Dividing attachment for the Mini Lathe - For making scales on the Lathe

For my last project I quickly improvised a cardboard dividing plate for the Mini Lathe. This thing wasn't very rigid at all. It wobbled and went loose over time in the lathe spindle.
As I have to make further scales for the mini lathe in the future I decided to make a more rigid and reliable attachment for dividing on the lathe. I used a 4mm plate of aluminium with a diameter of 200mm and a bar of POM plastic for the arbor. A steel core with a taper expands the arbor when tightened and clamps it securely in the lathes spindle.
Off course this method of dividing isn't super accurate. But if you have no other options this is simple to build and to install on the machine.
I hope you enjoy this little episode. If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments. I'll read them all and try to reply to everyone.
I hope you enjoy this video. Feel free to comment, like and subscribe to the channel.
Thank you!
00:00 Intro
00:20 The old dividing plate
01:03 Materials needed
01:23 Making the aluminium plate
02:48 Making the arbor
05:03 Making the steel inner part
06:38 Finishing the arbor
08:23 Drawing the scale
09:05 Completing the attachment
10:02 Installing on the lathe
Instagram page: / wecandothat. .
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.
-Making a dial for Mini Lathes carriage: • Making a dial for the ...
- Adjustable Carriage Stop: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpWPT...
- Mini Lathe compound angle modification: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkoT...
- Mini Lathe tailstock fine adjustements: • Mini Lathe tailstock m... -
- Mini Lathe bearings for the compound slide: • Bearings for the mini ...

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

“The Wheel of Fortune“. Inventive upgrade to your prototype. Well done 👏👏👍😀

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

:D hehe, Thank you very much! :)

[@morisblackley4451]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter ,

[@fraxz88]

This is very nice! I might have to give it a try. I've cut myself terribly pulling on plastic machine chips like that.

[@homemadetools]

Clever. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week :)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, thank you very much! :)

[@YooProjects]

AMAZING IDEA AND GREAT JOB. THANKS :))

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you! :)

[@williamsworkshopuk]

I'm not going to lie I did expect you to etch or at least transfer onto the plate rather than just sticking a printout onto it - but hey, if it works it's not a bad idea!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, thanks for your comment! Yes that would be cool to kind of engrave the scale into the plate. Glueing a piece of paper on the wheel is very primitive but has the advantage of an easy change to an other dividing scale when needed. For the next project I need a 160 division but perhaps some day I need a 100 division or something.

[@schulzcbs]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter You can directly print on thin alumimum sheet using an inkjet printer, just like those print-on-metal picture services do. Might require some light sanding, degreasing, and possibly some injet precoat to improve adhesion. Added benefit of buying is: commerical services can do fancy effect colors :D

[@ferrumignis]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Maybe too late now as you used countersunk screws, but with an adjustable pointer you could have several commonly used scales at a different radius and have another set on the opposite side. I bought a cheap dividing plate to adapt to the spindle on my lathe, haven't yet made a locking pin to go into the holes though.

[@Reman1975]

I bodged together something along the same lines as that for my last lathe. The centre bore clamp was a turned brass bar, that I drilling a pilot hole along, threading the last 2 inches, then slicing that end off at 45' to form an internal wedge clamp (Like the handlebar stem on older bicycles) and drilled out the rest to clear some M8 threaded rod. The disc was just a 300 x 7mm circle of steel I had kicking about, and the scale was a 150mm 360' stainless steel protractor I found second hand online. It didn't look as neat as yours, but it was very strong, and it had one big advantage. I drilled and tapped through the edge of the steel disc, and fitted a spare machine handle to it. With this, Once I'd un-tensioned the drive belt (So the spindle could free wheel), I could use it to hand crank the lathe for carefully cutting threads up to a feature. It was a really handy accessory, but unfortunately I bundled it in with a load of other extra tooling when I sold that little lathe.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks for your comment! Sounds like a good built too!

[@mrohny76]

niesamowity projekt 👍. Czy możesz gdzieś zamieścić plik do wydruku tej podziałki ?

[@derkarhu5079]

Btw, there's an excellent website where you can do circular scales, with a lot of options for number of divisions, labelling, direction of "rotation", and how many degrees of circular dimension, plus, of course, endless types of "graph paper"

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Which website do you mean? Sounds interesting!

[@keneva746k5]

Nice job as always! Just a quick question: What is the angle for the taper of the mandrel?

[@358trucking]

I also used a hockey puck to wedge the degree wheel to the spindle shaft. Very cool machining a hockey puck. Try it some time for rubber bushings! 🤣👍

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Nice tip, thanks :)

[@lesthompson5907]

a word of advice , to prevent such a tangle on your lath ues a tat in a rotary router to cut your stock to size it will chip nicely & give good results. & i do all my taping & treading on my late this way & i Discover it cut plastics & thread's well to a tap cuts plastic well , when ues in a ratter

[@paulgreenlee190]

I bought a cam degree wheel used for engine timing, it was made out of 1/16" steel sheet and very stiff. May have been tempered before adding the degree overlay. It is a 9" Sportsman Degree Wheel #4790. Thanks for the video and sharing

[@358trucking]

Great Minds think alike. I used a degree wheel too! Greatly simplified the whole project. These guys are working too hard. Time is precious. I’d love to see what you came up with.

[@paulgreenlee190]

@@358trucking I'm certain your mind is way past mine but thanks. I will certainly share what I have with you, just repaired a huge oil leak that's been going on since I bought the lathe. Apparently at the South Bend Factory they drilled too deep on the top stop pin for the Reverse/Forward gear train. I thought it was some cracks around the top and bottom hole but there was a compound in the bottom of the top hole with fine metal particles mixed in. Long story short I packed some JB Weld, a small amount and tamped it in using the back side shank of a 5/16" drill bit, let it set up overnight and tested it, no leaks. Now I can put it all back together and get going again on the projects. Talk to you soon on the degree wheel. Thanks

[@lpjunction]

May be you can try go digital. There are inclinometer sensor under US$10, you need to connect it to an Arduino and some LCD display to do the readout. The sensitivity of these gadget could go to 0.01 degree. That means you can have 36000 markings on a circle. With a bit of programming, the angle adjusting work can be automated.

[@WheatMillington]

Great result - have you thought of a way to lock the spindle? Working on a similar concept and haven't decided how to approach this, or if it's even necessary. Thanks.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi and thanks! In my last video I just pressed a piece of wood between the chuck and the spindle casting for locking the spindle. That's the quick and easy way. But I'm thinking about other ways for locking the spindle. Not sure yet. There are electromagnetic brakes. Perhaps it is possible to install these.

[@jonasbirner2231]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter You could add a detachable worm gear to the spindle. That way you could not only lock it but also move it a specified amount

[@tluanem]

👍👍👍

[@mike9500]

hahahahaaha gotta love delryn!!!!! ;)

[@helipilot727]

But how do you lock it in place?

[@TheRolfano]

What lathe are you using?

[@alessandromanzi6678]

Come posso fare per ottenere quell'indicatore? Ho visto che tu lo hai fatto al pc Ma purtroppo io non ne sono capace.

[@Orcinus24x5]

4:04 NEVER pull chips off like that. This is a GREAT way to brutally lacerate your hands and fingers. Yes, even with plastics like POM/Acetal/Delrin. Ask me how I know. >:U

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Uh, ok thank you for the tip! I will keep that in mind next time

[@358trucking]

Ok. I’m asking, how do you know? What did you do that you shouldn’t have?😂😂I did it too when I was first learning. It’s a rookie mistake. It’s easy to forget that shaving stringer still have tensile strength. 🤣🤣🤣Keep making chip! 😀👍

[@slimjim3229]

I bought a clear plastic protractor to do something similar, but like your idea for the delrin mandrel. But then I'd have to stop watching KZbin and go in the garage and fire up the lathe. Hmm decisions.

[@t1j1]

How did you managed to get paper so centered on that aluminium disk?

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, thanks for your comment. In the disc I made a 10mm hole and on the paper scale I drew a 10mm circle in the middle. I applied the glue to the scale and roughly centered the paper on the aluminium plate. Then I hold the plate against a light and adjusted the paper until the printed 10mm circle is aligned with the 10mm bore (the bore was shining through the paper). Perhaps I will make some gadget for centering but for now that worked ok.

[@boblewis5558]

Pin prick hole through the paper centre; 10mm dia short shaft with centre machined pimple ; place through the 10mm bore and align disk to paper using dimple and pinprick hole. That should do it and improve accuracy too. 😎

[@AlainPilon]

How did you manage to line up perfectly the print on the metal disk at 9:15 ? Seems like the hardest part of the project to me

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

That's right, that was really hard. That's why I made this off camera as it took quite a while;) I did this visually against the bright window and tried to center the scale as best as I could. As I had it reasonably right, I went back to camera and film the rest.

[@AlainPilon]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Movie magic! :-)

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

@@AlainPilon Exactly ;)

[@rkalle66]

It's only a matter of required precision ... But please check your printer. One way is to print two circles, overlaying the two sheets, one with 90° rotation and visually checking by backlighting. Hopefully your ending up with circles and not with ellipses. And ... some kind of nonius (vernier scale) will improve the reading and positioning.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you for your comment and the hint on the printer. I wil check this. Yes there is potential of improving the whole thing. The idea with a nonius is good.

[@rkalle66]

Possible additional errors to precision are ... Paper distortion by wetting it with glue (-> acrylic disk just a little shy in size will keep it flat without glue). But keep the scale free for parallax-free reading. Centering the paper (-> location pins + concentric circle on the acrylic disk) Reading: nonious, magnifyer glas It's difficult to get down to 0.2 mm precision without a professional rotation table.

[@michaelnordin3006]

This had me thinking that a degree wheel for building engines might work perfect here and there pretty cheap and made from aluminum!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

That's a really cool idea. I didn't know that something like that exists. For a 360 division it is great. In my case I needed a 200 division. This is not doable with a 360 division wheel. But I definitely keep this idea in mind!

[@antonio.stefanelli]

How do you block the spindle?

[@charetjc]

It's shown in a previous video. He has a block of wood wedged between the chuck and head stock. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnrZoWiwntxpo6M

[@antonio.stefanelli]

@@charetjc you are right, now I remember

[@mohammedelnopy5434]

What is the program you are used to draw the scale?

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

I used solid edge 2d

[@sailthehighseas]

Hello, can you please help me figure out from 9:10 to 9:12? Would you be able to share how you centered the scale to the work or is it the case that it is obvious when aligning by eye?

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, off camera I adjusted the scale more exactly. In the middle of the scale there is a 10mm circle printed and in the middle of the aluminium plate, there is a 10mm hole. I glued the scale to the plate an then hold it against a light and adjusted the paper scale until the printed circle and the hole in the plate align with each other. That's not the most accurate way to do but I hope it is ok.

[@sailthehighseas]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter Awesome, thanks! Lots of details in your videos, keep up the great work!

[@Blue_4-2]

⭐🙂👍

[@5b4aezmarinoscyprus71]

Excellent work -AAA-, but I will like to see how you securing the lathe spindle so it will not move after you selecting the deviation you choose. Don't Worry Keep Turning 😉

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thank you :) That is another problem to be solved in future :) In my last video I just pressed a piece of wood between the lathe chuck and the spindle housing for locking the spindle. This is a temporarily solution but it works. I'm thinking about better ways but not sure yet how to do it. There are electromagnetic brakes to screw on motor spindles for example. Perhaps something like this.

[@5b4aezmarinoscyprus71]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter I don't think that the idea with wood or electromagnetic breaks is a good one. Just remember, in machining the most important is rigidity. Anyhow, keep thinking and I will and maybe wee will find I good solution.

[@mariodejung9102]

How about mounting a clamp to the lathe which holds the Alu disc and prevent spinning?

[@5b4aezmarinoscyprus71]

@@mariodejung9102 Hmmm ....🤔🤔 maybe....

[@rjordans]

That but could have been a nice knurled knob, otherwise, nice design!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks! That is a nice idea, I will add this! Then I could install the plate without additional tools needed. Like it :)

[@ThePiraguista]

I thought you were going to transfer the printed paper to the alumminium disc and then engrave it. But your way is better because you can change the scale whenever you want

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Hi, yes some way of engraving or transferring the scale into the plate would be great. But as you say, just gluing the scale on makes it more versatile. Thanks for your comment:)

[@andreash.6175]

Some improvement ideas: First we have to ensure that the printout of the dial plate has not an X-Y "aspect ratio". 2nd issue is centering the paper as you showed at 9:31. Here i would propose to engrave "register and crop marks" to the plate. When you design your paper dial you may foresee crossing lines in the middle of the radiuses and punch out round windows to fit them with the register marks using some fine magnifying glass/toy microscope. 3rd issue is to fix the plate when working on the chuck side. I would like your idea mentioned earlier to use a worm gear. With that positioning should be much more easier- 4rd: An additional idea could be: Using a nonius style index pointer.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Nice! A USB microscope may be used to read finer scales.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Thanks! That is a really cool idea! I will keep that in mind.

[@jimsvideos7201]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter I found a Veho DX1 locally and it can resolve anything your printer can print. I'd like to try getting a disc laser engraved just to see how far you can go with it.

[@rolfchretien2631]

A measuring tool, in this case a vernier calipper, is never used as tracing needle or otherwise. A measuring tool remains a measuring tool and nothing else. This is a paramount Basic in mechanical works and the use of measuring tools.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

I know. It is an old one which got mistreated in the past, so it's only for inaccurate work.

[@rolfchretien2631]

Thanks for your reply. I do like your videos & the great ideas behind. We Pro's do have a Leadership function fot he Hobbian's :) Hence we do have to show them properly. Like using safety goggles, not using woven gloves when operating a tool machine etc... etc... @@WeCanDoThatBetter

[@miguelcastaneda7236]

See negiative comments ...well they have money and access to other items

[@thomasblackwell9507]

Poor cat!

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Haha :D No cats were harmed ;) Im not responsible for the sound recording :)

[@robertnicholson7733]

@@WeCanDoThatBetter But why does the cat always get it, don't these sound effects guys own dogs?

[@bustednuckles2]

I love what you do but your lack of some kind of a band saw is driving me nuts. Do you have a PayPal address? I'll kick in twenty bucks to get a drive started. Seriously.

[@user-xg1jg5zu6q]

Ага, типа выкинул, а потом уже и распаковывает! К чему показуха?

[@miguelgarrido8083]

Otro ignorante que hace un uso indebido del calibre usándolo como si fuera un compas,por lo que no me merece la pena seguir viendo el resto del video . Por favor retira este video es un muy mal ejemplo para los jovenes. Lamentablemente esta mal uso del calibre esta muy extendida en KZbin.