Hand Crank for the Lathe Spindle

[BillH]

Well I made an expanding collet / work stop / hand crank for my 8x14 lathe. I'll take pictures later of it. Basically it expands and sticks itself in the back of the spindle, from it I have a rod that acts as a work stop for when using my collet chuck. I also tapped the real of it to bolt a hand crank for single point threading.

Well TWICE now, I turned on the lathe with it set to 1000 rpm and I forgot the hand crank was bolted on. First time it made my lathe vibrate like crazy. The second time it launched the very nice handle on the end of it "somewhere". I am still looking for it, I have no idea where it went. It probably is buried inside of a wall or the ceiling, although I see no holes anywhere. Had anyone been standing in the arc of the launch zone, they could of been killed.

 

[1Kenny]

Thanks for telling us Bill.

It will be interesting to hear where the handle ended up. Glad you didn't get hurt.

Kenny

 

[Maryak]

Bill,

Thanks for your honesty in share and scare with us.

Yet another twist to the old chuck key chestnut.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[old-biker-uk]

On my round to-it list is a replacement for my current handle with a design from Model Engineers Workshop May/June 1995 that has a spring loaded dog clutch.
Mark

 

[tel]

You don't do it too many times before the message gets firmly established in the ol' brain - you take you hand off the handle only to reach for the removing spanner!

 

[BillH]

I am going to modify it slightly so the belt cover has to be open in order for the handle to bolt on. If the cover is open, there is a safety switch that prevents the lathe from turning on.

 

[ksouers]

Now there's using the noggin'...

Also glad you weren't hurt by your lesson in physics.


Kevin

 

[rake60]

Happy to hear no one was injured Bill!
I have a terrible habit of not taking down a set up or putting
tools away after a process. After all I might need that set up
again. I really need to change that habit. It could easily put me
into the same situation some day. When things do go wrong it
often happens too quickly to react.
Thanks for sharing the information.

Rick

 

[mklotz]

I often do (hand) operations on both the lathe and mill which could result in disaster if the machine were unwittingly energized.

I installed lockouts on both machines. On the mill it's an additional power switch in series with the main switch that's located in a rather awkward to reach place. On the lathe it's a plate that fits over the power switch and locks it in the off position.

I can't tell you how often I've reached (without looking or thinking) for the lathe switch only to be stopped by the annoying lockout plate. For some reason, I've never done it on the mill but one day I will and then I'll be pleased that I took the time to protect myself from myself.

 

[steamboatmodel]

I only have a small Compact 5 lathe, but any time I do hand crank work I unplug it when I start, and only plug it back in when finished.
Regards,
Gerald

 

[BobWarfield]

Think of it as a really BIG chuck key left in!



Cheers,

BW

 

[BillH]

My dad who is visiting found it on the floor. It flew into the 55 gallon oil drum I am going to use for a cyclone separator. I can tell because there is some blue paint on the bolt. Apparently it did not quite have the force I thought it did, still enough though to hurt some one bad.