Thread: My take on a pen mil - take 2

Certainly a simpler set-up Fred

Interested in what you are going to make now

Fred that is really a sweet little unit

I think when I have the time I am going to make a similar one for myself, maybe a bit more robust but similar.

The dividing head that I have is probably over 60 kgs and is a pain in the butt to set up just to do something that your setup would do, and yours could also be set up in the drill press in a flash.

john

Fred did you fabricate the base section ? A handy bit of work if you did hehe. I got a simple dividing plate and modified it to suit my c3, made a bracket to take the dremel and use it for simple flats on pen blanks anything more complex goes on Neils Beale hehe,
Cheers ~ John

Nice setup Fred. I can see lots of versatility in it.

Another option for someone with limited machining tools would be to make the headstock portion with a 5C spin index like this one.

shars.com - 5C Spin Index Fixture

Where you get them in Australia I don't know. It will index anything that will divide into 360. If you wanted to you could put that same ER chuck into it using the appropriate collet.

Pete

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

Fred did you fabricate the base section ? A handy bit of work if you did hehe. I got a simple dividing plate and modified it to suit my c3, made a bracket to take the dremel and use it for simple flats on pen blanks anything more complex goes on Neils Beale hehe,
Cheers ~ John

No John, that is from an old wood turning attachment for a power drill, see first photo in the original thread in the link above.

There are quite a few ways of achieving this, could have made a dividing attachment for my wood lathe, or the metal lathe, but I wanted a standalone unit where I can do work on pens independent of my lathes.

One of our long standing members rang me this morning and pointed me to a Taig Lathe kit for a fairly reasonable price which could easily be adapted to do this as well.

For me part of the satisfaction that lies in this hobby is amking things myself, rather than going out and buying things off the shelf. I have learned a lot doing that.

QC,

Phoned Shars in the USA Mid West this morning that PF70-5C weighs in at 20lbs weight and UPS200.oo big ones deceptive for a 235mml by 110mmw by 134mm high.

Thanks for the heads up mate. Fascinating whats where and how.

Now to attack the mountain of metal and wood. Skiprat as well.

Kind regards Peter.

I have previously looked at this indexer for my DM45 mill, CDCO sells them as well and they quoted me $US54 delivery in a USPS Flat Rate Box.

Attachment 218194

Fred
Sorry for the detour to your thread. I thought that someone in Australia, like Hare & Forbes, would be selling the 5C index, making them a viable option for you guys.

Pete

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Fred
Sorry for the detour to your thread. I thought that someone in Australia, like Hare & Forbes, would be selling the 5C index, making them a viable option for you guys.

Pete

Not at all Pete, relevant, on topic and adds to the discussion

As I mentioned above, I have looked at this indexer but it suffers from some drawbacks for my intended use.

First of all it uses 5C collets, so I would have to go out and buy a set of those, or import a 5C to ER32 adapter from the UK (made by John Stevenson, nice bit of kit).

Secondly, it has a rather limited range of divisions, 36 holes won't allow a 5 sided pen for instance.

Then there is the issues of a tailstock and a base to put it on, it could go on my DM45 mill but it then occupies my big mill for the duration of my project.

I get what you are saying but need to correct you on the divisions. The plate has 36 holes but there is a boss that has 10 more that the pin goes in. It works much like a vernier giving you a total of 360 divisions. Any number that divides evenly into 360 will work (1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,12,etc.). Ones like 7,11,13 etc., won't.

Pete

Thanks Pete, wasn't aware of that, learn something every day.

Still doesn't address my other reservations though.

What really amazes me about this bit of kit is that they can make it for that price.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

What really amazes me about this bit of kit is that they can make it for that price.

Especially considering the American made ones are 10 or more times as much!

5C SPIN MASTER INDEX FIXTURE - SUBURBAN :: Spin Master Index Fixture | Travers Tool

Found matching tailstocks for them too! This one from England. down the page a little.

5C Fixtures - Arc Euro Trade

One of the small tailstocks for rotary tables could be made to work too.
TAILSTOCK FOR B2424 - Busy Bee Tools

Wouldn't it be great to have the money to buy the things our eyes fall upon?

Pete