gang tool holder

[brucesu1]

Does anyone know if a gang tool holder is available for the eldorado bridgemill when in the lathe mode. Would like to know source if any capable of holding at least eight tools.

[mixdenny]

Do you mean an indexing tailstock turret? The most tool positions that I have seen for one that fits a 3MT is 6 tools.

Dennis

[brucesu1]

No. On the axis normally used for cuting threads etc.

[mixdenny]

I think it would be so big it would be in the way on such a small lathe. A quick change tool post takes only a few seconds to swap holders and the tool height is preset, might that meet your requirements?

Dennis

[BobWarfield]

I'm guessing you'll have like 10" of travel? A purpose-built small gang lathe like an Omniturn GT-Jr has 9" of travel, so this is doable.

FWIW, here is my page where I am designing a gang slide for my small lathe:

http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCLatheCNCGangSlide.html

It's a long-term project, so don't hold your breath for updates, LOL.

You should also consider a turret. Hardinge turrets are available used from eBay at decent prices. Two threads here on the 'Zone are really worth looking at in conjunction.

First, Widgitmaster built a manual turret from one for his manual lathe:

Converting my Engine Lathe to an 8-Station Turret Lathe!

I'd read through that and you'll get a lot of good info.

Second, have a look at Vince's rebuild of a Hardinge CHNC lathe which is the CNC version of this turret:

Hardinge CHNC conversion

Good pix and data on how he is setting up his turret.

Whatever you decide to do, it's worth noting that the Hardinge turrets, and a lot of gang tooled lathes like the Omniturn all work with the same tooling. I plan to use those T-slot dimensions so I can take advantage of all the used tooling available on eBay.

Cheers,

BW

[brucesu1]

The joint plan looks like it will be 2 quick change tool holders for the time being and then probably custom fabricate a gang too holder.

[dahui]

What about a small tool post for each tool?

[brucesu1]

That is a viable option but I may just make it on 1 block of metal.

[mixdenny]

I noticed a Dorian manual vertical index turret that holds 8 tools in the JTS catalog, page 500. It doesn't show up on the JTS website. The Dorian catalog doesn't have a direct url, but you can go to their catalog and select the turret section:

http://doriantool.com/

It's pretty high end, I guess, the set that fits a 12" lathe, part number S-NVIT8-50 from JTS is $2151. Here are some screen caps from the Dorian catalog. Dennis