Material: Steel
Units: (in)

After the Spring Center and the Soft Faced Hammer, the next lathe project I tackled was a set of  Screw Jacks. Why? Well, to create my jacks I had to build on my tapping and single point threading skills, both of which needed some work.

The project took several tries because during the threading process I kept setting the cross slide at 29.5 degrees from the centerline of the part, rather than 29.5 degrees from perpendicular to the centerline of the part. My threads kept coming out looking like buttress threads. I was so frustrated!

But once I figured out what I was doing wrong, my project progressed nicely. I don’t have a set of plans available for you to build my own, but I did find a set of plans by James Appleby for making a much simpler version of the ones I made. I’ve attached the plans below. Be sure to visit the Home Metal Shop Club for this project and other great project ideas.

If you’d like a set of plans for my jacks, leave a comment. If there’s enough interest maybe I’ll create a set of plans for them.

  Machinists_Screw_Jack.pdf (331.8 KiB, 5,992 hits)
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Material: Steel
Units (mm)

Thor Hansen has several great plans on his website. This particular plan is for a very rigid toolpost that can be made completely on the lathe (not requiring a mill). Thor walks the reader through the process in the PDF document below. Be sure to visit Thor’s site for more great plans.

  A_Toolpost_for_Cross-Slide.pdf (234.6 KiB, 4,036 hits)
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Material: Steel
Units: (in)

I’ve seen many ball turning designs as I read through the back issues of Home Shop Machinist and Projects in Metal, but I’ve never seen one as simple and effective as Steve Bedair’s Ball Turning Toolpost.

Steve runs a website dedicated to 9 x 20 lathes and it’s full of great information. If you’re interested in this project, be sure to check out the other projects Steve has listed on his site.

Note: Because this project requires both a lathe and mill to complete, I’m listing it under both categories.

Here’s an image of Steve’s Ball Turning Toolpost in action:

And here’s a YouTube video clip of the toolpost in action:

Excited yet?

Here’s the link to the plans so you can create your own! If you want a detailed walkthrough of the process, be sure to visit Steve’s site.

  Ball_Turning_Toolpost_-_Complete.pdf (225.4 KiB, 9,850 hits)
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