No morse taper

[esiegel]

I'm just getting back into turning after many years of looking at my lathe sitting idle....

I'm interested in trying to turn some pens, but have a problem. All of the mandrels that I have found available have morse tapers for attaching to the headstock..my lathe (23 year old Delta) does not have a way to attach a MT to the headstock...(it does to the tailstock). Is there anyway to attach the mandrel to this lathe?

Thanks in advance...I just found this forum...look really good.

[ozwinner]

Hi

Can you fit a chuck to the lathe?
If so maybe you can get a mandrel that could be held by the chuck.

Al

[esiegel]

Hi

Can you fit a chuck to the lathe?
If so maybe you can get a mandrel that could be held by the chuck.

Al
Chuck is no problem...finding a mandrel that the chuck will hold has been a problem....if anyone knows of one available, pleasee let me know.

[Kev Y.]

esiegel, welcome aboard..

If there is a machine shop close by, why dont you take the pen mandrel with the morse taper into them, and get them to copy it with a cylindrical section instead of the morse taper section.

I have had one similar made for me and it worked a treat untill I managed to upgrade my lathe .

Kev

[esiegel]

not a bad idea...if I had one...but I haven't bought it yet since I can't use it.

[Kev Y.]

Seeing as you dont have one yet, go buy one, but check to see if the spindle can be unscrewed from the body. (one I own can be unscrewed) then just get the machine shop to make up a new section and thread it for you.

Kev.

[gatiep]

The mandrel that sells for $19-00 in the new Carbatec catalouge ( I don't know the number ) unscrews from the MT piece and is a very good mandrel for using is a jacobs chuck.


Enjoy
Regards
Joe

[powderpost]

G'day, Make your own mandrel from a 1/4" hex head bolt 1/4" thick. Cut off the head and make ferules from 1/4" id brass or copper tube, for each end. You will need to accurately bore a centre in the threaded end, to fit the tail stock centre. I have made such a mandrell and it works very well. Mine is gripped in a chuck.
Jim...

[esiegel]

The mandrel that sells for $19-00 in the new Carbatec catalouge ( I don't know the number ) unscrews from the MT piece and is a very good mandrel for using is a jacobs chuck.Thanks I'll take a look at it.



G'day, Make your own mandrel from a 1/4" hex head bolt 1/4" thick. Cut off the head and make ferules from 1/4" id brass or copper tube, for each end. You will need to accurately bore a centre in the threaded end, to fit the tail stock centre. I have made such a mandrell and it works very well. Mine is gripped in a chuck.
Jim...
How long would you make it? Instead of cutting the head off a bolt...can I use a piece of 1/4" threaded rod? or maybe a piece of tubing/solid rod and thread the ends if needed.

Part of the problem is...that since I have never turnded pens before, I have not seen the setup, so I have'nt a clue what I am trying to build if I make my own mandrel.

Thank you all for your replys.

[Jim Carroll]

esiegel i assume your headstock spindle is the solid type with a thread on the outside. This enables you to use a scroll chuck to hold your blanks for bowl turning. You may also have a spur centre that screws onto this thread for your spindle work. There is no off the shelf unit that can hold a drill chuck which is the first thing you need to hold the mandrel for pens when you do not have a hole up the centre of your headstock spindle. You can get a drill chuck that has a thread up the centre but you need to take this and your headstock spindle to an engineering firm so they cam make a male / female adaptor for you so you can hold the pen mandrel in the drill chuck. You may be able to have the headstock spindle bored to suit either a 1 or 2 morse taper depending on the diameter of the spindle. This would then allow you to use the standard pen mandrel straight from the headstock. Either way it is going to take a bit of mucking about to get what you need.

[esiegel]

esiegel i assume your headstock spindle is the solid type with a thread on the outside.
Jim, That is exactly the setup I have...I was just hoping there was another way to approch this with this lathe.

Thank you all for your replies....looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this forum...learning.

[rsser]

Sounds like it would be a good investment in the long term to have a MT2 bored in your spindle; will open the way to use a variety of drive centres.
Ern

[DavidG]

Carbatec mandrel unscrewed

[esiegel]

Carbatec mandrel unscrewed
Thanks for the picture...worth 1000 words you know...this makes it much easier.
I have a 'universal' chuck that allows you to hold pieces 5 or 6 different ways. I should be able to come up with a piece that the mandrel's treaded end can screw into...basically replacing the MT adapter.