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K&T #2 Head

Freeman

Cast Iron
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Location
SW Georgia
There's a K&T double swivel head on eBay right now.If it's the same one the seller had mounted on a 2HL horizontal a while back I offered him $250 for it back then when the machine didn't sell for umteenth time.It will also fit the #1 series,which is what I was going to stick it on.I have no afiliation with him but have dealt with him in the past and all deals went great.The head was posted today and if I knew how to post the link I would but I don't.BTW if anyone is interested you should ask about the drive plug and gear to go with it.Not much good without it.
 
BTW if anyone is interested you should ask about the drive plug and gear to go with it.Not much good without it.
I wrote the guy and asked the above question. If the answer comes back that the swivel head doesn't, is it a show stopper? Are they as scarce as hen's teeth or are they reasonably available else were?
 
The heads worth having,IMHO,even if the centering plug and drive gears are missing.Only I wouldn't bid nearly as much as I would if it did.All you can do without them is mount it on your machine and wish you had them.Are they rare as hen's teeth?Absolutely.Can you buy them?Absolutely if you're willing to remortgage your home and property.Parts n Parts and L.L. Richards has them and they are high high.I have seen them separately on eBay on occasion but it's a bidding war when one comes up and it's got to be the right one for you newly acquired head.I'm supposing that one could eliminate the centering plug and secure the drive gear to the spindle nose as long as the gear runs true with the spindle.That plug and gear are almost as hard as diamond though so happy machininng.
 
I received a message back from the guy selling the swivel head. His response: Sorry no drive.

I am new to K&T horizontals. Can anyone post a picture or drawing of the drive plug and gear? Can they be shop built?
 
There was one for awile on Ebay - of course they have to be the right one. Looks like a 50 taper plug with a helical gear mounted on the front. Held in by the usual drawbar. Making a helical gear at home is not for the faint at heart :D

John
 
Not having seen one, I don't know the complexity of the part. I was hoping for something like making a taper plug and mounting a manufactured gear on it. Is the helical gear non-standard, something a gear supply house wouldn't have?
 
a gear supply house wouldn't have
That describes it exactly :D

John
 
Hi All.. I can relate.. I have a 2hl universal horizontal and got a heavy duty universal head sometime back. I got a drive gear from a guy but it was the wrong one.. I cut the helical gear and it works but it is a bit noisy.. Mike
 
You could try mounting just the gear to the spindle nose by using the the bolt holes on the spindle normally reserved for large face mills.Of course your gear would have to be soft enough to machine and K&T gears are anything but soft.Maybe EDM?I've seen this done and it seemed to work just fine but alignment problems come to mind.Two misaligned spiral cut gears will eat each other like two cannibles stuck on a deserted island.And as John said you have to have the correct gear to begin with.I also heard many many moons ago that Cinni and K&T plugs and drive gears were somewhat interchangable.No true knowledge on that one.
 
From my experience with these heads, both Cincinnati and K&T, the gears do not interchange between brands. If the head doesn't have the spindle drive gear, you can pretty much forget about finding one. I looked for a gear, for 3 years, for a Cincinnati head, and scrapped the head, it's worthless without the gear. I did get lucky about 6 years ago and found one for a K&T head, which went to a friend.
Harry
 
Seems it would be worth the effort given the popularity of these smaller mills to document some things so you aren't just limited to saying "I need the right gear". Data would include:

Exact dimension from C/L over arms to C/L spindle.
Exact dimension from C/L overarm sockets in head to C/L of the shaft/gear to be driven.

Reverse engineering of the gear that comes with the head - I.E., internal to it. This means at least some of the head has to come apart, which would probably help in getting the second set of dimensions above, anyway. Probably will need a guy (or his shop) intimately familiar with helical gears to help out on this.

Once you had the foregoing info, it would not be much of a job to spec the missing item, and if necessary, have several made. Hardened would be nice, but hardly necessary for the HSM duty. If I was making these, they would be Crucible's Maxel 3 1/2 - some of the nicest machining stuff around.

John
 








 
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