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I've rigged up another way to start the slot, this time while the rod is still on the lathe. Motor is Proxxon as is the fixture holding it. I need to refine it a bit regarding setting the cutter vertically on the center axis. You'll note the tool holder is jacked almost to the top of the dove tail. Need to find a milling slide. Cross slide movement makes it easy to adjust the width of the slot. Rube Goldberg was a first cousin of mine.
Chas.

that's pretty cool.. but why.. just hold the tool in your hand... 30 seconds vice time it takes to set that up..

BUT.. have you ever seen the video of David Wagner (Austria - BAFF Pipes) where he cuts his stems to dimension with an end mill bit.... you could chuck an end mill bit in your lathe and mount the stem in the tool holder.. and then cut your 3.4 to 3.8 mm without having to do a lot of filing

james

I guess it is just me but every time I've ever tried to hand hold either the tool or the rod or both I've made a mess of it and either had to scrap, cut it off and start over or do a lot of re-work. DT's maybe?
Safety is another issue. I'm a firm believer in Mr. Murphy so when things with sharp teeth are spinning I prefer to take no chances. Latakialover made a point of this in his earlier still-photo essay on stem making.
Yes, I've seen the video (quite some time ago) and I lost the link and could not remember the guy's name. Thanks for bringing it back to light.
A milling attachment on a lathe can be quite handy.
Chas.

Good Stuff.

I messed up a couple of slots holding by hand as well so now I use my drill press and pen vise. My drill press's shelf (Shopsmith) has a lever to move it in and out, so I just put the stem in the vice and pull the lever.

Not the best methodology I am sure, but it works for me

Turn it 90deg and cut the slot vertically.

Turn it 90deg and cut the slot vertically.

I actually did think of that and it is an excellent solution except where a wider button would benefit from being able to move the cutter in the plane of the slot. Again back to having the ability to have controlled movement in three directions.
Or, DUH!! A larger diameter cutter would eliminate the need for vertical blade movement. Ease of set-up is still an issue. Center-line of the saw's shank obviously must be on the spindle's center-line vertically. I'm going to look for a larger slitting saw and for a milling attachment that will fit my Logan.
Thanks for making me think.
Chas.

Pretty cool but in the time it probably took you to build this you could have cut about 10,000 slots by hand and gotten good enough at it that it only takes you about 10 seconds; all the while getting better at it.

Pretty cool but in the time it probably took you to build this you could have cut about 10,000 slots by hand and gotten good enough at it that it only takes you about 10 seconds; all the while getting better at it.

Actually, this one I did not have to "build" per se. I already had the two pieces necessary. I just had to wait for the light to come on as to what to do with them.
But, I will concede that in the amount of time required to set the dang thing up I could have cut maybe 5000 slots. Gotta find that mill attachment. My mind spins at the things I could screw up with it.
I've been a gadget guy all my life. I used to build all sorts of crazy stuff in my basement (much to the chagrin of my mother) starting back in grade school. I think she was just waiting for me to blow the house up. All the male relatives on my father's side were carpenters and tinker nuts. I'm pretty much tame by comparison.
Now and then I have to take a look at my junk pile and sober up.
Just wait for my latest creation. Stick a chunk of briar and stick of ebonite in one end and a finished pipe pops out the other end 10 minutes later. Ha! Don't need no stinking lottery to get rich.
Chas.

It's a good idea, but I know that if I were to set this up, people like RAD would laugh at me.

Brian,

Rad laughs at you anyways

hope this helps

rev

the rev wrote:Brian,

Rad laughs at you anyways

hope this helps

rev

Rad laughs at everybody. Let's hope he GETS help.
Chas.

It's a tool slut/ precision geek sort of affliction that Red and I share. My arrangement is the drill press version of his solution.

In its defense, it takes less than 60 seconds to set up and make the cut---the cutter is just another drill bit to the (keyless) chuck, and the rest is turning x-y adjusting wheels a few spins.

Also, it's 100% reliable/repeatable. One missed "eyeball cut," on the other hand, results in several minutes of extra file-work. Depending on the stem and how far the cut was off, you might even have to shorten the rod and start over.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it, anyway.

As for Rad, he laughs at everyone except Nick Miller. Nick is scary.

It's a tool slut/ precision geek sort of affliction that Red and I share. My arrangement is the drill press version of his solution.

In its defense, it takes less than 60 seconds to set up and make the cut---the cutter is just another drill bit to the (keyless) chuck, and the rest is turning x-y adjusting wheels a few spins.

Also, it's 100% reliable/repeatable. One missed "eyeball cut," on the other hand, results in several minutes of extra file-work. Depending on the stem and how far the cut was off, you might even have to shorten the rod and start over.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it, anyway.

As for Rad, he laughs at everyone except Nick Miller. Nick is scary.

I like it! You've got what I'm currently missing: the Z axis movement. I'm lacking a drill press at home. I've got a decent one at my business but I hate driving over to use it every time I need a drill press.

A question if I may (and others with first hand knowledge feel free to chip in): Do the keyless (Albrecht style) chucks grip as tightly as those with a key?

Chas.

Simply put, no, but then it isn't really a simple question, a lot will depend on the job at hand, the drill bits you use, the quality of the chuck, how often you need to change the bit, how strong your hands are etc. I personally have tried several keyless chucks and I do not get on with them. All the chucks in my workshop are keyed and even the cheapest never slip, I even swapped out the chuck on my drill/driver for a keyed as I hated the supplied keyless on that one despite it being a Rohm (slipped like a bitch and you could never grip the thing).
Is my changeover time longer, yes, would I have it any other way? No.
(Oh and I also know how to use a keyed chuck properly, which most people don't these days it seems)

Damn I sounded a bit of ass in this post, oh well nothing new there I guess

oklahoma red wrote:

It's a tool slut/ precision geek sort of affliction that Red and I share. My arrangement is the drill press version of his solution.

In its defense, it takes less than 60 seconds to set up and make the cut---the cutter is just another drill bit to the (keyless) chuck, and the rest is turning x-y adjusting wheels a few spins.

Also, it's 100% reliable/repeatable. One missed "eyeball cut," on the other hand, results in several minutes of extra file-work. Depending on the stem and how far the cut was off, you might even have to shorten the rod and start over.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it, anyway.

As for Rad, he laughs at everyone except Nick Miller. Nick is scary.

I like it! You've got what I'm currently missing: the Z axis movement. I'm lacking a drill press at home. I've got a decent one at my business but I hate driving over to use it every time I need a drill press.

A question if I may (and others with first hand knowledge feel free to chip in): Do the keyless (Albrecht style) chucks grip as tightly as those with a key?

Chas.

Keyless chucks are one of those things that must be made exactly right to work well, and exactly right means expensive. Knock off & copy companies shouldn't even bother trying. Cut enough corners to set yourself apart price-wise, and she no work.

I had a Jacobs for a while, but got tired of trying to keep track of the damn key. And for whatever reason I get unreasonably pissed off when I'm in the middle of a task and must to stop to do something stupid like go on a key hunt. So it was/is worth it to me to have smoother work flow. So far, the Albrecht kicks serious ass. Zip, tool in; zop, tool out. It's like buttah.

I think you've hit it right on the button..or...eh...key, Chris. Most people don't know how to use a normal chuck the right way.
Jeez, the children of today!

I should have mentioned about price really but it was late when I typed that lol.

Price matters a lot more when looking at keyless chucks as opposed to keyed. I personally have not used an Albrecht but I have tried several cheapies, a Jacobs keyless and a Rohm. I didn't really like any of them but the Rohm was better than the cheapies. If I need to change out bits a lot then my preference is to set up some chucks with the bits I use the most already in them, of course this is only really an option for lathe users. Id rather have half a dozen cheaper keyed chucks setup with bits and 1 for the odd bits (key kept in my pocket) than 1 really expensive keyless. But that's just me. Ultimately everyone has their own choice nad neither s right or wrong.

LatakiaLover wrote:Keyless chucks are one of those things that must be made exactly right to work well, and exactly right means expensive. Knock off & copy companies shouldn't even bother trying. Cut enough corners to set yourself apart price-wise, and she no work.

I had a Jacobs for a while, but got tired of trying to keep track of the damn key. And for whatever reason I get unreasonably pissed off when I'm in the middle of a task and must to stop to do something stupid like go on a key hunt. So it was/is worth it to me to have smoother work flow. So far, the Albrecht kicks serious ass. Zip, tool in; zop, tool out. It's like buttah.

I do not get the shop time Chris or George do, but fwiw, I picked up a used Albrecht maybe 8 months ago. It's the 1/32" - 1/2" with fixed MT2 and it works great for me. It's the one almost always in my tail stock, haven't had a single issue with it.