First, prepare the tailstock by leveling the area around the hole in the base for the lock bolt. ![]() While the threaded end is chucked, turn as much of the remaining section of the bolt as possible to 0.215, preferably enough so it can be chucked later to allow adding the cam then part it off leaving as much as possible beyond where it will be within the thimble to allow re-chucking alternatively you could use a split sleeve to allow chucking on the 0.300 diameter section - this is the part where us non-machinists don't know the best way to proceed so you may well have a better approach.īefore adding the cam to the 0.215 section of the cam bolt it is best to do a trial assembly so the cam can be positioned exactly where needed. The cam bolt then reduces to 0.215 or so for the remainder of its length to allow it through the thimble and the hole in the lock bolt. Check and adjust this to match the spacing between the far side of the tailstock and the thimble mine contacts the thimble and clears the side of the tailstock by about 0.050 to avoid binding. Then the diameter is reduced to 0.300 for the next 0.8 inches. The full 3/8 diameter extends 0.3 inch from the head this should probably be 0.5 inch to provide a bit more clearance between the ball handle and the bump on the tailstock (the bolt might need to be longer than 3 inches to allow this). The cam is another 3/8 diameter bolt (closeup). Cross drill about 0.22 from the unthreaded end with a #1 = 0.228 drill. Length isn't really critical, there is about 0.2 inches extending beyond the nut on mine I left it long initially, then trimmed to fit during final assembly. Part the head off and trim the threaded end so the total length is 2.55 or a bit less if it is too long it will hit the webs under the bed and if too short you can't get the nut on. The bolt I used was rusty so I turned the unthreaded part down to 0.358 to remove the rust. The thimble is cross drilled 0.35 inches from the drilled end using a #1 = 0.228 drill. It is drilled out to 0.365 = "U" about 0.75 deep - it could be shorter since there is excess clearance above the lock bolt end in mine. It is 1 inch high and 0.590 OD (size was set by the material I had on hand which would accommodate the 3/8 lock bolt). The thimble supports the lock bolt on the cam, where the thimble walls provide the two bearings noted above. If you've made a cantilever type camlock and would like to try this one just make a higher thimble and use a longer lock bolt (your existing lock bolt may work) it is cheap to try and easy to revert if you don't like it. There is nothing critical about the dimensions, I winged it as I went along so feel free to change things to suit the material on hand. My construction time was about 3 hours (including head scratching). This picture along with the information below should allow you to make a copy quickly and easily. ![]() Due to the close proximity of the cam to its support bearings lighter materials are needed vs a cantilevered design. (LMS now offers a variation of Rick's design for $30, check it out) It is much simpler to build than most other camlocks - no milling required - plus, it operates smoothly with minimal force because it uses two bearing surfaces, one on either side of the cam rather than the cantilevered single bearing of most other designs. Rick's design is elegantly simple, easy to build and works very well. The main raw material for this camlock was a couple of old 3/8-16 x 3 inch bolts so the only cost was the time needed to build it. ![]() I used Rick Kruger's design, but changed it as he suggested to place the handle behind the tailstock. * * Tailstock CamLock ConstructionĪ camlock makes it much more convenient to move the mini-lathe's tailstock to clear chips when drilling deep holes.
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