LATHE EFFICIENCY
To boost efficiency on a job using a manual lathe, making custom valve cover nuts, we set up a center drill in a separate tail-stock chuck. Swapping the two chuck/drill is much faster and less work than swapping drill bits in and out of a single chuck. Fit some plastic or aluminum round bar on the chuck key – it’s much easier on your hand when tightening the chuck. On another, similar job, we boosted efficiency even more by replacing the tail-stock chucks with a relatively inexpensive tail-stock turret, letting us switch from center-drill to drill to tap in just seconds.

Tom Nichols
Automotive Machine & Supply, Inc.
Joshua, TX
AUGUST, 2023