have the head stock on the left hand side when looking at the front of the machine? A machine built the other way would still work.
    I've seen horizontal borers that are controlled from different sides.

    peter

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by bollie7 View Post
    Why do all manual lathes (not vertical lathes or cnc machines) have the head stock on the left hand side when looking at the front of the machine?
    Complete guess, but... Most people are right handed, so having the headstock on the left means that the right hand is closer to the controls when looking at the work.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by snapatap View Post
    colchester magnum, the feed control is the only good design feature on that lathe.

    Colchester Magnum Lathe
    I was running one of these all day today, the joystick and rapid button made life easy, but I didn't like standing in coolant all day because it runs off the carriage and completely misses the chip pan

  14. #14
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    Is there not a duck board to stand on?
    Have you thought of placing some type of removable guard , cardboard or similar to catch the runoff and direct it back to the pan?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by pipeclay View Post
    Is there not a duck board to stand on?
    Have you thought of placing some type of removable guard , cardboard or similar to catch the runoff and direct it back to the pan?
    No duck board, I found a piece of sheet metal that deflected some of the coolant back into the pan but it didn't protrude far enough to catch it all, and it had pieces cut out of it. I also had to use a tool holder across the compound as a bridge to stop coolant reaching the hand wheel and pouring onto the floor

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