Re: yardsalin' again

On 9/7/2024 5:08 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Snag"  wrote in message news:vbgc4r$15175$1@dont-email.me...
 On 9/6/2024 8:07 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
I read somewhere that chuck backplates for threaded spindle lathes
should be soft cast iron instead of steel to minimize spindle thread wear.
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   A piece of cast that size is a good bit more expensive ... if I could
find one .
Snag
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Gym weights?
 A dumbbell became the ball pivot feet of my hoisting shear legs. The iron cut easily enough without annealing in the wood stove. I judge cast iron's condition by the chips, compared to known-good pieces like backplates. The worst crumbly cast iron I've machined was the head of a Duracraft drill press. Pipe fittings have mostly been pretty good, as was my second-hand (self-annealed) Taiwan wood stove to which I added a small window.
 http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?t=102818
 https://www.slfcastings.com/heat-treatment/
 I turned 1-1/2 - 8 and 2-1/4 - 8 dummy spindle ends that fit my Bison chucks closely to use as Go gauges, and to take on treasure hunts to check sizes instead of trying to measure or guess between 2-1/4 - 8 or 2-3/16 - 10. The 2-1/4 - 8 stub was a scrap of 2" water pipe. The 1-1/2 - 8 stub has a 1.00" shank to mount a Jacobs 58B chuck in a collet.
 

Gym weights is a commonly suggest alternative, but there have been plenty of reports of voids, and hard spots as its the cheapest cast they can get to stay together.  If they are free and you are bored it makes a nice Saturday afternoon project, but I wouldn't go seek them out.
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Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
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