What's new
What's new

CXA Tool Post for a Monarch 30"?

Torquin

Aluminum
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Location
Powhatan, Va.
So, I went and bought this Monarch with a 30" swing. I don't need it, but it was going to scrap and I wanted to save this beautiful, dirty, machine from dying a horrible death. It has a 4 bolt square tool holder on it now, but I am wondering about a CXA quick change for it. Is it unreasonable to think a CXA would work OK on this lathe?
Now, keep in mind that this lathe will not see production work while I own it. It will be stored/used in a shop at an antique farm equipment/machine show, and used mostly when the show goes on, in September, for demonstrations, but I will have access to use it when I need something that big throughout the year, once we can get electricity to it. We will also use it to fix the other antique equipment there, if needed.
20221003_171027sm.jpg

Thanks,
Chris
 
I'd go CA at the minimum, it opens up cheap 1" stick tooling.
Well, I am more concerned that CXA would be too small, and I don't think that there is anything larger than CXA in quick change tooling. So, if CXA isn't big enough, then I suppose quick change will be out altogether. I'll just have to deal with the existing "slow" tool post it has on it.

Thanks,
Chris
 
Well, I am more concerned that CXA would be too small, and I don't think that there is anything larger than CXA in quick change tooling. So, if CXA isn't big enough, then I suppose quick change will be out altogether. I'll just have to deal with the existing "slow" tool post it has on it.

Thanks,
Chris
You sweet, innocent child. lol

The CXA is a 3.5" base square, the CA has a 4" square, the DA is 5". The EA is recommended for lathes of 25" or larger swing with it's 6" base square.

Aloris EA post
 
You sweet, innocent child. lol

The CXA is a 3.5" base square, the CA has a 4" square, the DA is 5". The EA is recommended for lathes of 25" or larger swing with it's 6" base square.

Aloris EA post
That's me, a bit inexperienced with the BIG stuff. Forgive my lack of knowledge. I thought when you said CA, you were just shortening "CXA", or perhaps typoed. I did not know that "CA" was an actual size. Thanks for the clarification.
But, looking that the price tag for an EA, I will have to make do, as the cost of the tool post alone is more than I paid for the lathe, and since I am not likely to make any money with this lathe, it's hard to justify that kind of expense.

Thanks,
Chris
 
If you use insert tools and get the 4 way set so it is at the correct height you can use common stick tools intended for a CNC without shims. Done that way it isn't so bad to use.

You can get import CXA holders that will take 1" stick tools. If you have another lathe with a CXA toolpost I'd get that size so you can share tools, its a lot cheaper to get a dozen holders than CA. Seems a waste to spend a bunch of money outfitting a QCTP to a lathe you'll rarely use. If you aren't going to bury a 43x insert I would get a cheaper, more common, toolpost size.
 
If you use insert tools and get the 4 way set so it is at the correct height you can use common stick tools intended for a CNC without shims. Done that way it isn't so bad to use.
That'd be my choice. Cheap, flexible, available.

In reality, a well arranged 4-way and insert tools is probably the best 'bang for your buck' option out there.
 
Chris,
If you go with the BIG Aloris I have some holders for those big tool posts. I'll probably offer them here as they are part of a spring cleaning about to begin, E-1, (2) EA-2, E-5, DA-6, C-54, CA2. I also have a good quantity of big insert holders and big brazed on carbide bits and some good old big High Speed stuff. I have some No. 5 Morse taper drills too.
spaeth
 
I will be passively looking around for an EA, but I will probably have to find it at an auction, since I can't justify that big price tag. The reason I want to get a quick change is to make things go faster when doing the demos for the audience. You lose the audience quicker when you are messing with tool setups. Last year we ran a shaper and a smaller lathe, off of a 3.5hp B&H (flat belt shaper) and a generator for the lathe, since we did not have any electricity. The show had to move because of a problem with the original property it was on, so the new site is still being built and we had to make do to show off the machines.
Anyway, the people liked watching the shaper peeling off metal, but when we stopped to make adjustments, the audience tends to move on. We had to take small cuts to keep the chips from being thrown on the audience in that show.
The plan will be to make plexiglass shields, or similar, to allow the lathe to make serious cuts and not get chips on the audience. As you know, it gets more exciting as the chips get bigger/bluer. And another hope is to inspire kids to consider this trade for a career.
At this point we are depending on donations, where possible, since we lost a lot of the bigger machines in the gap between the shut down of the old location and the securing the the new one. The owners either moved them or sold them to other shows around the country, including the huge diesel that stood 14' high. This lathe is my donation, in exchange for a place to store it under cover and powered.

Thanks,
Chris
 
Last edited:
I agree with dalmatiangirl61 in that you are better off to use the four way than tool up with DA Aloris because of the expense. The CXA is too small for a machine of that size. I spent 30 years in a big shop full of big lathes with most of them with DA tool posts including a sixteen inch lathe. The one exception to this size was a Monarch 10EE lathe.
JH
 
In my experience a 4 sided toolpost is good for 3 tools, 2 for turning and 1 for facing or boring. As long as the height is set right, you can use 1 size of tooling to make tool changes quick and easy, 2 or more sizes will lead to longer times for the fiddle factor of shimming.
 
Chris,
If you go with the BIG Aloris I have some holders for those big tool posts. I'll probably offer them here as they are part of a spring cleaning about to begin, E-1, (2) EA-2, E-5, DA-6, C-54, CA2. I also have a good quantity of big insert holders and big brazed on carbide bits and some good old big High Speed stuff. I have some No. 5 Morse taper drills too.
spaeth
to the OP, I admire what you are up to and good on ya mate! not to hijack the thread, but sp, l'd be interested in the CA-54 and CA-2.
(since the op doesn't have a CA, don't think its a conflict...)
 
I agree with Limey that a 4 way makes a lot of sense on a large machine. Both for economic and strength reasons. Preferably spring loaded with a good surface ratchet underneath for rapidly repeatable rotation, as favoured by the better end of British machine tool builders.

That said I've always felt the best answer would be simple dual slot blocks with some sort of quick detachable mounting. Detachable blocks enable you to set tool tip height by measurement on the bench, far easier than on the machine. Two slots have significantly less porcupine tendencies than four. If you have a QD arrangement the smaller complement of tools is no issue, still twice as many per change than a conventional QC system!

Perfectly adequate blocks can be made by screwing and gluing stock sections together. I made a bunch of four ways that way back in my SouthBend days. Each had its own tee nut, stud and locking handle permitting rapid interchange producing a very effective poor boys QC system. Hafta say that my registration on re-fitting arrangements weren't as good as I'd ideally have liked but a Mk 2 version would have fixed that. Mk2 was never made because the SouthBend replacement came with a whole bunch of Dicksons!

There are doubtless many ways of making a quick interchange system for block posts but my Mk2 solution was to be based on a freely rotating toolpost stud. Either the whole thing or, probably more practical on most lathes, just the top part. The rotating part of the stud would be cross drilled to take a tommy bar and the block would have a hollow, externally threaded, castellated nut screwed in the top. Obviously the nut would be bored to drop over the stud and the castellations sized to fit the tommy bar. After initial adjustments half a turn for less would take the set up from held down tight to loose enough to pull the tommy bar out so the block could be lifted off and another substituted. Registration by pin in hole or other methods of your choice. Hex socket cap head dropped down a hollow upper part with suitable anti friction washers to take care of the rotation bit.

Clive
 
Last edited:








 
Back
Top