Lathe spindle handle

[Dimitris Polychronis]

Hello all,

I have made this spindle handle for my mini lathe (a bit old project, but its worth mention it).



The design is not mine; I've copied it from toolsandmods. You can find it on toolsandmods library and projects, original design Ralph Patterson.

In the original design the barrel assembly has three parts, the barrel itself, a sleeve (milled square at one end, for attaching it to the arm) and a nut for securing the barrel with the sleeve in the arm. Since I hadn’t a milling machine (I still don’t have one) to make the sleeve from one piece of steel, I used two pipe fittings, a steel threaded connector and a brass pipe cap.



I did a couple minor changes for securing the parts and some for the appearance of the tool; you will see these on the video.

I use this tool almost in every project that I have for the lathe; however in order to have a more versatile tool, I made a bigger arm and changed the tightening bolt with a threaded shaft that has a knob.



All the best
Dimitris

[Christophe Mineau]

Nice and well done. Yes a crank can be very useful on the lathe

[DIYer]

Thanks Dimitris Polychronis! We've added your Lathe Spindle Handle to our Machining category,
as well as to your builder page: Dimitris Polychronis's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Lathe Spindle Handle by Dimitris Polychronis

tags: lathe, handle

[Dimitris Polychronis]

Thanks Christophe! Allow me to say that the hand crank is a 'must to have tool' for all of us we have a mini lathe.

Regards from Greece
Dimitris

[old_toolmaker]

Dimitris Polychronis,

That is a well made handle for your mini-lathe and I am sure it comes in handy. Very nice workmanship!
I also made one similar to the Ralph Patterson version but he handle on mine came from an old bicycle crank and rotates on ball bearings. It is quite easy to turn.

[Dimitris Polychronis]

Thanks Dick! Yes it's handy, I'm using it almost on every lathe project. I would like to see your handle, can you post some pictures?

Cheers
Dimitris

[old_toolmaker]

Dimitris Polychronis,

Here are some pictures of my mini-lathe hand crank. Like I said before it is based upon Ralph Patterson's design. The only part of the bicycle crank I utilized is the pedal shaft and bearing parts. I turned the plastic pedal shaft down to fit my hand. It works well and carries out it's intended function. With it I have parted off 2" diameter 303 stainless with no trouble. like Ralph's design it also functions as a spindle lock.

[Dimitris Polychronis]

It’s an awesome crank Dick, thanks for the pictures!! I really like the brass knob, its big enough to have good grip in the hand.
Unfortunately, the design of my lathe's gear train doesn't allow using the crank for locking the spindle. Thanks again for the pictures!

Regards from Greece
Dimitris

[old_toolmaker]

Dimitris Polychronis,

Thank you for the complement! I also have a spindle back stop with various length rods to aid in setting stock length. It functions similar to a collet stop.

[Dimitris Polychronis]

I have also a spindle stop. I made it a few months ago. Mine is adjustable. To be more specific, it is combination of two different designs (Ralph Patterson and Harold Hall); anyway, I see it more like a hybrid.

Cheers
Dimitris