Thread: QCTP Tool Holder - the First

I bought a Hare and Forbes QC140 QCTP for my 12x36 lathe. Since I think there is little point in having the machinery if you don't use it - and its a hobby not a business I thought I would have a go at making my own tool holders as per
http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/pro...oolholder.html

So the months roll by and I finally get out to Bohler Udderholm during business hours and collect some 30x40mm 1020CRS. 500mm for $50. With each tool holder @ 70mm long I reckon that if I don't trash too much I have 6 or so tool holders in the making.

Next step was a dovetail cutter for the mill. Now rather than ask I measure the depth of cut and promptly order a 12mm 60 degree dovetail cutter - woops that didn't work. Only has @ 7mm cutting depth and I need 12mm. Back to the drawing board. I then ask and find out that I need a min 25mm cutter to get 12mm depth of cut. So off to Ebay I go - the $100 being too much for my blood after the $50 for a 12mm. Eventually I win a 1 1/4" Trubor (English) cutter on Ebay UK and its mine for under $40. Now that is more like it. Should have done that first.

So I cut of a chunk of CRS with the bandsaw and faced it off. Cut the slot for the dovetail and then dovetailled it and after repeated stop and test sessions I had it fitting like a glove. A little hand filing helped as well.

I then cut the tool holder slot at 17mm to suit my 16mm tools and then today I bought some M10x1.5 grub screws to do the tool holding and height adjustment, drilled it on the mill using the linear hole calc to get nice equal spacing and alignment as I spot drilled and then stepped up in drill size before tapping with the nice Sutton HSS taps.

I had previously made the knurled height adjuster nut on the lathe. So other than a polish and probably an eventual parkerising finish the first tool holder is finished. You can see a slightly rough finish on the inside of the actual tool holder section - that is my 16mm end mill. It's quite tired and needs a resharpen. I have a new one coming anyway.

@$5 for the grubscrews and 1/2 height nut and @ $7 of CRS plus a great learning experience on the mill.
The dovetail cutters - well that is just tooling - there for the future etc.
Next step will be to face off the remaining 30x40mm CRS and dovetail it in one continuous length to save the assing around with setting up individual blocks.

Yes it would be ultimately cheaper to buy chinese replacement tool holders at $40 each but if I did that I would have learnt nothing and have no satisfaction.

G'day Hux

Nice work ,

I love my QCTP post but the tool holders are $65 each.Too rich for my blood .I reckon your way is not so expensive if you making a dozen or more.

Are you going to make the ball turner?
I made one ,but I don't think it is rigid enough.

Grahame

Well done.

The next lot you do should be a much quicker exersize if you mill out all of the toolholders from one peice of stock, before you cut them in to individual holders.
Are you intending to harden them? Hardening and then the old sump oil blackening doesn't take much to do.

I wish I had a mill.

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

G'day Hux

Nice work ,

I love my QCTP post but the tool holders are $65 each.Too rich for my blood .I reckon your way is not so expensive if you making a dozen or more.

Are you going to make the ball turner?
I made one ,but I don't think it is rigid enough.

Grahame

Grahame

H&F only want $44 each for the 200 series sized holders (BXA) - ie they suit the QC140 which if memory serves me right suits your machine.
However with the few grub screws (and any cheaper bolt would suffice I just needed to be a perfectionist) and the cost of steel I can make 7 for the price of 2.

I am waying up the ball turner tools. I think the tool post replacement would be nicer and more rigid but requires the whole compound to be removed to use. Great if you want to turn 20 balls at a time not so if it is 1 up.
The design I was looking at there is at least quick and easy to set up. Your concerns re rigidity might put me off, however I will scrounge some 20mm plate and get to it eventually.

Fossill

Yes my intention is to dovetail the remaining 400mm in one piece. I must say I love the mill. When the big face mill is wizzing off and leaving a mirror finish or a nice new end mill is slicing through steel like a hot knife through butter it is just an amazing thing.
The really nice thing is the DRO - punch in some info and then instant repeatability on holes as you run along drilling one size then change bits to the next etc.
A top end DRO would be even better with tool offsets etc being programmable but I think I will survive

I hadn't considered hardening it. Not having an oxy means using my old LPG torch which would take for every to get cherry red.

Do you think they need it?

Dear Fossil,

What's "the old sump oil blackening trick", have you been holding out?

Ken

Hi Craig,

Cherry red is no worries - just chuck them in the furnace. Pull them and and quench.

Shane