Pictures of the Taig Lathe, Mill & Other Tools and Accessories

Here are pictures of the Taig Lathe and Taig Milling Machine, pictures of my machines and other Taig users machines, modifications and projects.
I want pictures! Send me your Taig pictures and I will post them. Mods, projects, even your machine just sitting on the bench.
Last Updated August 6th, 2008

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Table of Contents

Sections with new additions in Bold type, new pictures in Bold type.
This page can be a bit unwieldy, but you will find a lot of treasures by poking around.
Use the "find" function of your browser to search for particular words (usually ctrl + "f" )

Pictures of the Taig Lathe & Accessories

Taig Lathe The L1017 Assembled Taig Lathe with 1150 tailstock, 1097D tool bit, 1023 mounting board, 1162 pulley set and 1192 drill chuck
1026
 Depth stop for workpiece in chuck
1030
 4 jaw 3 1/4" dia. chuck 3/4-16 thd mount jaws adjusted independently (reversable heat treated steel jaws)
1034
 Lathe Dog, holds work piece while turning between centers.
1035
 Face plate 3 1/4" dia. 3/4-16 thd mount
1036
 Face plate angle bracket set
1037
 Face plate, 2" dia. 3/4-16 thd mount
1038
 4 inch swivel joint tool rest (wood turners)
1040
Collet set, collet closer with 8 collet sizes 1/8,5/32,3/16,7/32,1/4,9/32,5/16 and one blank
1043
 4 blank collets furnished unslotted for making special arbors (may be bored and slotted)
1050
 3 Jaw 3 1/4" dia. self centering scroll chuck (steel body) with reversable aluminum soft jaws 3/4-16 thd.
1051
 Additional blank soft jaw set for 3 jaw chuck
1052
 Full circle soft jaw set for 3 jaw chuck
1060
 4 Jaw 3 1/4" dia. self centering scroll chuck (steel body) with aluminum soft jaws 3/4-16 thd.
1092
 1/16-3/8" Jacobs drill chuck, commercial quality 3/8-24 thd.
1095
 6 piece high speed steel tool bit set, left,right,45 degree,round nose,boring bar, and cut off
1110
 Slitting saw arbor, screws directly on spindle including wrench
1110ER Slitting saw arbor, 3/8 shanik for ER16 3/8" collet
1111
 .032 X 2 1/2" dia high speed slitting saw
1120
 Grinding wheel arbor, screws directly on spindle
1122
 Grinding wheel set
1130
 Blank arbor 1.00" dia. screws directly on spindle (may be machined for special jobs)
1132
 Blank arbor
1140
 Drill chuck arbor (3/8-24 thread), attaches Jacobs chucks to headstock spindle
1150
 Drilling tailstock, lever operated 5/8" off set with dead center, 3/8-24 thd for drill chucks
1151
 Needle bearing center, spring loaded (fits in tailstock)
1152
 Die holder for tailstock (will accept 13/16" and 1.00" button dies)
1159
 Spare Gates polyurethane vee belt(est. belt life 5000 hours) No.3M 315 12 1/2" flat length
1160
 Spare Gates polyurethane vee belt(est. belt life 5000 hours) No.3M 500 20" flat length
1162
 Pulley set as above for 1/2" shaft motor STD 3M 315 belt included (3M 500 belt optional)
1170
 Extra tool post (same as supplied with lathe)
1171
 Back tool post, tool bit mounts upside down, 2 tools may be used at same time
1173
 T Bar Cut off Tool, height adjustable (available 12/15/00)
1190
 Steady rest 3/32" to 1 1/2" capacity
1200
 Top slide (compound) mounts on crosslide for cutting tapers and angles
1210
 Radius Turner, swings Tool Bit in arc
1220
 Milling attachment mounts directly on crosslide (2 x 3 3/4" table)
1221
 3/4-16 chuck adapter, adapts chuck to mill table
1224
 Fly Cutter, 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 inch diameter, 3/4-16 thread mount, tool bit included.
1224ER Fly Cutter, 3/8" shank for use in the 3.8" ER16 collet, imported.
1225
 Milling vice, 2.125" opening x 2" wide
1250
 Riser block kit for headstock and tool post (provides 6.00 swing tailstock riser not incl)
1251
 Tailstock riser only
1310
 1" Spindle Wrench

Pictures of the Taig Milling Machine


2019 Taig Milling Machine Pictures

Truing The 3 Jaw Chuck Soft Jaws

Making Clamps for the Taig Mill

Don't have time to make clamps? You can buy a nice set, or individual components, from LittleMachineShop.com (see a review here) or DeArmond Tool

Making The "Crinz Puck" CD Hovercraft

Chris Hendricks sent me an intruiging drawing for making a little hovercraft out of a CD puck. I have to admit it need tweaking, as the balloon tends to drag along the table, slowing it down, but it does float on a cushion of air!. His drawing and puck can be found in the owner modification and projects section.

Pictures of Nick's Own Taig, Home Made Accessories and Typical Work Done On It..

New Pictures Start Here.

Taig Owner Modifications and Projects

When people send me a few pictures this is where they end up. I generally edit the picture for size, play with brightness etc. I tend to put new pictures at the bottom of this section, and put the description in bold text until the next update. I really appreciate pictures, and always welcome new ones, of any Taig lathe, mill, or projects done on the machines. Feel free to email me pictures in .jpg format, or mail a CD or regular photographs so I can scan them. If you send me enough, I'll give you your own section on this page.

Tracy Presnell Making Parts on his Taig CNC Mill

Mucho Thanks to Tracy Presnell.

Steve Bachmann's Taig Projects

Mike Rowe's CNC Taig Mill and Paintgunsmithing

Thanks to Mike Rowe.

Wayne Fields Taig Lathe and Antique Wagon Models

Thanks to Wayne Fields!

Tom Cumming's Extended Bed Taig and Other Mods.

Thanks to Tom Cummings for the detailed photographs!

Geoff Kingma's Lathe and Mill Modifications

Thanks to Geoff Kingma for the detailed photographs!

Andy Moe's Taig Modifications

Thanks to Andy Moe for the informative pictures.

Alex Newman's Taig Lathe


Thanks to Alex Newman for the informative pictures.

Hideo Kawa's Taig Lathe and Accessories

Thanks to Hideo Kawa for the informative pictures.

Laurie Keating's Taig Lathe and Projects

Thanks to Laurie Keating for the informative pictures.

Ken Jenkins' Taig Lathe

Thanks to Ken Jenkins for the informative pictures.

 

Bob Pinkus' Taig Lathe

"You can see the spring I have behind the door-hinged motor mount. Works great. The double brass knobs on the small slide knob really help as do the thumb screws for the tailstock , slide, travel stop, etc. The tail stock handle made of 1/2" copper pipe is held in place with a set screw that goes into a soldered brass nut. Doesn't loosen w/ use. The entire lathe is mounted on a 3/4" slab of aluminum. It has screwed on rubber feet on the bottom and wide handles. The power switch is on the slab too. A self-contained unit. Easy to transport or store. Very stable as the feet are short and wide and stiff. The base being aluminum makes it easy to tap holes to mount anything you want. Also, the piece on the tailstock is my home made die holder. Look at the front left side of the motor. See the mini toggle switch? That is for motor reversing. GREAT for backing off threadings at low speed and a loose tailstock. Bob Pinkus"

Thanks to Bob Pinkus for the informative pictures.

Robert Sidor's Taig Lathe

Robert has modified his Taig in many ways. There is a worm gear box which feeds the carriage by a 1/4-20 screw feed. The belt can be twisted to provide a simple reverse capability. The motor is permanent magnet DC and uses a diode and light dimmer for speed control. The steam engines were made with Roberts three lathes: a SB 10K, a 9x20 lathe and the Taig. "I sure love the Taig, it's just a blast to use. Nothing like it for fine work...", says Robert.

Thanks to Robert Sidor for providing the great pictures.

Randy Gordon-Gilmore's Taig Lathe Modifications

Many Thanks to Randy for the Photos of his Creative Modifications!

Bob Urso's Miniature Pistols

Keith Shaw's Lathe and Mill Projects

(New Pics Start Here)

  1. The project for the day -- hemispherical ball cutting tool. This tool is going to be interesting to test. It is specifically for hemi ends on small rods, per my previous email. It will also handle out to 0.5" rod diameter (I think). The tool bit holder is mounted on a precision SKF bearing with 1.0" OD, and then the outer race-rim of this bearing is supported on 2 ball bearings at 120 degrees in the base -- the ol' 3 point bearing with pre-loading on main bearing idea. By grinding a washer I could adjust for literally no wobble by torquing down the inner race-rim, and also get a very smooth 180 degree move for the tool about the bearing axis. I can easily and precisely adjust the tool bit position (for an accurate hemisphere) using a delrin slider and leadscrew driven by the knurled knob. I'm in the process of finishing up the bit clamps, with forward slots marked.
  2. I'm just getting around to mounting the Sherline chuck, and my first crack at the backing washer is giving me a runout through 360 degrees of about 0.001" and I can identify a bad spot in the rotation -- so some "elbow work" on the washer should get the runout down? The attached pic shows my setup for the test. The 1/2" hardened rod in the chuck is ground to specs (roundness and straightness) exceeding what I can expect from this lathe spindle and chuck. Can I get down to 0.0002"? Note the T-slot fixture -- for me at least, the 10-32 flat square nut is a pain to orient and get started in the T-slot. Also, there are 2 dowel pins on the underside of the toolpost that give a quick, accurate set perpendicular to the spindle axis.
  3. My first setup for the Taig lathe. I will be changing to a DC motor, just as soon as I get some "hot" work completed.
  4. The indicator fixture with which I checked my runout. This is a turned and polished (with oiled 400 grit paper) aluminum piece, and interpolating with the 0.0005" per grad indicator it seems that I'm down to less than 0.0002" through 360 degree rotation? I polished to take out imperfections, on this scale, left by the crumby carbide tool that I was using and my manual tool feed.
  5. A test unit assembled with parts made on the Taig mill. With the precision slide and 32 TPI leadscrew (on the right) we have a very smooth and reproducible motion of the rod going into the test cell (on the left) at way better than 0.001".
  6. For my lathe projects I have already used a boring bar with standard 3/8" shank in a modified Taig toolpost
  7. Another view
  8. This morning decided to try a different "wheel" -- like a big ol' Mitutoyo micrometer head that I have had around for many years. Man, it's cool! It gives me very precise and comfortable control of the tool motion, and with two-fisted (thumb and fore finger) operation I can get really smooth cuts. I'll probably dress it up some with a brass gripper ring -- when I have free afternoon.
  9. Another view
  10. Shows the individual parts, and the "turned down" Taig wheel. You will easily see how it is assembled. I lost the Taig dial grads. No big deal, I'm not a fan of tracking these dials and I will be using a gauge as previously discussed. In the meantime my calipers do just fine.
  11. I had a very interesting Swiss made DC motor (and matching HP power supply) that I wanted to try with the Taig lathe, and so here is an experiment as compared with the GE AC motor. We all love the nice easy variable speed feature?
  12. Picture shows the reduction and step pulley setup. The step pulley is mounted on a shaft fitted to a 3/4" ID ball bearing, which is mounted via the aluminum ring to the bracket holding the DC motor. Of course the Taig cut the motor pulley! The whole assembly is nicely balanced, runs true, is very quiet and is literally without any vibration. And yikes -- I just noticed that the bearing is being held to motor bracket with a single 4-40 bolt, in the rush to tension the motor belt and get on with doin' some cuttin'!!
  13. The DC motor is rated at approx. 0.15 HP but has lots of torque -- like 100 oz-inches (continuous, 500 oz-inch max) at the step pulley shaft running at around 1550 RPM i.e. I can run the motor up to 8000 RPM continuous with no problem at all, and I use this to advantage by using a base reduction gear of 1:4.5 So I cut some small 6061 T6 aluminum parts up to 3/4" diameter and ripped off metal at a high rate, just like the GE clunker --- Hmmmm. Then did some fine cuts and they were absolutely beautiful -- Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Then moved to some 3/8" aluminum mounted on a mandrel and cut a "wheel" with 2-1/2" diameter. Again, material came off at a more than acceptable rate. The belt between step pulley and lathe stretches and trys to slip before this little DC motor bogs down! Yep, this little motor can get it done (for my work scale and materials) and just maybe I'm going to tidy it all up and make it a permanent setup. A note on the mandrel: I found that using dual self-adjusting washers (the ones with the matching curved surfaces) in conjunction with my standard mill T-slot nut with 1/4-20 thread gives a real solid grip with minimal pressure from the nut on a workpiece.
  14. Here's another test: ran a 1/4" hole with drill into aluminum piece, then "expanded" using a 1/2" end mill with 3/8" shank in a Jacobs chuck. Moved metal real well again? This, for me, is a common operation to prepare for working with a boring bar. If I can find a 3/4" end mill with the same shank in my "miscellaneous box" The motor is a Maxon motor and there is a guy in CA that had some of these available as used, surplus units; while the power supply is an older HP unit rated for 0-60V and 0-3A. The motor draws around 1-1.5A when its working and 0.5A when it's loafing along, at a nominal 40 VDC. These motors are available new from a US distributor, but are quite expensive ($100+). I knew about them on military and aerospace projects when I worked at Raytheon -- they were considered as the best available, period. I seem to remember a nice PWM speed controller at around $50 that would drive this motor.
  15. I spent the day tidying up the new motor setup, and added some shelving behind the lathe in the "found space"
  16. I used your shorter Gates belt between drive step pulley and lathe, and added a rubber pad to take out transmission of a very small vibration from the drive step pulley when running the motor at 11000 rpm! The drive pulley to lathe belt tension is adjusted by tilting the motor mount bracket, adjusting the position of a block under the bracket and re-tightening the 3 bracket hold-down screws.
  17. Then when all belts were adjusted and run in, I went back to the 2-1/2" aluminum test piece and finished the rim surface with a square tool bit. Polished it off with a paper towel and checked with a dial indicator. The TIR was less than 0.0002" . Also, the maximum deviation across the 3/8" face was similar. This is quite impressive, and I was not sure if I could believe the indicator (even though everything seemed to be OK when I tapped the indicator body, etc.)
  18. So, for peace of mind I decided to mount my trusty Mitutoyo micrometer, with vernier to 0.0001", on the lathe bed And as you probably expected --
  19. All testing showed that the dial indicator, with interpolation between the 0.0005" grad marks, matched the micrometer to within 0.0001".
  20. My Taig and the little motor were working steel (HRS rod) today for the first time , and the motor didn't even work up a sweat..... Got the inspiration for this project from Bob Wilkins' tailstock on your website.
  21. Here are pics of the completed toolpost handle: locked to cut
  22. unlocked to move
  23. The assembly shown moves between toolposts, while the T-nut remains on the cross-slide. It's real easy to locate the T-nut and start the tightening process
  24. New and improved spinner for the cross-slide wheel
  25. parts
  26. assembled
  27. Another cool test device
  28. The toolpost is working great with the "quick change handle". I did have to replace the T-slot nut with a carefully machined piece of steel (because you do not know how the 10-32 thread tap starts?) to get an accurate and consistent handle position for the lock position.
  29. The metal was moving today...
  30. I'll send you a description of what's up with this for doing a decent tripod mount for my camera.
  31. His Clamp Handle
  32. His toolbit nose radius grinder. I have learned how useful a round-nose toolbit can be on the lathe, especially for fast roughing out of parts. So got to try some toolbit grinding to experiment with tip radius, but was limited by a crude grinder setup. So, back to finishing up a better system -- picture of project in progress.
  33. The beam engine column is a 3/4" diameter aluminum tube (1/16" wall), and as I had not worked with tubing before I put together a fixture for turning between centers that worked quite well -- cleaning up a tube end
  34. Shows the tailstock setup and finished tube end to fit into column end cap .
  35. I'm setting up for hacksaw cutoff (off lathe)of the tube to actual column length The aluminum "thing" has two bronze bushings, on 1" centers, that were reamed out to fit on a 1/4" drill rod which then mounts in a Jacob chuck on the Taig tailstock. The rear bronze bushing face was faced off and ran very smoothly under pressure against the hardened steel chuck jaws. This whole setup was pretty rigid, but uses some lathe bed space.
  36. This pic shows the Taig compund slide being used for the "tube" fixture, per the previous set of pics.
  37. Finished Column for the model beam engine
  38. A fixture using the Taig tailstock arbor. I'm going to use it to chuck small round parts for milling.
  39. The indexing fixture progresses. Yep, used a cheapo (but SS) protractor from Enco that had become redundant. Initially I was going to do a 0-90-180, but then decided to make it more flexible with just a little more work. The key is a split brass insert that really grabs the arbor shaft to set a workpiece angle with just finger tightening through the rod with knurled brass knob, and it does not alter the angle as you tighten up. Furthermore, the brass protects the arbor shaft as only the outside brass insert surface in contact with the locking rod takes some wear.
  40. #2
  41. His Indexer is now finished
  42. #2
  43. #3
  44. #4
  45. After some playing around with different geometries to mount a variable speed DC motor to drive the leadscrew via a pulley mounted to the standard Taig handwheel assembly, the prototype that I'm trying out right now is shown in the attached pics. This allows the drive to be instantly disengaged by moving the lever (with the ball handle) up - even with the drive motor running. Assuming you do not totally fall asleep this seems to be a fairly safe mode of operation as there are no gates or locks involved for the control lever. In this up position you can use the handwheel as normal - and yes, you can read the graduations.
  46. It's interesting to note that the Gates belt (one of your standard sizes), with the pulley diameters being used, grips just fine with the engage lever pushed down but held in place only with friction between the aluminum block that is part of the motor mount assembly and the backplate - the surfaces in contact having an area of about 0.5 square inch. The friction can be controlled by a compression spring that is accessible from behind the backplate.
  47. #3
  48. I just sent some pics of a customized relay lens system, to be used with a digital camera to get high resolution pictures from a microscope, out to a User Group and as all the adapter parts were fabricated using the Taig lathe I thought you may be interested to also see them: Complete SONY F505 setup on a simple compound microscope. It's kinda tough taking a picture of the SONY with the SONY, so this one is taken with a low-end digital camera!
  49. Relay sub-system using a reversed 50mm SLR lens and three adapter rings, view from the camera end.
  50. Relay sub-system, view from microscope eyepiece tube end.
  51. Components for the relay lens.
  52. Image showing overall IC (integrated circuit) with inter-connect wires, at relatively low magnification.
  53. Image of the same IC at 1600x1200 resolution at about 200x magnification.
  54. Fiber optic illuminator mount for a microscope, using a ball with clamp for universal positioning
  55. Customized fixtures for holding and precisely positioning odd shaped parts for an optical test bench, in lieu of a 4-jaw chuck. Typical part is 2" square plate (1/4" aluminum} with off-center 1.05" hole
  56. Checking mill table z-axis runout - it was way less than 0.001" over a 6" span
  57. Checking y-axis runout, after new lapping and gib adjustment - again way less than 0.001" over 6" span. BTW, this gib adjustment on the old-style mill is nasty, to say the least?
  58. Z-axis tramming setup with 9" swing
  59. Modified Taig toolpost holding long part that required a precisely aligned hole to be drilled in the end of a relatively long part. Note the "chopped down" Taig tailstock chuck arbor mounted in the lathe chuck, with a Jacobs chuck, rather than removing the chuck and using the standard drill chuck mount. Whoa, I forgot - can't do it, as I have the spindle setup for WW collets!
  60. A part that was completed last week, and is to be incorporated into the miniature CAM tester
  61. For some time I had been thinking about how to best utilize the Taig spanner to "lock the spindle", as I did NOT want to tamper with the spindle or drive pulley. The result was a modified spanner with two "holders" mounted to the spindle housing to hold the spanner in place around the spindle 1-inch nut. I wanted to keep the holder dimensions to a minimum so as not to interfere with space around the spindle/collet holder, and with aluminum and a 1/2x10-32 bolt it does not move (or bend) when the collet is tightened down hard and then loosened to change the tool. So far, it has been a real joy to use!
  62. #2
  63. #3
  64. Part of my workshop now that I have had to move inside from the deck (that was wonderful for the Summer).
  65. Part of a general purpose microscope test stand
  66. #2
  67. Kodak digital camera on the test stand, with remote control via PC
  68. My improved "poor man's" readout for the Taig mill. When complete it attaches to the T-slot on front of the x-axis table. It's limited by the dial gauge to 2.0" of travel, but I can reliably extend this by re-zeroing. However, for me, the majority of parts that require this readout fit within this range of travel.
  69. Larger view
  70. Attached to the mill table
  71. A model for a patent application
  72. Tailstock mandrel, Original setup
  73. Component parts, showing a universal bearing part with dual bronze 1/4" ID bushings. This bearing part runs on a 1/4" drill rod mounted in the tailstock Jacobs drill chuck. The basic idea was to machine new conical parts, to fit on the universal bearing for different size tubing - a relatively simple task using the Taig compound slide. Also these parts may wear and will neeed to be replaced.
  74. Shows a finished tube end
  75. Second version: using a spring to keep a more constant load on the tube end
  76. Same version with spring unloaded
  77. Current version: using much stronger spring to limit "bouncing" of a rough ended tube (bandsaw cutoff) during initial machining at mandrel end. Once this end is cleaned up the mandrel holds the tube true and very stable for machining the outside surface across the length of the tube. This setup is far superior to the earlier versions. The spring and its mounts remain stationary during machining, and the rotary bearing surface is the universal bronze bushing running against a brass insert press fit into the aluminum spring mount.
  78. This version's components, using the original universal bearing
  79. Shows the 2 springs used for comparison. The bigger spring was cut down from a return spring used on a punch press.
  80. A picture showing the pulleys installed on an improved version of the variable speed Maxon DC motor drive. The original unit (with single ball bearing) held up surprisingly well, but it was time to do a more rigid mount. Also, the belt tensioning is now more precise with dual slides.
  81. Another recent project was modifying a TSE QCTP to fit on the Taig lathe (I found out the hard way that it's actually designed for a Sherline) - It really is very slick to use and is more rigid than I anticipated, but in my opinion it is a little too bulky for this size lathe. I left the over-sized base plate (adapter) on the toolpost to allow running some experiments with a clamp in the second T-slot on the carriage. I have to go back and spend some more time to find out why my "poor man's QCTP" seems to hold to the carriage without any twisting and with only moderate pressure on the T-slot nut, whereas with the TSE I have to really torque up?
  82. A test bench for evaluating small solenoid performance. I have used both the Taig lathe and mill now for over 2 years and they get the job done for my small parts! Many people have asked about the Taig equipment when they see the parts and assemblies/prototypes/toys/etc. However, it seems that these parts keep getting smaller.
  83. I also designed and fabricated a solenoid/coil winder to fit on the Taig lathe carriage - see attached. It was quite a challenge getting the tensioning and winding control "right" for wire in the 0.0025" - 0.00078" diameter range.
  84. Last week I got back to a second revision of my x-axis drive prototype Aug.2004
  85. Right now I'm cleaning up the second revision of the X-powerdrive , based upon my experiments with the original design. I now have a push-button to activate the powerdrive, which is a real safe (conservative?) mode of operation as the powerdrive stops instantaneously when you release this button. But by turning this button to the right and pushing in you can lock the powerdrive on - now it's hands free but it's smart to watch what's happening! Once again I find that I get significantly smoother cuts with this powerdrive as compared with manually winding on the crank handle. Of course, it's great for long runs...
  86. A rocker toolpost. I have been experimenting with grinding my own lathe toolbits. As I use a 'round tip' tool for a lot of lathe work, I mounted this particular tool in my modified Taig toolholder to allow quick tool reorientation. Then I got used to 'touching up' this tool with a diamond bar sharpener by simply refinishing the top surface of the tool. Oops - tool alignment problems leading to the infamous stub on the workpiece centerline when facing off a part. So, yesterday (on a whim) I tried a rocker toolpost design. I made a guess for the rocker move and finished up with 0.005" at each extreme, per feeler gauge. It's really simple to fabricate - and it works great! Adjustment for perfect tool alignment is really fast. I questioned giving up some rigidity by not having the tool clamped to the bottom surface of the toolpost holding slot, but I saw no indication of a problem with some aluminum test parts.
  87. View of the rocker
  88. Showing maximum adjustment
  89. Drill Depth Gage parts
  90. Completed gage
  91. A precision stainless steel plate that I found in a 'scrap' lot with my pals in Seabrook, NH. Of course I'm now using it with the Taig mill. It's a crying shame, but if I'm not around to grab this stuff it finishes up in China as scrap metal...
  92. The new DC spindle motor and the z-powerdrive for drilling. The wiring has now been tidied up and I have added a microswitch interlock for the spindle motor. This prevents trying to run this motor with my tool changing spindle lock inadvertantly left in place!! The drilling setup uses the same up-down direction and stepped/continuous controls (see lower right panel in pic) as the x-powerdrive - with an extra SPST switch to change between axes. I never enjoyed drilling without a quill on the Taig, but this new setup works very well as I also have an accurate and wide range control of the drilling speed via the standard HP variable voltage power supply.
  93. A long overdue "organizer" for my most commonly used mill tooling!
  94. 3-axis goniometer I'm using to inspect parts under a microscope. The mounting rod diameter is just 0.018"...
  95. I turned out a decent fixture today. It is required to hold the prototype part so that I can drill a nice 0.055" hole on center that is exactly concentric with the part's vertical axis.
  96. The prototype part in the fixture was done from a STL file with a relatively new 3D printer service. It uses an inkjet-type technology to build up the part in layers about 0.003" thick. Not a perfect finish (at these dimensions) but I can get another test part within 2 days for about $50!
  97. Turning down a lathe tailstock arbor to mount a drill chuck in the 1/4" collet
  98. The finished arbor with standard 1/4" Taig collet
  99. The arbor registering with the collet
  100. Setup with Jacobs chuck to drill a 0.052" hole through a turned 6061 tube with OD of 0.065" and wall thickness of 0.006". I tested with the 0.052" drill, 1/8" aluminum and my Z-drive - superb holes without center drill to start. I was too excited to try it all out, so I did not measure the runout. But I could not see any movement at the drill tip with my magnifier headset and I know this is a very good sign! Aaaaah, now all I do is whip out an end mill and change to the drill chuck.... Sweet. Now there are limitations. The turned steel is not rehardened and so I'll have to be careful to try and protect the arbor - like torque down on the collet to prevent slippage. Also, I will restrict to small drills only i.e. up to 1/8"? Of course, the variable and constant feed speed for drilling with the Z-drive helps plenty....
  101. Toolpost with knurled knob to position and rotate toolpost on the lathe carriage, along with replacement for 10-32 nut - much easier insertion into the carriage T-slot
  102. Toolpost hold-down assembly. The brass collar is the force bearing part for locking the toolpost to the carriage, cf. Taig hex head bolt. Note that with a 10-32 bolt there is marginal material available for tapping. However, there are approx. twice the number of threads for the aluminum part as compared with the Taig steel nut.
  103. Ball handled tools that are much easier to handle than allen keys for locking down the toolpost and adjusting the lathe tool. With a 1" ball handle there is sufficient torque to ensure a rigid lock down of the toolpost in almost all situations. However, if you need additional torque, you can still use an allen key internal to the knurled knob.
  104. The close fit between adjusting tool and the knurled knob with a diameter of 3/4". Why this size knurled knob? I had them available in stainless steel and they allow solid toolpost lockdown with finger pressure.
  105. I always wanted to really find out what the $75 Logitech webcam was capable of when properly set up on a microscope. So, starting from scratch I'm designing and fabricating both the microscope and the camera assembly. Yikes! Time for a big tidy up....

Dave Gil's Taig Lathe

New pictures here.

  1. My basic lathe with my favorite attachments. I have a 1/3 horsepower DC motor which I run from a variac with a rectifier. It gives my plenty of power and torque with reversibility, and infinite speed adjustment. The motor is suspended from the headstock. The lathe is bolted down to a 1 inch thick aluminum plate. I have a stereo microscope mounted on a magnetic base; I use it all the time. I have a splash guard around the headstock, as well as a lexan splash guard on the rear of the base.
  2. Side view of my carriage assembly. Note the green felt strip which serves as a chip scooper, and bed oiler; there is another one on the front side of the carriage. I should have wrapped it around the dovetails too. You can also see the O-Rings on the dials, and the plastic knobs on the handles. Also note how the protective rubber sheet fits inside the T-slot on the side of the crosslide.
  3. The motor/headstock assembly removed from the headstock riser block. Note the top of the riser has two sets of dovetails for mounting the headstock sideways for slotting, etc. Also visible is my homebrew ways protector, and my Z-Axis adapter on the left (a work in progress).
  4. I make the ways cover by folding over a strip 1/16 inch diaphragm rubber material (has a fabric weave inside which makes it very tough) and clamping in down tight. Next, stick it in a toaster oven on low for an hour and it will keep its shape fairly well.
  5. A lightly lubed o-ring in the crack of the dials add a really nice smooth friction feel to the dials, and keeps them from wondering around. Top view: "engaged"; bottom view: "disengaged". To disengage, simply roll the o-ring off into the groove in the dial.
  6. I milled out the carriage screw attachment area, so that I could use a crosslide with an extension which gives me over 2 inches of crosslide travel. I have several crosslides, and I can slip them in, and out each with a custom tool bit setup just like if I had a turret post.
  7. I mill quite a bit with my machine, and had to make my own assortment of 10-32 T-slot, and tie down rigging since no one seem to make any sets that small.
  8. My lathe rests on a 1 inch thick aluminum plate which makes it feel very rigid. I had to add a 1/8 inch sheet of steel over it in order to be able to use magnetic bases (a must!). Visible from left to right are my magnetic light base, magnetic microscope base, and magnetic base dial indicator. On the top of the headstock is my mount for my plastic splash guard which does a good job of keeping chips from flying all over the place.
  9. On the left is a bottom view of my 6 inch crosslide which I made from some extrusions that Taig was kind enough to send me. To the right is my electro magnetic chuck. On the bottom is my 12 inch milling table made from a stick of brass that I had lying around.
  10. A view of the back of the lathe from the far side. It shows my combination poor mans' power feed, and threading adapter.
  11. My Z-axis attachment for milling. Made from some surplus aluminum, and an old Taig lathe bed.
  12. Rear view of headstock, and motor. Note that the motor is completely suspended from the headstock by a single bushing on a 1/4-28 stud. The weight of the motor puts just the right amount of tension on the belt. This system has worked great. I add a spring under the motor to reduce belt friction (like a clutch) for when I'm tapping small holes. The two bores on the bottom of my headstock riser receive various depth stop, power feed, and threading attachments which I can drive from the spindle, or geared motors.
  13. Top view of my large milling attachment with the variac to the right.
  14. Top view of my large crosslide on my extra carriage. Taig was kind enough to provide me with some lengths of their extrusions.
  15. My extra headstock with the small riser, my threading adapter, and my geared power feed which can only push the carriage; it can not pull it back in (one way power feed?). My poor mans' threading adapter is geared 1 to 1 with the spindle. You install all-threads of different pitches; mainly I just use 1/4-20, and 1/4-28, but I also have metrics.
  16. The power feed is nothing more than a geared motor pushing on the carriage with a 1/4-20, or 1/4-28 screw.
  17. Close up of the 2 inch riser, ways protector, and depth stop.
  18. The custom headstock riser needed a custom tailstock. Note the simple aluminum tube on the handle; it just slips out when you want to get it out of the way.
  19. Close-up of my crosslide extender with the rubber protector removed; a piece of 1/16 inch diaphragm rubber material.
  20. This nice little butcher table was purchased at Target. It has casters, it's made from real solid wood, and has a stainless steel top that will surely outlast me.
  21. Close-up of my aluminum plate base with the 1/8 inch steel plate on top of it. The aluminum channel on the right holds a piece of 3/8 inch lexan that acts as a rear splash guard, and is easily removed. Note that the whole assembly sits about an inch above a serving tray. I like to use plenty of lubricant when I am machining, and it is all collected nicely by the fiberglass tray.
  22. My homebrew grinder attachment with my homebrew indexing head.
  23. This is a simple way to protect the carriage, bed, and crosslide. I used to use it all the time before I installed my ways cover.
  24. I bored my spindle to accept 3/8 inch stock, I also bored the front out to 7/16 to accept my custom made collets which can hold up to a 3/8 inch tool bit very firmly. Also visible here is my custom ground dovetail cutter, and my v-block.
  25. Ammunition boxes ($1.29 at Harbor Freight Tools) is a great way to organize tool bits, and end mills.
  26. My collection of specially made tool bits. I almost always use cobalt, or inserts since they last so much longer.
  27. A view through my microscope at 20x magnification. You can actually see that half thou that you're dusting off. I almost never machine without my microscope these days. It's really cool.
  28. A work in progress. It has really nice ball slides so it is fairly fragile.
  29. Made from surplus from the semiconductor industry, I only use it for very light work with tiny end mills. Presicion microscope work only.
  30. Bare aluminum wears very poorly against itself, but if you add a small piece of brass, or steel shim stock in between the dovetails, the equation changes completely. I just glue it down with RTV. Brass can be seen on the left piece, and stainless steel on the right piece.
  31. These strips are threaded 10-32 every 1/3 inch and fit nicely into the T-slot. They are readily available at electrical supply houses, since they are used inside electrical load boxes.
  32. I've noticed complaints about the compound not attaching to the crosslide rigidly enough; this is true. The photo shows two different ways that I use to solve the problem.
  33. Here you can see my highly modified, and updated lathe. The headstock is barely visible behind my 6" faceplate. My friends tell me that the whole setup looks weak and flimsy, but it is surprisingly rigid. The spindle sits on a custom head riser, and on top of it is a 20 pound block of steel which really helps to minimize vibrations. I attached a stepper to the head riser for moving my custom made carriage. I use a 6-inch crosslide, which is really useful, especially with the milling attachment. I got the crosslide extrusion from Taig, and I really think that they should market it as an option!. As can be seen, I also added a stepper to the crosslide, and it works very well. I highly recommend that the bed be completely protected as seen in the photo. The covers are easy to remove when needed. Under these covers are green felt oilers/chip-scrapers wrapped around the dovetails. They work great, I highly recommend them. I designed custom hardware and software to control the machine.
  34. I have an assortment of weights that I have made for my Taig. In addition to the large one on top of my headstock, I routinely attach other, smaller masses to my crosslide to help with vibration, and resonances. They can really improve the quality of the finish, and they add a more 'rigid' feel to the machine. They are also very handy since I can attach magnetic devices to them.
  35. This close-up gives a better view of my custom made carriage, along with the crosslide, and compound on top. The green felt bed wipers are also just barely visible near the handwheel. My microscope has also become an integral part of my machine.
  36. This side view shows a clearer picture of the headstock area. The motor is completely suspended from the headstock. This scheme has worked very well for me. Directly under the motor, behind the stepper is my depth stop, which uses a 1/4-20 screw with a dial for fine adjustments. My variac power controller can be seen on the left.
  37. I modified the stock Taig tool post to make it adjustable by means of a fine threaded adjustable knurled spacer. This has proved to be really useful.
  38. I've made a boring bar holder out of a stock tool post. I've also made a number of boring bars out of broken end mills. Just take a two-flute end mill, and grind off one flute. Also visible are indexing style boring bars made out of 1/2, and 3/8 inch bar stock.
  39. A mini grinder is invaluable. This one was made out of a high quality DC motor, and mounts onto a modified tool post holder. I took another tool post, and I attached two opposing 3/8-24 studs to it to hold 3/8 inch drill chucks.
  40. These two indexable holders were modified to mount directly on the crosslide. The collet holder, and flycutter were made out of standard bolts. They have 1/2 inch shanks to fit in my mill.
  41. These eccentric type toe clamps have proved invaluable. I made them out of 1/2 inch bar stock. They fit in the T-slots, and they can really bite down. First you tighten down the 10/32 socket head in the center. Then you slip the eccentric bushing over that. Using a 7/16 wrench you rotate the eccentric bushing until it snugs up against your workpiece. You can see them in use in my photos containing my large faceplate. I also use them on my mill.
  42. I made a 'riser kit' for my Taig milling attachment. Note the rubber chip guard that fits in the crosslide's 'side t-slot'. It's easy to remove it when it gets in the way.
  43. I have a 60 turn rotary table that I use often. It has some backlash. The wrench, and large rubber band are part of my anti-backlash control system.
  44. In this setup you can see my small indicator which I've mounted to the crosslide. Its really helpful for truing the workpiece. It's on a semirigid flex shaft, so it's easy to move it out of the way.
  45. My newly finished mill may not be a Taig, but it certainly has plenty of Taig pedigree. Much of its parts were made on my Taig, including the spindle, quill, spindle holder, Table ends, dials, and a myriad of minor parts. The key components were surplus odds, and ends. The tables are linear bearings, and move like silk. The steppers can be seen near the handles. I made the T-Slots compatible with Taig. As can be seen, the spindle is driven directly from the DC motor. A tachometer is employed along with a motor controller to give me constant speed with varying torque loads. I designed custom hardware and software to control the spindle, and steppers.
  46. These are the basic parts that I used to make my mill. It's all surplus stuff.
  47. Here you can see the Mill table ends being bored on my Taig. They are 6 inches wide and are about the biggest things that I can swing with my head riser. The bore is to accommodate the stepper motor. The other table end can be seen on the lower left.
  48. Here, the lathe along with my oversized faceplate comes to the rescue again as I bore a 2 inch hole in my Mill spindle holder. I needed to use a 1/2 inch tool bit, so I chose to use the milling attachment as a tool bit holder. Whenever I clamp large parts to the faceplate, I also use a little hot glue as a sort of insurance policy. It's easy to peel it away when I'm ready to remove the part.
  49. I call this technique 'trace milling' for lack of a better title. I wish that I had known about it years ago. I'm sure that it's described in a machining book somewhere but I had never heard of it before. I came up with it on my own out of sheer desperation prior to my CNC conversions. It is a method that can be used for milling or turning complex contours on a manually operated machine. When done correctly one can achieve accuracies in the order of a few thousands, or better. In essence what you do is to draw a contour of your tool path using your computer. Then you print it out, attach it to your table, and follow the tool path that you've traced with your machine. The results are pretty spectacular once you've practiced a bit. More in Depth: You can draw your tool path using your favorite CAD program, MS Paint, a photo editor, or whatever. My vanilla type Epson ink jet printer produces lines that are about 5-mils wide with unbelievable accuracy (using glossy photo paper). Next, tape the drawing to the mill table (lower right corner of photo). A microscope improves the accuracy, but is not required. My microscope has a crosshair reticle in the eyepiece, which allows me to zoom in on the 5-mil wide line in order to resolve less than 1 mil. I then set up my part to be machined (upper left corner of photo). Now I simply manually turn the X, and Y dials in order to follow the trace in my crosshairs. If you don't have a microscope make a pointer using a pin, or a piece of wire. A magnifying glass helps. With a little practice, the results are pretty amazing. What I generally do to obtain better finishes is that during my first pass, I stay on the outer edge of the trace. This leaves the part a few thou oversized. I then a take a second (or more) 'finish pass' by getting closer to the middle of the trace. The same technique can be used while turning a part on the Taig. Try it. You'll like it... Good luck!
  50. I had been looking for something like this for years but couldn't find one anywhere. A set of 1/4 inch indexable carbide holders that are a perfect match for the Taig. I recommend that all Taig owners get one of these sets. They are available at Harbor Freight Tools (harborfreight.com), and the whole set is only $16 as shown. You can't beat it. By the way, I am in no way affiliated with them.
  51. I have designed a very simple stepper motor interface which I use with my Taig, and also with my mill. They run off a single parallel port and can control 3 (or more) steppers. I also have a PCB laid out, but I haven't sent it out to fab yet. Steppers can be controlled in full step, or helf step mode. With a 20 pitch leadscrew, positioning resolution is 1/8 of one thou. If there is enough interest, I'll clean up the design a bit, document things, and release it all into public domain.
  52. I designed some DOS software to control my stepper board. I originally designed it to control an automated stylus based digitizing station. It can be 'jogged manually' using the keyboard, or a joystick. It can be set to 'ramp', 'zig zag', etc. It can also execute a limited subset of G-Codes, as well as script files. The software can be run from DOS, a Windows DOS shell, or Linux. It runs perfectly on those old laptops that you can get at the flea market for under $50. It is written using Borland C++ which is now freely available. It supports a mouse, and has a graphical user interface. It is definitely in 'beta stage' right now. If there is enough interest, when I get some time, I can document things a bit, and release the program, and source code into public domain.
  53. This is a wide shot of my garage, where I have my setup. The mill can be seen in the foreground, and the lathe is in the back.
  54. I make tools & fixtures as I need them. I've preserved the Taig 10-32, 1" center T-slot pattern so that they'll also work with my mill. On the bottom from left to right: the 6" crosslide, the 6" faceplate, lathe compound, rotary table, spindle mounted X-Y table (above), 6" upright (top left).
  55. View of the bottom side of the tools. I printed a nice assortment of index patterns for the back of my faceplate: degrees, gradients, decades, etc. so that I can scribe my own dials and stuff. The rotary table is made out of a Taig faceplate.
  56. My lathe with the XY table mounted on the spindle. The grinder and rotary table are in the background. My compound can be seen on the crosslide with the microscope above.
  57. My 6" upright mounted on the mill with the lathe compound on it. I can use this on both the lathe and the mill. It has a lot of practical uses.
  58. Grinding end mills on my lathe using a diamond wheel. It works great.
  59. This mini surface grinder can be used on the lathe, or mill. It's made from a linear slide so it's very precise. There are strong magnets under the (non magnetic) stainless steel table (right). It holds the parts down tight!
  60. I was never happy with the Taig compound, so I finally made my own. Note the 1" crosslide extender (which was pretty easy to make), and adds allot of extra usability. I think that someone should market an extender like this.
  61. The compound internals. It was actually pretty difficult to make because it had to fit perfectly since it has no adjustment for slack. However, it can be locked down tight.
  62. Cutting the compound dovetails on my mill. All dovetails & T-slots are compatible with Taig.
  63. This upright was allot of work to make but it added another 'dimension' to my equipment. It has Taig T-slots, and it's 1" thick, so it's very solid.
  64. This spindle mounted X-Y table is yet another item that I had to make out of necessity. I can very precisely position parts for turning. It also mounts on the crosslide (or the mill), and can be used as a regular X-Y table.
  65. Sometimes a part can only be held down by a vacuum. This chuck was originally out of old semiconductor (wafer) processing equipment.
  66. Grinding parts on my mill with the help of the upright. I can't use a water mist, but I find that spraying WD-40 on the surface of the part works just fine. I get a really great finish (and on the lathe also).
  67. I developed this new CNC lathe for jobs that require greater precision than what my Taig can provide. It's made mostly from surplus odds and ends, plus a few custom made pieces. I preserved the Taig spindle and T-Slot patterns. I employ a precision ground and hardened spindle, ball slides (rather than dovetails) and zero backlash screws along with high resolution (800 step) steppers to achieve positioning resolution of 1/10th with excellent repeatability. The large table adds versatility by making it easy to have multiple tool post setups, milling attachments, a 'live' tailstock mount, etc. The spindle is driven by a Taig pulley set and a 1/3 horsepower DC motor which gives me reversability along with continuous speed control. A motor controller precisely sets speed, and torque. I can also drive the spindle with a stepper motor for indexing, threading, scribing dials, etc. The spindle uses large bearings, accepts Taig 3/4-16 chucks, but it has a larger (1/2") through hole which makes it more versatile. An adapter allows me to use my Taig collets. It's all mounted on a 2 inch thick aluminum base, so it's very rigid. I control it all with my custom made DOS software.
  68. #2
  69. #3
  70. I've made a number of improvements to my CNC mill this year; both hardware and software. My fixtures, as well as my lathes and mill preserve the Taig spindle & table mounting patterns, so everything is easily interchangeable. I added a microscope that's mounted to the spindle motor, so that it 'rides' with the cutter. It's very usefull for intricate, small cutter work such as when routing a printed circuit board. I've tried many CNC softwares, but I prefer to use my custom made DOS program the most.
  71. Last year I added a stepper, and a worm drive to my rotary table which I made from a Taig faceplate. It has so many uses. Here, I'm sharpening a solid carbide, 8-flute cutter with a diamond wheel. I can get a factory finish out of it. I use an indicator along with software to determine the ever-important flute lead pitch. I can also accurately resharpen slitting saws, grind threads, scribe dials, etc.
  72. My homemade DOS software is very antiquated now, but I still use it. I originally developed it to control a coordinate measuring system (Digitizer). It won't even run from a Windows shell anymore, but it runs just fine on old, cheap laptops that have a parallel port, and either DOS, or Windows 98, and it can also be run from LINUX. I use it all the time, and I keep improving it. It has a nice interactive graphical interface, allot of canned functions for things like sharpening end mills, threading, arcs, circles, pocketing, etc. I can process CNC, DXF, Gerber (for routing PCBs), and even image files. When I'm not using it for CNC work, I can still use it as a power feed, and as a position indicator.
  73. This little CNC X-Y table clamps on to the Taig bed in place of the carriage. The dovetails were replaced by precision ball slides. The 40-turn leadscrews provide a very fine movement which produces very smooth arcs and circles. Resolution is better than 100 microinches.
  74. My mill uses 1/2-20 allthreads for leadscrews, along with bronze nuts. When new, it was perfect, but now, the backlash is about 5 thousands. Over the years, I've tried many antibacklash techniques, but this is my favorite. It's fairly simple, inexpensive, effective, and easy to adjust or remove when you don't need it. The extra long spring insures a fairly constant backforce over the entire table travel distance.
  75. I keep revising, and improving my stepper driver circuit. I use it for both my mill and my lathes. I have 4 axis control, and I drive it off a parallel port on my laptop. When I can find some time, I plan to convert the interface to USB to make it more modern and versatile. I also have the design laid out on a printed circuit.
  76. This little trick is simple and very usefull. I bolt down some machinable index studs (in blue) into the T-Slot, then I machine them true on-site so that I can use them as a reference to perfectly index vises, and other fixtures without having to play with indicators.
  77. I've made several of these tool posts, and now I wouldn't have it any other way. The tool post is multi sided, and fully articulated. It can hold cutters up to 1/2 inch, as well as boring bars, cutoffs bars, and mini grinders. Small, 1/4-inch cutters are mounted on the left side, and they can be tilted up or down, rolled, rotated, and locked down in just about any position. This also makes it easy to position them to give them that 'perfect' grind.
  78. I wrote some software to scribe image files on to a piece of metal, or plastic. Each pixel is drawn as a point using a carbide scribe. The depth of the impression of each point corresponds to the brightness of the pixel. You can then color it, or use it with an ink pad as a custom made stamp. The process is painfully slow, but it runs completely unattended, so it's pretty cool. This is my baby picture, which is made using ~3000 points. When running, the mill resembles a sewing machine 'stitching' a few points per second.
  79. These are some usefull tools that I've made for my mill. A spindle mounted, adjustable indicator, a poor-man's boring head, and an indexable flycutter.
  80. A current view of my shop with my Taig lathe on the left, the new lathe in the center, and my mill to the right.
  81. My Taig with my old-style adjustable tool post, along with an extra new tool post stud. The XY table can be seen in the background.

Mitch Singler's Taig Lathe

  1. Mitch's Taig Lathe. My shop is actually in a storage cage in my apartment. It's approximately 8 ft. X 8 ft. So I have a little bit of room to set up my home shop. I have a Taig lathe and a Chinese made drill press that I picked up on sale for $50.00
  2. His modified tailstock.
  3. I'd like to thank Tony Jeffree (mentioned on your site) for the tailstock offset modification plans.
  4. #3
  5. #4
  6. #5
  7. I made a couple of faceplates, a lathe dog, and two angle bracket sets.
  8. Note my toolpost holder mounted on the headstock to hold my dial indicator. I really like that taig designed all of the t-slots on the lathe
  9. #3
  10. I also made a couple of endmill holders and a flycutter.
  11. I made 5 extra toolposts for various uses. The one with the biggest slot is for my dial indicator.
  12. A view of my toolbox for storing the lathe accessories. It's under my workbench, so I have a light there above the toolbox.
  13. I made two tooling plates and various hold down clamps. The aluminum clamps were made from plans posted on Sherline's web site, they have an area for users projects.
  14. #2
  15. This a picture of one of the brass knobs I made for my tailstock. the one on the right is what I made it from. I acquired some brass knurled knobs from an old engraving machine and modified them for my lathe.
  16. Here's another picture of my mill clamping kit. I finally got around to carving out a block of wood to store all of the pieces on. Also two of the tooling plates I made.
  17. Headstock center, with faceplate and lathe dog.
  18. Headstock center
  19. I also made a dial indicator fixture for my cross slide (Tom Benedict's idea).
  20. Center in place in spindle w/ faceplate
  21. Another view
  22. Work set up between centers with dog.
  23. Picture of "stops" next to my compound slide. very simple, just a socket head cap screw with 2 washers and a square nut underneath. I put one on each side, after setting the angle with the protractor head on my combination square
  24. Another view of the indicator fixture.

Forrest Atkinson's Taig

Barry Boling's Accessories

Michael Gamber's Taig CNC Mill and Enclosure

Mark Jenk's Taig CNC Mill Conversion

Syvain Sauve's Taig Lathe with Leadscrew Modification

Gene Martin's Taig Lathe conversion

Terry Taylor's Taig CNC Mill and Projects

Tom Benedict's Taig Lathe and Milling Machine

 

Jim Knighton's Taig Lathe

Kelly Shamash's Taig Lathe


April 8th, 2005

Bob Burandt's Gap Bed Taig Lathe Modification

Frankie Flood's Projects

Gordon Reithmeier's Projects - Modified Taig Lathe.

Harvey Redmon's Taig Lathe and Mill Projects

David Mincin's Taig Projects

Larry Gitchell's Taig Milling Machine and Modifications

Michael Dhabolt's Taig Lathe

Des Bromilow's Taig Lathe and Indexing Head

Paul Chamberlain's CNC Mill Enclosure

Lynn Livingston's Taig Mill Motor Mount and other Projects.

Alan Coppen's Taig Lathe and Accessories.

James Tremel's Taig Mill and Projects

Richard Crook's Taig Lathe and Mill Modifications.

Asi Combelis Taig Mill and Projects

George Weightman's Taig Radius Turning Tool

  1. The Radius Tool: It's just a neat little tool to turn larger half spheres (1" to 6" dia.). I have been using it to turn 3.90" diameter half spheres out of 15lb urethane sign foam and now my customer requires 5.00" diameter, thus the need for the headstock riser. (I will also, of course, have to machine a 1.00" spacer to go underneath the radius turning tool post to use with the headstock riser.) It is kind of unconventional in respect to the radius adjustment. A set of (6) 1/4-20 threaded holes spaced .500" apart are machined into the aluminum arm (which indicate 1" thru 6" diameter). You attach the tool post to one of the holes that corresponds to the diameter range you need. A 1/4-20 bolt attaches the tool post to the aluminum arm. Then you adjust the micrometer head to the .500 mark (far left position) for the initial turning, manually pushing the tool bit up against the micrometer head. (2) spring plungers keep side tension on the tool bit during the dial-in feeding of the tool bit. Advance the micrometer head to the exact dimension required as you progress with the turning. When the tool is in say the 4" position (as shown in the photo) and the micrometer head is dialed to the "0" position you have a perfect 4" dia. half sphere. The aluminum arm is attached with a shoulder bolt to the lathe bed. The tapped hole in the bed is exactly on centerline with the lathe headstock bore and flush (inline) with the outside face of the thick machined Taig faceplate. The only drawback is if you change tool bits you have to make a new master spacer (the chrome looking part that is on the rod that the micrometer head is mounted to).
  2. Hole Location on Taig Bed
  3. Fastening the Tool to the Bed
  4. Tool in Position
  5. First Few Cuts
  6. Almost Done
  7. Finished Half Sphere 1
  8. Finished Half Sphere 2

Greg Miller's Taig Mill Modifications

Larry Snyder's Taig

Bob Swartzendruber's Taig Lathe, Metal Pens and Pencils

Russ Hobgood's Taig Lathe with Extended Bed and Mill Mods.

Ray Ackley's CNC Mill pictures

Russell Waters Homebrew CNC Lathe

Ed Chesnut's Taig Lathe and Injection Molding

Christopher Smith's Taig Lathe

Dean Williams Taig Lathe

David Jost's Taig Lathe

Jim Silkey's Taig Mill Modifications

Thomas Burgin's Taig Mill and Projects

 

Edward Slatt's CNC Taig Mill Projects

George Plezia's Taig CNC mill

Lee Nichols Taig Cue Lathe

Peter Zicha's Taig Lathe

Stephen Campbell's Projects and Drawings

Mark Peterse Taig (Grimberg, Netherlands Import) Lathe

Lou Somers Taig Lathe and Home Made Accessories

Rick Voegelin's Taig Lathe and Accessories

Derrick Kortvejesi's Taig Lathe and Airgun-Smithing Projects

  1. A crowned barrel for a Crosman 2250 (Derrick's headstock is bored out to fit the Crosman barrel diameter).
  2. Nice switch huh? I added a foot switch, too. Step on, step off. Figured it's easier to run away when things go all wrong. The start of a new bolt.
  3. A fuzzy bolt from a too close camera. I wanted a longer bolt probe. The rest is pretty much exactly to stock dimensions. I found the angles by chucking up a stock bolt then adjusting a right hand knife until it was flush. I'm sure there are other ways, but this seemed pretty efficient. I did cut it off with a hacksaw then faced it to the correct length. Had to do some shimming to get a cut w/no pip. Followed the book you sent as best I could. It makes more and more sense as I do some work then read about technique. At first, it was another language. Didn't think ahead and realize that I'd have to make tools to cut the o-ring grooves on the bolts. Same with the crowning tool I ground.
  4. I made a new bolt handle. Cut off a chunk w/ the hacksaw and chucked it up in the 3 jaw. Squared the end and turned it down for the 8-32 threads to fit into the bolt.
  5. Cut a second step to turn down to fit into the slot in the breech.
  6. Threaded the 8-32. Left it just barely shy of 1/4" long for the thread depth into the bolt. Cut a flat face at the end of the thread to make a seat.
  7. Went with a 55 deg. angle to the knob on both sides. Cut 2 grooves for grip and/or o-rings. Emery cloth just to give contrast for the pic.
  8. Howdy ho, neighbor. So shiny it looks hard chromed.
  9. Installed. Fit was on the money.
  10. The end piece from the stock is a solid piece of aluminum. Partially disassembled 22XX to show the end cap.
  11. I'll be turning the flanged end down. The second flange, oddly enough is exactly where I need to make the base of the turning.
  12. This is my new happy place. Turning down the end.
  13. Looks like a top hat.
  14. Used the dead center to locate the center hole already in the end cap. Needed to make it larger in dia to fit the hammer spring into.
  15. The finished adapter and the stock mounted
  16. #2
  17. #3
  18. Bolts and handle from yesterday. Still need to drill and tap the one on the rt. It's 303 stainless.
  19. #2
  20. #3
  21. Another bolt handle, Looks like a honey dipper. Feels good in use. Just messing around w/the lathe.
  22. #2
  23. #3
  24. #4
  25. Another bolt handle
  26. #2

Jose Rodriguez's Taig Lathe Accessories

Jose Rodriguez's Harbor Freight 7x10 Minilathe and Accessories

Jose Rodriguez's Home Made Milling Machine

Jose Rodriguez's Model Steam Engines, Built Using the Taig and Harbor Freight Lathes.

Nick's 9x20 Jet Lathe Accessories and Modifications

Nick's Drill Press, Band Saw Accessories, Shaper Hold Downs, etc.

Nick's Shop

New Pictures, January 18th, 2003

I rearranged my shop, so I thought I would take these pictures. We were able to convert the old barn out back into Jewelry studio space, so all the jewelry equipment was moved out of my shop, leaving more room. The shop is 21' x 11', with a small partition for the grinding room. There are two aisles running N/S around the Barker mill and Atlas lathe. Although a tight fit, I have crammed a lot of great machines in, and can even use them all as I try and keep the shop clean.

Since the last update I have added a Benchmaster vertical mill (awaiting restoration), a Barker lever feed horizontal mill (will be adding leadscrews to y & z axis), Lisle drill grinder and Kalamazoo 1" belt sander.

Old Pictures, July 1st, 2001

Old Pictures:

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