Mini Lathe compound angle adjustment modification

My solution for the annoying mini lathe compound slide angle adjustment problem.
Changing the compound slides angle on the mini lathe is incredible time-consuming and annoying. You have to wind the compound slide back and forth to reach the screws underneath the top of the compound slide.
There are some ways out here to get rid of this problem, but none I found satisfying enough. Some just drilled holes in the top part of the compound, to reach the screws at a certain position through the compound, some clamped from the side and lose the little rest of rigidity the compound has, some built a complicated lever mechanism.
I wanted to keep things simple (which does not mean, it's fast to built) and decided to copy "real" lathes and go for a bolt and nuts instead of screws for clamping and mill slots into the compounds base for reaching the nuts from the side.
This way I can clamp the compound in any position easily and maintain hopefully as much rigidity as possible.
Keep in mind, due to very limited resources, I have to improvise a lot and go unconvenient ways which may upset some of the "real machinists" out here.
Hope - with some creativity - in the end come to good resoults anyway.
Hope you enjoy. Feel free to like and subscribe to the channel. Thank you!
Instagram: / wecandothatbetter

[@ThisIsToolman]

I watch a lot of machining projects showing how to build this, that, and the other. Invariably they use their CNC knee mill. The average DIY guy doesn’t have a mill so the DIY is limited to the 1% that does have a mill. That’s why I like this guy. He uses a drill press, a hacksaw, a file, a piece of emery cloth, and his mini lathe. Most of us watching this probably have that.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks for your kind comment. Yes I want to show what you can achieve with little resources but a bit of patience and creativity - and a mini lathe off course :) Thanks;)

[@robhillman5957]

You've done it again!!! Elegant simplicity, I have seen other videos which seem to overcomplicate this modification whereas yours is straightforward but very effective😊, regards, Rob.

[@richkellow1535]

I think both you and me know how satisfying a deep clean can be no matter how long we put it off.

[@norolemodel2883]

Especially in the ears!

[@NilsJakobson]

This certainly is one of the best mini lathe improvement videos I have seen so far in my entire life. I am looking forwards to doing this mod for my pos lathe.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much for your kind comment! Happy to hear, you like it. Good luck for your modification :)

[@joegrech8078]

It is people like you that I admire,not those with millions worth of CNC equipment, keep it up ,time and imagination is all you need in this trade,and to learn from your mistakes,when you create something with the minimum of tools,the satisfaction if far greater,

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you for your kind words! I really do appreciate that!

[@gjkozy]

Now you have a easy to set compound and a trued drill press table. Clever idea using the table and the project came out looking beautiful.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! Yes, it was good anyway to clean the surface of the drill press table :)

[@rb67mustang]

You have addressed many issues everyone who owns one of these lathes has to suffer with. I will be doing all the upgrades that you have done to my lathe. Thanks for sharing your fine work.

[@BeaverInATie]

Its amazing to see what you are capable of with a more average man's workshop. Keep up the good work!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you!

[@Alwr400]

I’ve just done this. It’s the best mod I have done so far. I didn’t loctite the studs because I need to remove them to set up the milling slide and my ball turning tool. Thanks for the tutorial. 👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hey thank you! Good to hear, it works for you as well. And yes, that loctite thing isn't the best. I removed the studs very often as well. Luckily the loctite was the soft one :)

[@craighopewell6944]

Low-strength loctite - it's removable.@@WeCanDoThatBetter

[@danielabbey7726]

Excellent solution to the problem, Sir! And extra points for doing all of the milling on the lathe. I've never seen anyone use a drill press table as an angle plate before.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! Due to very limited resources I have to improvise a lot. Was happy, the drill press table fits so well :)

[@pauls5745]

I knew this guy was crafty haha. I liked that idea but it's too late for me, I already had gotten angle plates a couple years ago or I would've seen this and saved like $80

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

@@pauls5745 Haha :) I wanted to save the extra money so I tried the drill press table and it worked well :)

[@Sternhammer89]

Excellent Mod - I am a very new machinist and I think it's great that half the jobs you want to do, you end up having to make tools for :-)

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

That is the best solution I've seen so far. Hats off to your creativity!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much!! I'm really happy to hear that :)

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter :-)

[@ferrumignis]

Using your bench drill table as a vertical table is really ingenious! Hopefully it's stiffer than the table on mine, which has the rigidity of a wet noodle.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha :D To be honest it is probably the same ;) But when you have nothing else on hand, you have no choice :) Need to rebuild my drillpress some day as well.

[@ferrumignis]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter What size lathe do you have? I was impressed there was room to swing that table.

[@mikecurry3679]

😂 I have heard these platforms were notorious for deflecting, and mostly just good for cutting tape on harder materials when attempting to turn o.d.s. I suppose eventually +-.005" tolerances are achievable with quality new tooling, short enough or supported lengthy material, well designed diy upgrades and lots and lots of patience and passes, you could always just hold sandpaper on it for enough time at high revs, to achieve good enough for application work pieces. Lol, I mostly watch these mini machine vids due to knowing machining itself is a skill intensive hobby, then add garage engineering, problem solving with less than ideal to begin with outside operations on top of machine slop, and then instead of being what I always see at work, to highly entertaining content! I love the ingenuity, and completely off the wall approaches taken to achieve a quality manufactured product the machinist can be proud of and show off! Lol, is it a lathe? Or a horizontal mill? I guess that all depends on ones perspective, and mentality.

[@HM-Projects]

Excellent lateral thinking 😜 "Avoid loss of rigidity" on a mini lathe was a bit funny as well, lol.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

thank you! I meant compared to other solutions clamping the compound on the pivoting part from the side which might seem elegant but isn't rigid at all.

[@knightrideruk]

Why didn't I think of that, you have solved a major fault on the mini lathe will be modifying mine this week end. I do have a mill which will make things easier. One thing I will do is engrave degree markings straight onto the top slide with a CNC router. Well done excellent work.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! I really do appreciate that. Good luck on modifying yours. The idea to engrave the degree markings directly onto the machine sounds good to. Unfortunately I haven't the tools to do but have to find a way to reinstall the scale also. Thanks.

[@rainbowuunicorn9571]

First time i subscribe so fast. We need people like you. Please continue to do what you doing because i get the feeling u jumped directly in champions league.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you for your kind comment! I'm humbled! Thanks

[@girliedog]

What a perfect solution and what courage you have to mill your drill press table on your mini lathe, WOW!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your kind comment! I really do appreciate that!

[@drjwrg]

Great video and many thanks for thinking this mod out. I have now completed this mod but ,with some minor changes that may be helpfull for others. I used 50mm x 3mm x 13mm slitting saw (cost £6.95 from ebay). I have a cheap vertical slide milling attachment that mounts on the cross slide and that just managed to accommodate milling the compound slide. I frequently unmount my compound slide and fit a solid billet for the tool holder therefore I could not have two 6mm studs permanently in the cross slide. The compound must attach using hex head set screws. On the existing design, if the two brass plugs are dispensed with you will find that a 6mm hex head set screw will pass through the holes that the brass plugs were in thus allowing the use of set screws. In addition if a saw draft is cut in the set screw heads for a flat end screw driver installation of the compound will be much easier.

[@SqueakyNeb]

That is absolutely brilliant. The whole process is brilliant. Drill press table as a poor man's precision angle plate too! I thought that was a joke when you put it in the lathe, then I thought you were crazy, but no, genius!

[@forgeteverythingyouknow5413]

Your ingenuity is inspiring.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much

[@eddietowers5595]

This was far better an idea than what I did for my mini-lathe years ago. I too, was disillusioned by the way one had to adjusts for angles on these lathes, in my version I made a whole new compound slide with extra meat at 10 to fifteen degree angles to place square head locking screws that pushed small rounded and angled brass rods that pushed up against an 45 degree angled compound hold down center. Having locking screws on the back end of the compound slide outboard. Basically like the old iron lathes are set up but ya see why this video is better. Just describing what I did to my mini -lathe, at the time to just as long to describe as it was to actually do. I’ve long since then upgraded to a larger lathe, and sold off my mini-lathe, I don’t have pics or videos because they weren’t done back then as it’s been since KZbin. If only I had thought of this idea, at the time. Awesome idea and very nice job!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks you!

[@amberyooper]

That's probably the most clever modification that I've see for the compound slide adjustment. I now feel the need to take the table off my drill press and try your milling adapter on my mini lathe. It shouldn't be too difficult to drill the holes for the mounting screws.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much for your comment! :) Drilling the holes in the drilling table is pretty easy. But in my case, the mounting surface was so bad, that I had to turn it flat and perpendicular first. Milling out the slots really took some time but glad to hear, you want to try it out. Good luck!

[@gw2827]

Hey just found your Videos 👍👍 And first time ive seen anyone on videos polishing or sanding small part correctly in a figure 8 grind . Learned that in polishing fiber optic connections . Figure 8 gives even polish all edges 👍👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi and thanks for your kind comment! Yes, for decent flatness this is great. If it's just for finishing and a smooth optic and the flatness is not critical, I often sand just in one direction

[@philoso377]

This video inspire me to follow. I also go through the trouble in keeping the protractor in its original condition. Thanks for the video.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you for your support!

[@enriqueperez2117]

Un profesional, este artista ha pelado mucho material , Un verdadero PROFESOR

[@arkadiychernikov]

Bravo! The target-list is done, especially "find a way nobody did before"! Subscribed.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! I can't really proof if anybody did it that way before, but for what I've found in the internet it seems like this is the first :)

[@vikassm]

Beautiful project! Following all of your uploads 😀 If I recall correctly, one of my Schaublin 102s (1963!) had a very similar compound adjustment mechanism! The other one was a newer model (1992) modified to run a rigid toolpost without compound adjustment.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! That's interesting :)

[@qrwayan]

Awesome 😮 I gonna do the same mode.UR so clever ! Thank you for sharing !👌

[@paulbade131]

Good design! I'm going to use your method, Thanks. Yeah, cast iron is such a freaking mess, but ooohh how smooth it machines, singing that tune. and shines to a mirror. Just sucks to clean it up.

[@willsim4841]

That was well thought out clever inventive ingenious and I found it very entertaining. You got my subscription. Please keep the videos coming. Thanks 😊

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much for your comment! I really do appreciate that.

[@DavidHerscher]

there is some seriously clever problem solving popping off on this channel. I am so impressed, that i want to know as little as possible about the person behind it all, as they are clearly smarter than me and the last thing my ego needs is to find out that they're like, 12, or something. lol. srsly though, bravo!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

HAha, thank you, that's too much, very kind! :) I'm not 12 anymore, you can be sure ;)

[@michelecrown2426]

You are off the charts! I'm going to have to keep an eye on you just to see the "crazy" (ingenious) ways you use a lathe and gawd knows what else :)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha, thank you for your comment! :)

[@SolarMillUSA]

for those watching, the final cut for the slot he did with a 2mm x 50mm cutter. I jumped all around the video trying to find it. (it was mentioned earlier, and it's my fault for skimming).

[@sparkiekosten5902]

You've got to much time on your hands! Very nice and very clean. 👍👍 two thumbs up!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha, thank you very much!

[@rafaelreina6364]

The BEST SOLUTION, NO QUESTION.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@gerardopercivale6331]

Excellent work, now you just need to mark the grades

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! Yes, that problem isn't solved yet. I still have no good idea how to do it.

[@homemadetools]

Nice work. We shared this video in our homemade tools forum this week :)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hey, thanks for your comment. Happy to hear you shared it. Thanks :)

[@domenic5136]

A lot of work but well worth it, thanks for sharing.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Yes, it takes a lot of time with limited machines but I agree, worth doing it :) Thank you!

[@Rudykanal]

Very nice! There are so many fun and useful things one can do to a mini lathe. Your machine is certainly more and more capable. Thanks for sharing.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! Yes, there are still some things to do. You are welcome :)

[@pauls5745]

this is one of the best mods I saw for mini lathe in a long time! impressed most times I have the compound removed for more rigidity using a block i made. I think it was only 8 or $9 for a block of A36 at Speedymetals

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! I really do appreciate it! The idea with the solid tool post is good. Saw it on many lathes. Might be a future project but for now I'm really happy with how easy it is now to adjust the compound angle. Use it very often.

[@WayneCook306]

What a mess but a worthwhile mess! Great job thank you I'm going to do this with my lathe.

[@CeesMaas]

High quality information. Thanks. Very good filmed, too.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!

[@samkaplitz9036]

Very nice work! I like how he uses the vacuum.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@JR-be4du]

Good job 👍👍👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@Pushyhog]

notice he does not buy an extra 7 to 800$ of add ons for his clean mini laith. Hes off the hook broke the chain incredible.

[@winandd8649]

@1:08 You scared the sh*t out of me! I was turning the volume way up because i didn't hear that much, then you have this al of a sudden 😆

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha :D I feel sorry! ..but had to laugh anyway ;) hope, your ears are okay now :)

[@emil92056]

Excellent work. I have done many upgrades on my little lathe, this will most likely be my next one. I have the option to use a mill at work so Ithat will make it a little easier...

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! Yes, that sounds good, good luck :)

[@emil92056]

Now its done and it came out perfect. I have access to a mill so I just got a 15 dollar saw and made an arbor saw holder for it. The work was super easy and fun. Thanks again for posting and I'm looking forward to see more.... subscribed...

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

@@emil92056 thanks for your reply! Happy to hear, it worked on your lathe aswell. With a milling machine it's definitely a bit easier as on the little lathe :) Thanks for subscribing!

[@emil92056]

I have one thing on my lathe that I would love to do but have yet dared to do, my tale stock leadscrew has more play that I hope for and I would love to fix that, perhaps with a bushing. I have search some but not find many examples. If that is a mod/repair you would do, I would then be nailed to that video.

[@antonio.stefanelli]

Very good work! Thanks for sharing with us ! I've subscribed

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! Happy, to hear :)

[@nicolaebordeianu4463]

Foarte bune aceste aplicații care formează o gândire tehnica veche dar noua pentru multi

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

Both mod and vid well done. Starting to give me ideas on how to make a compound for my Unimat.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much! And good luck for your Unimat compound :)

[@tony49PA]

😊 Mi piace quello che proponi e come realizzi i tuoi progetti

[@thomasfkeefe]

I really like the ideas in your videos! Subscribed.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! :)

[@ARIFINLATHE]

Änderungen, die die Arbeit erleichtern, mein Freund. Ich bin auch ein indonesischer Handdreher, Sir

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you!

[@Stefan_Boerjesson]

Thanks for the temptation, to make it myself. This cold not cost much to do from the beginning. Harbour Freight, Warco... could easily order this as standard, pay for it, sell a better machine and earn money for it.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks! Yeah, thats what I thought to. Its not that complicated to integrate this step into production, I guess. But if they do, I want some commission for the idea :D

[@gvet47]

I guess I followed another method I saw. Drilled holes in the compound so that at mid range it lines up with the caps crews . Plastic plugs keep the holes clear. Just inset Allen wrench and this allows me to rotate the compound. Also put in two locking screws to hold the gib tight when I need to make things tight and not move.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

There are some videos on this mod. It's ok but has in my opinion the downside that the compound has to be in the right position to reach the screws. I was looking for a universal way where you can adjust the angle at any position. But for a quick mod your way is helpful as well.

[@gvet47]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Yes I put witness marks that need to line up. Your method is really nice but I must have been lazy since I had no mill cutters and would need to make an arbor for it.🥱 I like machining cast iron if it was not for the mess to clean up!😭

[@kencroft7933]

Looking at the way your compound waggles due to all the slack in the gibs as you wind it out , your next job should be tapered gibs for the cross slide and compound slides. It will be interesting to see how you do it to avoid the tapers locking up. My little Chinese mill has tapered gibs.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, thanks for your comment. I haven't tightened up the gib on the compound rest properly in the video but just assembled it quickly. But you're right, that is a problem. I think on the compound rest I go for the straight gib but in some future project I might scrape the ways. They are really bad from the factory. For the cross slide I'm not sure yet. Would be cool to have a tapered gib of course. Where it would be really beneficial to have tapered gibs is the bedslide. There are some who did this modification and replaced the steel plates by tapered gibs. Would like to do this to. We'll see :)

[@mrrgstuff]

Very good and excellent DIY milling setup. I have the need for this mod, but not currently the skill or confidence to do it. Thanks 😀 👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! You can keep the idea in mind. Some day perhaps you gonna make it this way:)

[@37yearsofanythingisenough39]

I spent an entire lifetime with people who started without the skill or the confidence to do something like this. I discovered that with instruction and when they tried, they developed the skill and confidence which became invaluable to them in life. This video gives you the instruction. The ball is in your court.

[@mrrgstuff]

@@37yearsofanythingisenough39 I will have to have a look and break it down into sections. The milling table looks to be very useful to replicate for lots of uses, not just this job. Thanks 😀 👍

[@abuelitoyukillo4366]

Muy buena idea y un trabajo muy bien hecho como todo lo que usted realiza, muchas gracias por compartir, sus vídeos son muy interesantes y repletos de maestría, un saludo AMIGO.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Muchas gracias!

[@shiro-r4m]

Good modification! unfortunately you are not the first to have come up with this position of the nuts. My 70 year old lathe has slots in the compound that look exactly like the ones you made ;-)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! Yes, on "real" lathes or industrial lathes it is very common to have the nuts accessable from the side :) That's what I wanted on my mini lathe to. On a mini lathe I haven't seen this modification yet :) It is such a useful mod as I often change the position of the compound.

[@shiro-r4m]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter in terms of rigidity, have you considered making a solid tool post for non angled turning operations?

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

@@shiro-r4m Yes I have that in mind as almost everyone has changed to a solid toolpost :D I think some day, I'll built one. But for now I have still too much other improvements to do first. And to be honest, I'm using the swiveling option of the compound that often that I think I would miss that when changing to a solid toolpost. But we'll see :)

[@ginox4884]

Great! You could make a couple of bespoke nuts that have some knurling around the flange, for quick thumb loosening/tightening, while keeping the hex for proper spanner tightening? Best Wishes, G

[@jamesreed6121]

Now that you have had a few months to use the mod, do you still feel that the rigidity has not been compromised. I like the mod but I'm concerned about loss of rigidity. If possible could you specify the dimensions for the slot? Thanks in advance.

[@sergitolstolutskey9697]

i have a similar lathe, the use of the compound is a loss of rigidity in of itself, the very top slide is where all the rigidity loss occurs so i would not worry about any additional forces from cutting the 2 slots for the nuts. If you are trying to maximize rigidity then take a look at replacing the compound slide with a solid block or buying a bigger lathe.

[@smallblockchevy1022]

@@sergitolstolutskey9697 The lack of rigidity inherent to these compounds from the factory is precisely the reason not to remove so much material from them. The last thing I'd do is use that inherent lack of rigidity as an excuse to make them even less rigid. Something more heavy duty than these would obviously be able to handle a modification like this much better.

[@cda32]

The dropped allen wrench intro 😂😂 too perfect

[@mikecurry3679]

Should put the traverse handle on a hex, with a cotter pin to retain it. So if you need to run it all the way back, and back up after adjusting your angle, you can just pop the pin out, pull the handle off, and use an extension in a cordless, with a socket. Just pull the trigger on your drill and have power feed / rapid, then slap your hand wheel back on and pin back in, for doing your cutting by hand. Also, scribe, or etch you a 15, 30, 45° angle on your x axis plate, for less critical, quick eyeball standard angles, or maybe a noga base magnet on the back of your x way, and then get you some precision ground angle standards, and pushing them flush against the magnet, orient your traverse against the angle that isn't the hypotenuse, for exact angles resulting in whatever ° standard used and the difference from 90.

[@flat-earther]

hi mikecurry have you become a flat earther yet? If not I suggest watch a 13 part series called _What on earth happened_ by Ewaranon to learn that the earth is not a globe. I got it in my about tab.

[@amaglite]

absoloutly superb idea , mine getting done soon as i have time ;-)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you very much!

[@amaglite]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter im hoping theres enough room to use end mill cutters to machine the slot out gor the nut and to get spanner in , my workshop a mess re fitting everything ill update when i get round to it.

[@abuelitojuke8595]

Excelente trabajo y muy bien realizado felicidades !!!!!!!!! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Muchas gracias!!! :)

[@wk7060]

Nice modification!

[@DieselDoktor]

Brilliant… just absolutely brilliant.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! I really do appreciate that!

[@viacheslav4785]

best solution to this problem

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks! Yes, I'm still very happy with this. It is so nice to use.

[@fjjunker8388]

Excellent work.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you!

[@keirokeiro1976]

Nice!!! Very practical solution!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you!

[@kristofpucejdl]

That drillpress table flange is the craziest thing I have ever seen put on a minilathe :D And that pink color only adds to the craziness of that setup. Really impressive workarounds... make me feel bad for always complaining about the lack of proper tools. Btw I am getting a little bit of ToT feel from the videos :) Which is a good thing!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha :D Thank you so much! I really do appreciate it! The colour is actually right from the factory. I was very happy that the drillpress table fits on the lathe :) Thanks :)

[@alfaspiderveloce6617]

One possible suggestion: Grizzly G0768 Lathe - Chip Pan for the Chip Tray.... Has worked well for a bench top model.

[@garygruber1452]

Excellent work, but for as often as I change the compound angle (only when threading) it's far easier to just do it normally.

[@VAARRR1]

is it the holy grail !!!!!!

[@derkarhu5079]

you might try a magnet, behind a piece of cloth, a good way to clean up cat'st iron "dust"

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks for the tip! Sounds good!

[@Mister_G]

Very nicely done. Subbed.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you, Sir! :)

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Boblebe]

Hi, congratulations on the work. Can I ask you which lathe and which cutter do you use? On the lathe, in addition to the changes I see from your videos, did you also have to correct and rectify the guides under the saddle?

[@donatomarangi1729]

Complimenti, gran bel lavoro 👍💪

[@hedning003]

i'll steal that idea-my lathe is a bigger model whit more mass in the compound,so rigidity shoudnt be a problem

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Yes off course. Good luck for your project

[@hedning003]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter material already order'd - i realy think this was a very clever way to fix that annoying adjustment , well done

[@tekniklogam5726]

Good idea

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! I'm very happy with this modification. It works really well and saves so much time when quick changing the angle.

[@ogaugeclockwork4407]

Great idea and great job! Why not just mill in from the top to make the pocket? Compound slide performance would probably get better with the separate pads formed, less potential for rocking.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! Normally you want the sliding surfaces to be even and continuous. the original lower part isn't ideal because of the holes for the screws which disrupt the sliding surface so that the oil gets into the holes and cannot built up a good sliding film. Of course the surfaces and the accuracy isn't that great at the moment, but I have plans to scrape the compound slide in. Therefore I filled the holes with brass plugs to re-establish a continuous surface. Milling away all material from the top in my opinion will weaken the compound and make it impossible to maintain a good oil film in between the sliding surfaces.

[@gangleweed]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Well that may be the case, but it's easier to mill the top of the slide away and as the compound slide only has a small travel at most times the bearing surface won't impact too much with some of it being cut away......rigidity is maintained by the length of the dovetails. I have the same problem on a small lathe I built many years ago in the mid 60's and also have to wind the compound back to get to the screws.......this is so infrequent it doesn't really matter......but I think I'll just drill and plug 2 holes in the top of the moving slide to access the screws below it etc, much like what you had here.

[@andyvan5692]

good finish, but how about a cover for those slotted holes, as swarf can easily accumulate in them, making access to the nuts troublesome at best.

[@johnhall8455]

Nice work…

[@andrewmcnulty0]

I would buy one of those.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Should consider that ;)

[@airflow49]

I also plan to make the adjustment like yours, but the question is in the diameter of the disc cutter - 50 or 60mm.

[@kwk8363]

It turned out great! The best mod i ever seen. Great job

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! Really happy to hear. Thanks

[@wardnelson1305]

Nice work!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@daveys]

Nice job!

[@wm210v]

Просто гениально !

[@RobytheFlorentine]

hi, great video. Great quality and content. Susbcribed. Best regards from Florence, Italy

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! Best regards :)

[@fabientuizat1129]

tres beau travail !! merci...

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

merci beaucoup! :)

[@dixonqwerty]

very smart solution

[@johncooper4637]

Terrific job!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! :)

[@duartejoao3430]

Great idea. Subscribed.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you!

[@bogdan_n]

I don't know if somebody else thought of this modification, but I know of a few lathes which have that system from factory. Maybe it's patented, so that's why they didn't make it like this ?

[@WireWeHere]

Homemade lever nuts could spare the wrench. Just a plane inclined thought wedged its way in... to some degree.

[@Nobilangelo]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the idea and the videography.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you so much! I really do appreciate that. Happy, you like it!:)

[@craftzars]

nice work

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks!

[@kencroft7933]

Nothing to do with this video, but in one of your other you had a rather neat machine vice with the name SOBA. I cannot find it available anywhere here in the UK. What is the model and where is it from?

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi and thanks for your comment! That machine vise was from Hogetexw with 75mm width.