Poor Gals Quick Change Tool Post SC2 Lathe

Being the cheapskate I am, and wanting a quick way to change tools on my SC2 Lathe, I came up with this money saving solution:

I purchased two of the Axminster “Rocker Tool Posts” for about £18 each, and mounted two of my Glanze replaceable insert tools in each one.

I also mounted two other tools in the original tool post that came with my lathe.

Now when I want to switch from one tool to another I either rotate my tool post or loosen the handle that locks the tool post down and simply drop another in.

The switch from one to the other only takes about ten or fifteen seconds and the tools are always set to the correct height.

My total cost less than £38 Vs. Over £100 for the Axminster quick change tool post set and an extra two tool holders.

That savings of seventy pounds buys a lot of materials to help feed my model engineering habit.

Happy Engineering!

Jenny

2 Likes

I was always intrigued by this kid of tool posts.
As I understand it, when you change the height, it implies changing the tool inclination
and hence the cutting and clearance angles. Is this a problem?

I use the 8mm Glanze replaceable insert tools which match up with the rocker type tol holders really nicely, so any change in the clearance angle is negligible.

Using this setup I have no problem obtaining really nice finishes.

Here is an image of an eccentric I made a couple days ago in steel and brass.

Hi Misty,

I was thinking about your reply. As you only need to set up once for each tool. If there was a difference in clearance angles that was bothering you, you could simply use some shim material to get it perfectly to your liking.

Once done you never mess with the setup again.

In the case of using carbide insert type tools you would never have a cause to remove them.

Well unless you crash the tool or some other catastrophic event occurs.

Hope this helps
Jenny

Sure it helps.
I’m a newbie, so don’t know if these clearance angles are really mandatory or simply an optimization and some deviation can be accepted, even if less perfect.
I did buy a quick change toolpost by myself when I got my lathe, but selected a too cheap one. Did not spend much money but got what I paid for… i.e. not much. I am now considering building by myself a quick change toolpost. There are many examples on the web and it is a good exercise for a beginner. I may try the one from the premium content in Frank Hoose mini-lathe site, or I may try the same set you selected, hence my question.