Making a Lathe Tool

Gary

SE Kansas
Just started working on a Die Holder for my Lathe. Only bar stock I had on hand was a 3" diameter piece that I had cut to 3.5" in length. Got it turned down to 2", bored to accept either a Morse taper #2 or a 5/8" by 6" rod that will be turned down to 1/2" on one end to fit in a drill chuck. My Dies are 1.5" in diameter. To finish I need to bore two or three holes for Allen screws to tighten onto the Die; Knurl the shaft and drill 4 holes for hand bars to hold onto the tool. Pretty simple project and well suited for my limited skill.

8659
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member

Looks similar to mine. I use it often. I made it so I can use it to tap too. I use 1” dies for now, probably should make another insert for 1.5” dies to expand the usefulness.

I use a single set screw to hold the die. Dies usually have a recess on the outer diameter to accept the set screw.

Keep up the work Gary. It gets easier with time.