AFTER REPAIRING A LONG DEAD LATHE IN MY UNIVERSITY'S MACHINE SHOP, I DISCOVERED THAT THE PLATE WHICH CLAMPS THE TOOLHOLDER INTO THE T-SLOT WAS MISSING. OTHER STUDENTS AND I HAD EXPERIENCED RIGIDITY ISSUES ON THE OTHER LATHES WHEN MAKING CUTS WITH HIGH VERTICAL LOADS, SO I DECIDED TO MACHINE A NEW SLIDE WITH A TIGHTER FIT AND GREATER LENGTH THAN THE OLD ONE.
DESIGNING THIS PART REQUIRED CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THE FIT BETWEEN THE SLIDE AND SLOT; IT HAD TO BE EASY FOR THE USER TO INSERT AND REMOVE, COULD NOT BECOME EASILY CLOGGED WITH OIL AND CHIPS, BUT HAD TO HAVE AS SMALL A GAP AS POSSIBLE TO MAXIMIZE RIGIDITY.
I MACHINED THE PART MANUALLY OUT OF STEEL PLATE STOCK ON A BRIDGEPORT MILL TO ALL TOLERANCES SPECIFIED ON THE DRAWING I CREATED. THE FINISH ON THE STEP IS POOR DUE TO LACK OF SHARP CARBIDE TOOLING, BUT THIS HAD NO ADVERSE EFFECT ON FUNCTIONALITY.
THE FINAL PRODUCT FIT NICELY INTO THE SLOT, AND INTERFACED CLEANLY WITH THE PROPER BOLT. THE INCREASED RIGIDITY MAKES OPERATIONS SUCH AS PARTING VERY NOTICEABLY EASIER ON THIS LATHE, ESPECIALLY ONCE A TOOLHOLDER BASE PLATE IS INSTALLED (NOT SHOWN HERE DUE TO MISSING HARDWARE.)