Hi,
I'm working on the design of the cutter spindle for the machine I'm
making and cannot decide on the form the cutter holder should take. I
want to be able to hold cutters from the size of dental burrs up to
about 1/4" diameter - probably mostly home-made. I initially thought
that if I made it to take standard 8mm lathe collets it would cope with
most work but then realised that these would be a bit flimsy for holding
the larger cutters. I would also like to be able to use a 'free-sprung',
surface following, engraving point. I am not particularly constrained by
spindle diameter etc. as I have earmarked a pair of fairly large
bearings from the scrap box to use which have a bore of about 1".
Can anyone offer any inspiration - what cutter holder has your machine
got? Does it have any system for controlling the position of the cutter
within the collet so that a tool may be removed and replaced in exactly
the same position or does it perhaps use some form of depth stop on the
cutter - I was considering the possibility of equipping cutters with a
small screw - fixed collar so that any particular cutter would always
sit in the same position but then I realised that, with ordinary draw-in
collets this may not be practical as the collet nose moves in the
tightening process ( I am wanting to be able to work to close tolerances
of a realistic 0.01mm). Thanks,
Best wishes
Ian
--
Ian W. Wright LBHI
Sheffield Branch Chairman of the British Horological Institute.
Bandmaster and Euphonium player of the Hathersage Brass Band. UK.
See our homepage at:- or
'Music is the filling of regular time intervals with harmonious
oscillations.'
