KeithB
Resident Half Fast Machinist
Ian, that is a most impressive piece of work! And doing internal threads first, wow. I can well appreciate the time and patience it took.
I've made spiders for both our lathes. I've also made some bushings with an OD that fits closely inside the spider and has a central hole the proper diameter for the common sizes of bar stock we use. Clamp the bushing in place with your setscrews, that way you don't have to clamp on the piece itself. You may not use any size stock repetitively so it might not be worth your time and trouble but if you did find that you were making a lot of stuff from say 3/8" rod stock you might want to consider it.
Love the idea of a handwheel to be able to turn the spindle by hand, it's practical on a smaller machine.
I've made spiders for both our lathes. I've also made some bushings with an OD that fits closely inside the spider and has a central hole the proper diameter for the common sizes of bar stock we use. Clamp the bushing in place with your setscrews, that way you don't have to clamp on the piece itself. You may not use any size stock repetitively so it might not be worth your time and trouble but if you did find that you were making a lot of stuff from say 3/8" rod stock you might want to consider it.
Love the idea of a handwheel to be able to turn the spindle by hand, it's practical on a smaller machine.