Lathe collets…

[david pierce]

Tmac,
Check out .
david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
Check out .
david

Yes I saw that one. Does it look solid to you?

[david pierce]

Tmac,
Yes! These items are in great demand so there will be a lot of other bidders trying to buy it. The best technique I have found so far is to calculate the maximum amount I will pay for an item and hit the bid button with this amount in the last 6 or 7 seconds of bidding. Sometimes even that will lose the bid. If you are not familar with this bidding process practice on a couple of cheap items first to get the hang of it.
david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
Yes! These items are in great demand so there will be a lot of other bidders trying to buy it. The best technique I have found so far is to calculate the maximum amount I will pay for an item and hit the bid button with this amount in the last 6 or 7 seconds of bidding. Sometimes even that will lose the bid. If you are not familar with this bidding process practice on a couple of cheap items first to get the hang of it.
david

Yes – I’ve sniped a couple of times. Unless it’s a weekend, I usually don’t have time to monitor the bids.

Here’s one that I’ve been looking at (4th item from top of page). What do you think?
http://watchmakertoolstore.com/tools.htm

Thanks,
tmac

[david pierce]

Tmac,
Grab it as quickly as you can.
david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
Grab it as quickly as you can.
david

The price listed on the page has changed – although it is still shows the same price as before. They now want $459.00 in lieu of $349.00 . Phew…
tmac

[david pierce]

Tmac,
Even at that price you will not lose money on it. I have seen them go for over $600.00 on Ebay auctions. Cross slides for these lathes are one of the most sought after watchmaker tools out there; which is why the supplier raised his price.
david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
Even at that price you will not lose money on it. I have seen them go for over $600.00 on Ebay auctions. Cross slides for these lathes are one of the most sought after watchmaker tools out there; which is why the supplier raised his price.
david

I may get divorced, but I’m going to get the thing. All I need now is a face plate, the motor, and about 20 more collets.
tmac1956

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac.
One thing you may want to add later is a quick change tool post. It is a tiny version of the ALORIS quick change design. I bought mine for under $100.00 off of Ebay from a place in Oakland California. I will try to find out who I bought it from and get back later on this. It isn’t absolutly necessary but it is extremely convenient because your tools are pre-aligned and are slipped in and out with a cam lock. It takes up a little more vertical room so if you think you might want to go that route, the two way crosslide takes up a little less vertical space.
david

david:

I found the manufacturer of the quick change tool post on eBay and sent them a message asking which one of their products would fit my Levin. Below is his response:

“The eBay ads show the part print with the dimensions of the post. So you will need to verify if our dimensions are appropriate. Height and size wise I believe our post will work. What I cannot specify is what mount kit you will need. While this machine does not need a riser you will need to look at the same list of mount kits and figure out what one would best interfacewith his machine. A Levin is a very high end very tiny jewelry lathe andbecause the machine is so specialized you will need to figure out how best to fit it to your specific configuration machine.”
– timgoldstein

Unfortunately, I don’t really know enought to make an informed choice. I simply picked one so that I could send a message to them. Here’s the one that I selected…
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221186440681?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Could you (as usual) provide some experienced advise regarding the mount kit?

Thanking you in advance!
tmac

[david pierce]

Tmac,
If you get divorced at least you will have a Levin lathe and cross slide to snuggle with at night. The quick change tool in the picture is too large for your cross slide. The one you want measures 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 and is a smaller version than the one in the picture. Also, you do not need an anodized finish. The plain aluminum finish works just as well and costs less. Don’t worry about the mounting kit. You will probably have to make your own T-NUT to fit your cross slide anyway.
david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
If you get divorced at least you will have a Levin lathe and cross slide to snuggle with at night. The quick change tool in the picture is too large for your cross slide. The one you want measures 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 and is a smaller version than the one in the picture. Also, you do not need an anodized finish. The plain aluminum finish works just as well and costs less. Don’t worry about the mounting kit. You will probably have to make your own T-NUT to fit your cross slide anyway.
david

david:

I received a quick response from the people at A2Z and, based upon your recommendation, they came back with the Silver Quick model. They did say that since it comes with the mounting kit, I might as well tell them what lathe I have so they can set it up that way.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A2Z-Silver-Quick-Change-Tool-Post-FitsTaig-Sherline-Atlas-Unimat-5-Ship-USA-/221186440452?pt=BI_Tool_Work_Holding&hash=item337fbd3d04

Thanks for the help!
tmac

[david pierce]

Tmac,
Yes, tell them you have a standard WW 8mm watchmaker lathe with the cross slide. The 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 will work on my cross slides and will also work on yours. Do you have your cross slide yet?
david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
Yes, tell them you have a standard WW 8mm watchmaker lathe with the cross slide. The 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 will work on my cross slides and will also work on yours. Do you have your cross slide yet?
david

david:

I’m ordering it Wednesday next week – assuming they haven’t sold it yet. Gotta wait for payday… I did get the 4 jaw chuck from RDGTools – very nice. It’s funny how you can get things shipped from England faster than you can from Canada! Also, I’m looking to order one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121041442973?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

tmac1956

[david pierce]

Tmac,
Once you get your quickchange tool post you will not have any use for that type of toolholder. One nice feature about the quick change system is you can order extra toolholders as you need them . One for roughcut, finish cut, facing cut, cutoff tool, boreing bar, etc., and, once you set them up you can just pop them in and out with the cam lock.david

[tmac1956]

@david pierce wrote:

Tmac,
Once you get your quickchange tool post you will not have any use for that type of toolholder. One nice feature about the quick change system is you can order extra toolholders as you need them . One for roughcut, finish cut, facing cut, cutoff tool, boreing bar, etc., and, once you set them up you can just pop them in and out with the cam lock.david

david:
Thanks for that info… I’ll just take that money and put it toward the Quick Change post and some extra toolholders. I can’t tell you how much time and money your advise has already saved me.

THanks!
tmac

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