[fretsman]

Has anyone given any thought or had opened up the Taig ER spindle for more room to slip stock through the spindle?

Any ideas on what a safe maximum opening would be or do you think that's why it's at the inside diameter it's already at?

Thanks,
Dave

[cartertool]

It should be open enough to fit a double end 3/8" end mill through already, why would you need it open larger?

Has anyone given any thought or had opened up the Taig ER spindle for more room to slip stock through the spindle?

Any ideas on what a safe maximum opening would be or do you think that's why it's at the inside diameter it's already at?

Thanks,
Dave

[fretsman]

Actually Nick, I'm talking about using the ER spindle on the lathe and I'd like to be able to put 1/2" stock through it.

Thanks,
Dave

[rowbare]

What good would putting 1/2 stock through the headstock do? Your ER 16 collets can only handle 3/8".

[Hirudin]

Um... because he has something that is 1/2" diameter that he needs to machine maybe?

He's looking for "more room to slip stock through the spindle".

[fretsman]

Um... because he has something that is 1/2" diameter that he needs to machine maybe?

He's looking for "more room to slip stock through the spindle".

Correct, an arbor is going to be made to hold the material.

I have an email in to Taig so I'll post what they reply as soon as I hear.

Thanks,
Dave

[fretsman]

Craig over at Taig (swiftly) replied to my email and he said:

The ER spindle is hardened and would be hard to drill out to .500. But if you could make the hole 1/2" you would not have much wall thickness for the pulley. A 1/2" hole would also drastically reduce the taper for the collet. You would lose almost half of the contact angle for the collet.

I'm a bit concerned about the wall thickness after opening up the inside but this headstock would be just specifically for this job, so I may just experiment with this down the road a bit, as I'm not worried about losing the collet capability.

Dave

[rowbare]

If you are going to drill it out for a special purpose, check if the older headstock would work. It is about 2/3 the price

[Jeff-Birt]

The OD of the two spindle shafts is the same. I seem to recall the bearings used have a 0.669" ID, so the shaft OD will be within a few thou. That does not leave a lot of meat left for a 1/2" bore.

BTW, if you are pulling a headstock apart don't use a press to get the cartridge out. Just remove the screw in the back and heat up the housing with a heat gun / propane torch. The cartridge will drop right out,

To reassemble use heat again.

[fretsman]

Well fellas, I lucked out.

I talked some more with Craig over at Taig and they actually have a special headstock that they already build for a customer and it will work pefectly for me.

It's a spindle that has a .593 hole in it with a 3/4-16 O.D. thread already on there with a modified pulley as well

Nothing beats talking right to Taig sometimes....

Thanks anyway, I appreciate the ideas-:idea:
Dave

[Hirudin]

Sweet, congrats!