Invented by an Ipswich UK engineer in the 1960's who took the idea to Colchester Lathes. Was told not interested but they then went on to make machinery to produce polygons of pretty much as many faces as you wanted. Colchester Lathes made a lot of money out of it and the engineer got nothing.
What amazing attention to detail. You created a work of art as well as a tool. I have been looking for someone who has these skills for years in Toronto. I am becoming convinced that you are one of the few geniuses who can still do the work that garages and body shops used to do everywhere. I am glad that you continue to use your talents in machining and metal work. Perhaps one day, I will get to see your workshop in person.
after much thought, i designed mine to drive a totally different way... toothed belt behind the chuck. this is also where the ratios are changed. easily removed spline shaft up the back, parallel to bed/ spindle. support arm at end of bed. sliding pulley on shaft. four bar "quadrilateral" tensioner with two idlers that maintain synchronisation as the cross-slide is fed in and out, and also slides the drive pulley up and down the splined shaft with the saddle. not supposed to have an idler on the driven side of a belt, but in this case is necessary as the two sides of the belt must remain symmetrical. still not finished, but so far its promising to allow for use ANYWHERE along the bed. which was the main goal, and the major shortcoming of every design ive seen... it means i can cut a hex or other profile the full length of travel...
Adam Savage I believe once said the Metal Lathe was his favorite tool because it's one of the most basic automated tools that can make another of itself. I see the same applies to making upgrades.
My lathe is like a musical instrument. I get to play a different song on it with different jobs when needed. I bought my lathe 1994. It paid for itself in the first 3 weeks. It's been a wonderful tool, helping to build many other tools in my workshop, from sheet metal folders, hydraulic log splitters and a host of other wonderful machines to make my life easier and $$.
Spent all that time, money and labor to build what any mill with a dividing head can do. This was a project to show slightly above par manufacturing skills. Timing a cutting head to the headstock via the lead screw is a well documented idea but if it was worth the the implementation, you would see it as a standard optional feature on every new lathe. A+ on the video skills.
This is fantastic!!! I wish my dad were alive to see this and chat with me about it. He was a machinist and tool and die maker all of his life. He came up the old school way without fancy computers and apps and such. Everything was meth longhand maybe with a simple calculator. Thanks for posting!
This is neat, but you can see it doesn't leave truly flat faces. They are curved. It's probably fine in most cases, but if you need a true flat side, you will want to use a mill and collet block.
Neat setup, but it's not the best way to go about making parts like that. Also, by driving this thing off the lead screw there is the potential to cause a lot of damage to the lathe. Simpler setups can be made on a mill that will be much faster.
I know that PB Swiss Tools uses CNC versions of this to make screwdriver bits and the heads of ball-head hex keys. They definitely produce flat facets as far as I can tell just from looking at them and using them as tools. I wonder if/how the ratio of the cutter radius to the workpiece radius affects the non-flatness of the facets?
The need for speed!! Appears to be a right handy attachment for the lathe. Also, good for doing the internal sockets as well; cuts are fast, neat and appear to be formed by magic. 👍
How are the number of facets changed? And was there a speed change in the new part? I guess it works like a spirograph… its my first time seeing this type of add on, i only thought we could do threads, facing, drilling and rifling, but not machining nuts etc.
Very well done! I never thought about it until seeing this, but could you use light pressure on the buffing wheel or a scotchbrite or sanding drum to add alternating bands of polished/matte finishes to things?
Am I the only one bothered that the U-joints on either end of the shaft aren't aligned properly? The yokes on both ends of the telescoping shaft need to be at the same angle to get constant-velocity output. With this 30° or so angle between the ends, the tool will spin faster than the lathe at some angles and slower at others, slightly messing up the resulting shape.
@Benoit-Pierre I don't see proof he did it after painting, but he set it up 30° off in the test fit after welding the ends, 30° off in the test fit with the sleeves, and the ends were about 30° off at 18:55 if he didn't rotate the shaft before showing the second view. The consistency of being 30° off makes me think the final installation probably stayed that way, though fixing it should be as easy as just pulling the telescoping shaft apart and rotating one end 120° before putting it back together. I didn't see any deviation in the pen test either, but I wouldn't really expect to. The angles on the U-joints aren't very extreme in this setup and with a 30° misalignment the inconsistent rotation would still mostly cancel out so any deviation would likely be smaller than we could see without closer inspection.
Ok, I have no skills in this area, so I didn’t understand anything I watched. However, I pieced together (with significant help from the comments) that this guy designed and built a “flat edge drill press”-like tool that is kept in rotational synchronization with the lathe. This makes cutting a polygonal shape …. ON A LATHE 🤯…. simple. Wow, that’s incredible!
Genius! I'm watching it work and it still boggles my mind. I wish I could buy that creative, technical knowledge in microchip form and implant it in my brain's memory slot. Learning it would take way too much time.
very interesting . i was a little unsure about the effects of welding that toolpost mounting block onto the bearing outer housing .knowing how heat distortion can cause problems and also with universal jionts not turning at a constant velocity .but it worked out . fascinating .great job.
it's supercool ... but how do you predict the result ? excuse my ignorance .. I would love to know more about this tool .... I saw some russian machinist doing the same 😁 awesome work
its the ration between the rotating chuck and rotating cutter. 2 diameters colliding while rotating with point contact. Imagine a 3:1 ratio between cutter and chuck. The cutter rotates 3 times vs 1 of the chuck, you get a triangle shape.
Did you ever play with a spirograph as a kid?, because that's in essence what is happening here. They're feeding off the thread screw which allows them to set the ratio of turns on the cutting tool relative to turns of the chuck. This adjustment of ratios is what allows them to 'draw' different shapes and the shape generation is sped up by them having three "pens" (tool bits) drawing at once. They could also change the number and distribution angle of the bits for different results.
Or does it on purpose to get more comments ? Matthias Wendel said he does this kind of things on purpose, and it does impact engagement are view curve.
The cutter is synchronized to the chuck so it can't hit anything it's not supposed to (unless a gear slips) like how old aircraft machine-gunes were slaved to the engine so it shot between the propeller blades.
@@DiakosDelvin It may seem obvious, but I'm not certain that only the cutting edge contacts the part; perhaps the entire cutter body does as well. As the uncut corner of the part approaches the cutter body during deeper cuts, it should get increasingly closer, possibly even making contact eventually.
![[4K] Watch SpaceX Catch A Starship Rocket From Space!!! #IFT5](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pIKI7y3DTXk/mqdefault.jpg)
The demonstration with the markers was rather neat.
Invented by an Ipswich UK engineer in the 1960's who took the idea to Colchester Lathes. Was told not interested but they then went on to make machinery to produce polygons of pretty much as many faces as you wanted. Colchester Lathes made a lot of money out of it and the engineer got nothing.
What was the guys name?
I had not heard this. What was the chap's name?
Typical.
It's because the ownership at that company was gay.
You discovered the reasoning behind the patent system.
What amazing attention to detail. You created a work of art as well as a tool. I have been looking for someone who has these skills for years in Toronto. I am becoming convinced that you are one of the few geniuses who can still do the work that garages and body shops used to do everywhere. I am glad that you continue to use your talents in machining and metal work. Perhaps one day, I will get to see your workshop in person.
Thank you very much!
after much thought, i designed mine to drive a totally different way...
toothed belt behind the chuck. this is also where the ratios are changed. easily removed spline shaft up the back, parallel to bed/ spindle. support arm at end of bed.
sliding pulley on shaft.
four bar "quadrilateral" tensioner with two idlers that maintain synchronisation as the cross-slide is fed in and out, and also slides the drive pulley up and down the splined shaft with the saddle.
not supposed to have an idler on the driven side of a belt, but in this case is necessary as the two sides of the belt must remain symmetrical.
still not finished, but so far its promising to allow for use ANYWHERE along the bed. which was the main goal, and the major shortcoming of every design ive seen... it means i can cut a hex or other profile the full length of travel...
Damn... this synchronization is perfect!
Not gonna lie, it has to be the coolest thing to have the machinery (and knowledge) required to upgrade your machinery
Adam Savage I believe once said the Metal Lathe was his favorite tool because it's one of the most basic automated tools that can make another of itself. I see the same applies to making upgrades.
My lathe is like a musical instrument.
I get to play a different song on it with different jobs when needed.
I bought my lathe 1994. It paid for itself in the first 3 weeks.
It's been a wonderful tool, helping to build many other tools in my workshop, from sheet metal folders, hydraulic log splitters and a host of other wonderful machines to make my life easier and $$.
I have to admit...was wondering the whole video what the frig this was gonna do...didnt see that coming! Well done and kudo's!
i thought thats what it would do, but the entire time i was on the edge of my seat to see if i was right or not :P
Really impressed with your attention to safety detail. Great modification to your lathe.
Spent all that time, money and labor to build what any mill with a dividing head can do. This was a project to show slightly above par manufacturing skills. Timing a cutting head to the headstock via the lead screw is a well documented idea but if it was worth the the implementation, you would see it as a standard optional feature on every new lathe. A+ on the video skills.
you are indeed a professional mechanic🙂👍
He’s a machinist
He’s an engineer
When you "hand tapped" the 4 holes with a cordless drill my soul cried out a little bit
Awesome attachment! Almost hypnotic to watch.
Маучы Петя не пытай
This is fantastic!!! I wish my dad were alive to see this and chat with me about it. He was a machinist and tool and die maker all of his life. He came up the old school way without fancy computers and apps and such. Everything was meth longhand maybe with a simple calculator.
Thanks for posting!
My dad usually stopped at the meth part so we just cleaned the house instead
Wow. Thinking outside the box on a whole new level, amazing. Thank you!
It's always interesting watching your videos. It's great to see the things you can think of and then create.
This is neat, but you can see it doesn't leave truly flat faces. They are curved. It's probably fine in most cases, but if you need a true flat side, you will want to use a mill and collet block.
Or an indexing head.
@@branchandfoundry560 or that.
Neat setup, but it's not the best way to go about making parts like that. Also, by driving this thing off the lead screw there is the potential to cause a lot of damage to the lathe. Simpler setups can be made on a mill that will be much faster.
I know that PB Swiss Tools uses CNC versions of this to make screwdriver bits and the heads of ball-head hex keys. They definitely produce flat facets as far as I can tell just from looking at them and using them as tools. I wonder if/how the ratio of the cutter radius to the workpiece radius affects the non-flatness of the facets?
@@tookitogo yeah the larger the cutter sweep in proportion to the face of the cutting surface the shallower the intersecting curve.
What is this wizardry I just watched!?
Good job mister beautifully done
The need for speed!! Appears to be a right handy attachment for the lathe. Also, good for doing the internal sockets as well; cuts are fast, neat and appear to be formed by magic. 👍
Excellent work and video production as always. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum last week 😎
I always find it really amazing and exciting how you make the threads.
Could you please show in the future video how it is done at real speed? :)
Pure genius.
man turned his lathe into a spirograph..
I respect that
How are the number of facets changed? And was there a speed change in the new part? I guess it works like a spirograph… its my first time seeing this type of add on, i only thought we could do threads, facing, drilling and rifling, but not machining nuts etc.
Wow that is a really awesome tool man, definitely adds a lot of function to the lathe and really well built!
Very well done! I never thought about it until seeing this, but could you use light pressure on the buffing wheel or a scotchbrite or sanding drum to add alternating bands of polished/matte finishes to things?
This is the modern equivalent of a misspent youth in a pool hall, except in a machinist with ocd. Excellent project, thank you. Regards
Fantastic machine! What a wonderful solution to a problem that did not exist; but it is so cooool and great engineering! 🙂
We've seen you build everything else, it's about time you built a space 🌌 shuttle... You build it and we'll watch it.... Very nice work as always....
makin parts for the lathe youre making them on.. genius
I watched this 4 months ago and it was just as interesting this time. Great work as always
Bloody awesome. Great for making billet cap and all soughts. And making squares for tooling
all soughts. or all sorts
Honestly one of the coolest things I've seen. Subscribed.
Am I the only one bothered that the U-joints on either end of the shaft aren't aligned properly? The yokes on both ends of the telescoping shaft need to be at the same angle to get constant-velocity output. With this 30° or so angle between the ends, the tool will spin faster than the lathe at some angles and slower at others, slightly messing up the resulting shape.
Was looking for a comment on this topic. But I can't see a proof he did the mistake after paint. And can't see deviation in the pen test 19:28
@Benoit-Pierre I don't see proof he did it after painting, but he set it up 30° off in the test fit after welding the ends, 30° off in the test fit with the sleeves, and the ends were about 30° off at 18:55 if he didn't rotate the shaft before showing the second view. The consistency of being 30° off makes me think the final installation probably stayed that way, though fixing it should be as easy as just pulling the telescoping shaft apart and rotating one end 120° before putting it back together.
I didn't see any deviation in the pen test either, but I wouldn't really expect to. The angles on the U-joints aren't very extreme in this setup and with a 30° misalignment the inconsistent rotation would still mostly cancel out so any deviation would likely be smaller than we could see without closer inspection.
Absolutely fantastic 🎉, my hat goes off to you sir. Don't think I blinked for the whole video, just mesmerising well worth the $5.00 thanks.
Brilliant!
Ok, I have no skills in this area, so I didn’t understand anything I watched.
However, I pieced together (with significant help from the comments) that this guy designed and built a “flat edge drill press”-like tool that is kept in rotational synchronization with the lathe. This makes cutting a polygonal shape …. ON A LATHE 🤯…. simple.
Wow, that’s incredible!
EXCELENTE VIDEO¡¡... Y MUY FACIL DE ENTENDER¡¡...SALUDOS DESDE MEXICO¡¡
Great job! your skills are excellent
Wow! Awesome job and video! Thanks for sharing!
the fact that he is turning a square or hex shape by TURNING something in circles amazes me
Not producing true flat, but good enough.
Circles are amazing.
amazing. I'm surprised something like this didn't come out decades ago and would be cool to see a kit for my small benchtop hobby lathe
It did in 1960. See top comment.
I’m a believer!!!
Very cool!
How does it change from 4,5,6, etc side cutting?
GOOD GOOD JOB.👍
I have watched your vids for years and your skills are amazing, but this is next level! You and your team are the best of the best!
Genius!
I'm watching it work and it still boggles my mind.
I wish I could buy that creative, technical knowledge in microchip form and implant it in my brain's memory slot.
Learning it would take way too much time.
YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!! lol
Wow what a superbly made video. Sound superb - editing superb - composition of shots lighting etc - outstanding .
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’d make a Hulk sized Allen Wrench and use that for advertising 😂 LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!!!
The cup wheel on the lathe gave me a heart attack. But ngl. Cool stuff.
Great video, as usual! Have you made any progress on the car?
very interesting . i was a little unsure about the effects of welding that toolpost mounting block onto the bearing outer housing .knowing how heat distortion can cause problems and also with universal jionts not turning at a constant velocity .but it worked out . fascinating .great job.
joints
it's supercool ... but how do you predict the result ? excuse my ignorance .. I would love to know more about this tool .... I saw some russian machinist doing the same 😁 awesome work
give a man a shop, a latte and free time, you'll never see that man again 😂
Inheritance channel :)
My favorite part was when the thing was spinning.
Ingenious!
My old boss would have so much opinion to this video 😂
Отлично! Действительно полезная доработка 👍
this baffles me how 2 rotating can make a square / hex head
i need to see this in slowmo something missing. the journey continues
its the ration between the rotating chuck and rotating cutter. 2 diameters colliding while rotating with point contact. Imagine a 3:1 ratio between cutter and chuck. The cutter rotates 3 times vs 1 of the chuck, you get a triangle shape.
Did you ever play with a spirograph as a kid?, because that's in essence what is happening here. They're feeding off the thread screw which allows them to set the ratio of turns on the cutting tool relative to turns of the chuck. This adjustment of ratios is what allows them to 'draw' different shapes and the shape generation is sped up by them having three "pens" (tool bits) drawing at once. They could also change the number and distribution angle of the bits for different results.
19:20
Lathes are tools that machine round parts into square parts, and square parts into round parts
Thanks
Thanks for the support! :)
My brain stops braining in the end
que cambios le haces para pasar de hacer un exagono a un cuadrado, saludos y muchas gracias por compartir vuestro trabajo.
Fantastic !
Many thanks!
Nice work!
Cool. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
"Hmm, the gear does not support the bearing I have chosen, maybe my design is wrong? Maybe I am wrong? NO! It's the gear who is wrong! To the lathe!"
Grandios 👍👍👍
Wow nice!
high engineering 👍❤️
I would love to see it running in slow motion. The markers help, but man I just can't wrap my brain around how it works, LOL
I like this video. Thanks😊
Absolutely awesome 😮
Thank you 😁
Another one that leaves the chuck key in the chuck. BAD BAD.
Or does it on purpose to get more comments ? Matthias Wendel said he does this kind of things on purpose, and it does impact engagement are view curve.
GREAT !
That is so cool
so cool
Комментарий в поддержку канала и ролика, а также труда мастера.
Thanx
12:42 - weird, would tack-welded it first on lathe for proper coaxiality
I can't wrap my head around, what happens with the uncut parts of the work? Won't the corners hit and rub against the cutter body?
The cutter is synchronized to the chuck so it can't hit anything it's not supposed to (unless a gear slips) like how old aircraft machine-gunes were slaved to the engine so it shot between the propeller blades.
@@DiakosDelvin It may seem obvious, but I'm not certain that only the cutting edge contacts the part; perhaps the entire cutter body does as well. As the uncut corner of the part approaches the cutter body during deeper cuts, it should get increasingly closer, possibly even making contact eventually.
That is fkn awesome!
Perfect 👌
Perfect👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
bravissimo!!!!!🏅🏅🏅
Beau travail
Канал Мехамозг тоже самое делает полеганальное точение.
Точно . Недавно , вообще , алюминиевый бриллиант 💎 сделал ..
Там даже поуниверсальнее головка.
Только в Британии так делали ещё в 1960.
Yep. This is ripped off straight from his channel.
Perfekt.... dickes Lob 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Verdadeiro mestre
i just don't know what to say other than 👏
Nice
Wow, a lot of talent exhibited. I am surprised you didn't leave the shaft belt driven vs. making the geartrain.
Молодец. Голова и руки на месте. Приятно смотреть на плоды труда твоего.Лайк
Ok, 19:15 really illustrates how it works if anyone wants to skip there.
Genious 👌
Now make a bevel gear set
That is absolutely amazing. Nice job!
Glad you like it!
Someone tell this man what a mill is 😂
Colour me impressed lol