Author Topic: The Humble Nudger  (Read 15402 times)

Bogstandard

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The Humble Nudger
« on: August 15, 2012, 12:25:26 AM »
Another resurrection post, and if most people have seen it before, please spare a thought for those who maybe haven't.

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This is by no means my idea, I saw one demonstrated a few years back and decided it would go onto my tuit list

Up until now I have used a bit of hardwood mounted into a toolholder, but decided the other day I needed to make a proper one.


The things required were a lump of bar that will stick out either side of the toolholder (if using a QCTP) or you would make it single ended if using a normal toolpost, a couple of reasonable sized ball races, mine were 3/4" diameter, a couple of bolts, mine were 6mm, you need something fairly substantial to take the strain, and a bit of bar to make the top hat spacers from.
The bar was cut down for a nice fit in my toolholder, 16mm square. It was then machined down by the thickness of the bearings and across by about 3/4 their diameter

The top hats were made to a couple of thou longer on the part that goes thru the bearing and the flange was just larger than the diameter on the bolt heads. It was drilled thru the middle 6mm, to fit the bolt. You could use two top hats for each bearing, as long as they didn't meet in the middle. Anything to stop the bearing becoming 'trapped'.

Holes were drilled and tapped 6mm in the position where the bearing didn't quite hit the back shoulder and hung out of the end of the recess, half way across the width of the square bar.

It was more difficult to describe it than make it. Just have it so the bearings stick over the end bit. I also reduced the thickness of the bolt head to about half, just to give a little more room if things get tight.



This is how it should look when assembled.




Mounted in the toolholder, with a bearing either side.

It should be set to centre height when working, but I am showing how it is used.

With the part mounted into or onto the chuck, with the jaws just 'tweaked' tight, the ball race is brought into contact with the face that requires straightening up. With a slight nudge from the tool, the part should move into a much truer running position, then you tighten up the jaws. If say you were holding a disc in the jaws, by nudging, you should be able to get it running fairly true, if not spot on.




By swinging the tool holder the other way, the other ball race can be brought into operation to true up those wobbly bits of metal held in the jaws, before fully tightening up.




Please don't try it with square or hex bar, it won't work very well.


John


Offline mklotz

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2012, 12:32:53 AM »
"The Humble Nudger" sounds like the title of a Dickens novel.

Humor aside, it's a useful bit of kit.  I made one many years ago and I still use it.
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Offline rleete

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2012, 12:49:52 AM »
Huh.  I was just thinking about this last night.  Wondered where I'd seen it, but knew I needed to make one.

You must be reading my mind, Boggs.

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2012, 12:56:51 AM »
Thanks for reposting John, i really need to make one too, i can cartainly see how handy it would be!!

Bill

Offline 90LX_Notch

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2012, 01:51:15 AM »
An extremely handy tool.  I highly recommend making one.
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Offline KB

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2012, 04:30:42 AM »

A handy tool indeed.

Mine was made by turning down the end of a piece of hex bar to press into the inner race. The tool is held 90 degree's to how you have shown it. Just another option for potential builders.

Bogstandard

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2012, 09:05:57 AM »
Gents, many thanks for replies and suggestions.

Give people an idea, and they will come up with their own way of making it, and none of them are incorrect if it does the job.
I just wish that there was a hints and tips board when I was going through my knowledge gathering years. Everyone who puts a post into this section is making life easier for those who follow.

As I said, before I made this simple bit of tooling, I used a piece of hardwood, which worked extremely well for many years, but now I have this super efficient one, I find I am using it almost every time I use my self centring chucks.
 
It is one of those tools that makes life a lot easier, and you wonder how you ever managed to do things without it.

John

Offline iRon

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2012, 11:21:18 AM »
Thank you very much for this brilliant idea. It will fill a need I did not realiose that I had!

Ron

Offline steamer

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2012, 11:25:55 AM »
Nice one John!   I too used the back of a tool shank.....just added to the "Tuit" file.

Dave
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Offline rleete

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2012, 02:13:05 PM »
I finihsed mine last night.  As the UK members would say, "it works a treat".

Because I didn't have a spare tool holder, but I did have a spare boring bar holder, I made mine round.  Instead of all the chamfers, I rounded over the ends of the bar by hand with a file.

Offline steamer

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2012, 02:15:53 PM »
Pictures please!.... ;D
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Offline rleete

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #11 on: August 19, 2012, 02:48:53 PM »
Just for you...




It's in 2 pieces because the boring bar holder is a 3/8" bore, and the bar I had was 1/2"  those are #10-32 x 5/8 Button socket head screws in stainless. 

Offline steamer

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2012, 06:30:25 PM »
Awesome!

Dave
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Damned ijjit!

Offline Mayhem

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2012, 04:14:20 PM »
I thought I would add my own variation.

Not wanting to use up a tool holder and only having one bearing on hand at the time (I'm sure I'm not the only one who decides to build things on a Sunday afternoon!).

Some scrap plate and round stock welded up to fit the dove tails on my QCTP.  The bearing arm pivots and locks in along the centre line, allowing for use in both directions.

Don't laugh but the bearing is missing from the photo, as I had to put it into my grinder shortly after making it and before I took the pictures!  A suitable bearing has since been found and bolted in place.

Bogstandard

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Re: The Humble Nudger
« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2012, 08:18:42 PM »
It is like everything else on here, show an idea, even if it came from somewhere else, and people will make the bits out of whatever they can get hold of, and they will all do the job admirably.

Real nice build lads :NotWorthy: :NotWorthy: :NotWorthy:

John

 

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