X-3 quill feed handle mod

[DICKEYBIRD]

I'm unsure if other X-3's came like mine with no way of properly tightening the 3 handles on the quill feed. I've been twisting them by hand for 2 years now....the whole time saying to myself "Geez, just mill a couple flats so you can torque 'em down with a wrench." Sounds easy but I never got around to it 'til today. I didn't want to just clamp them in the vice without a way of accurately indexing the flats.

I turned an adapter to put my LMS 3" 4-jaw on my spin indexer today, chucked up the handles and milled the flats. I made them so a 10 mm wrench (to match the metric theme) fits snugly and they tightened up real well. Problem solved.

 

[Philjoe5]

Cool mod DB. I've been twisting mine tight every time I use the mill for a year. I was wondering how long I'd do that before doing something about it. I think you just gave me some motivation.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[lugnut]

Thanks for the idea DICKEYBIRD, I just got a X3 but have not got the chance to use it enough to rattle the handles loose as yet. But your idea looks like a must do and I will do it tomorrow, if nothing else as a excuse to use the mill ;D.
Now what kind of idea do you have for a "quill lock" so I don't have to use that stupid two pinned quill wrench to hold it while tightening and loosening the draw bolt? I'm thinking of a spring loaded push button that would catch into one of the teeth of the quill drive shaft on top the machine.
Mel

 

[DICKEYBIRD]

That one's easy Mel. That funky wrench lasted only through the 1st few tool changes on mine.

Just get yourself a 23 mm, 12 point box end wrench, uhh, spanner. It fits the splined upper spindle shaft perfectly. Just cut it off shorter to clear the column in case you forget to take it off. We don't need to bend our spindle now do we?

 

[Jasonb]

I prefer to leave mine hand tight, that way they can easily be removed when cutting close to the workpiece with tooling that does not project far from the spindle nose like slitting saws.

Jason