Hand Slotter.

[Oldneweng]

Hi Ueee,

It hadn't occurred to me until you mentioned rubber band ! I have one of those "Hellerman" rubber sleeve kits. It has several sizes of rubber sleeve that you expand with a three legged tool. It's used to finish off the ends of electrical cables and the like. I could have used a sleeve to do the same as the spring and it would have been a lot easier too. The problem with springs is the ends perforate the fingers when you are trying to unwind them and get them onto the mandrel. Otherwise they work just fine as retainers.

I still haven't come across the original bit of 4 mm square tool steel. Mice ! I'm sure of it

O-Ring?

I am glad we don't have your sort of mice. One of the things I have to do this weekend is to find out how possums are getting into the roof space this time. Maybe they just chewed a hole in the iron?

Dean

[BaronJ]

Hi Baron,
I want to come and live at your place. I have been doing this stuff for over 35 years now and even after seeing the slotter I doubt I would have come up with that idea of adjusting the HSS for cutting keyways.
I like Ewans idea of the rubber retainer.
If you are worried about the twisting forces on the toolpost, could you bring the tailstock up against it maybe with a special attachment inserted if the quill is in the way.
Just thinking but feel free to tell me I'm an idiot.
Loving your threads.

Phil

Hi Phil,

You would be made welcome ! If you like we could swap places for a while.

It hadn't occurred to me to use the tailstock to provide additional support for the slotter. Though having gone through the experience of slotting using the lathe several times recently, I would try and use the drill press or better yet, get an arbour press and set everything up vertically. Just as an aside I found the steel easier to slot than the brass that I made the bushings from.
Someone I mentioned this to, suggested that it might not be brass but bronze. Which might explain why.