Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Reducing diameter of a ball screw shaft.

Mike Delany wrote:

>You might look at using a tool post grinder for this operation. They are
>very handy for working with hardened materials and will give a great
>finish. It will take a lot longer than using carbide on hardened
>materials, but if you are using a smaller lathe that is not super stiff,
>if will be much more peaceful. I cut some stainless on my old Jet 9x20
>that had a very poor surface finish and I thought it was going to rip the
>compound when I started working on the surface. Until you knock all of
>the threads off and get continous tool contact, it will be a wild ride.
>
>Tool post grinders come up on ebay all of the time, the Dumores are highly
>sought after and expensive because of the high quality components and
>finish they leave. Littlemachineshop.com has a couple of imports that are
>under $200 that I have heard are decent. Another route to go is clamping
>a dremel or die grinder to jig on your compound and working slowly with
>that.
>
>

Don't forget The Mac TPG's. They are as good as a Dumore, at least. I
have done
some ballscrew ends with mine, and the results looked 100% professional.
I did use some crummy C-6 carbide inserts to get within .010" of final
dimensions.
Cutting a .875" leadscrew down to 3/8" for 1" length would have taken a
week by
grinding. It did use up one whole insert (3 points) per end, but that
was an acceptable
cost, for sure! I did this on a 12" Atlas lathe, so it wasn't done with
massive industrial
machinery.

Jon