Floating reamer holder

[pete]

100% correct Glenn. And you can bet there's going to be at least some vertical misalignment with every lathe each one of us owns.But if that MT blank arbor is marked to go into the tail stocks taper in the same orientation each time and bored from the head stock to fit the reamer shank it will still be on the part C/L each time it's used. At that point the tail stocks exact side to side alignment is the one variable and that test bar will or should allow repeatable location accuracy. Far better of course would be a taper fit to the MT blank and the reamer shank. But I can't figure out how that could be accomplished in most of our shops without specialized and high accuracy grinding equipment. I'm also assuming RSG's lathes tail stock quill is actually looking straight at the head stock and not moving up/down/left/right as it gets extended. So it's another alignment check he'd have to verify. At his 10ths level all these little misalignment's could add up, so depending on what he has, one of the FLH's still might be the better method.

[GlennW]

I'm not yet too familiar with them, but have a Smith Tool floating reamer holder that I'm not quite tooled up enough to use yet that will allow .030" radial misalignment, but it does not compensate for angular misalignment.

That's where things can still go bad when using one it seems.

[RSG]

Thanks for the kind offer Earlgo! I might take you up on it if the one I'm currently working with fails. It's a somewhat bastardised version of the Hemingway unit. It's sort of like the one you show but minus the radial balls. I've seen it on youtube with proof of it's success so I feel confident it should work. I'll have to send the parts requiring grinding to my friend but everything else should be fine.

[pete]

This might be worth while viewing RSG. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6bhFST8ub8 since it's about building the Hemingway Kits FRH.

[RSG]

Thanks Pete, ya I've watched that series. Good info but the guys voice makes me want to fall asleep

[pete]

True, but you sure can't fault his craftsmanship. His radius tool build is just about over the top.