Lathe / Tailstock Rack for Better Drilling

Introduction - The problem so far

The CQ6125 I received had very poor heat treatment on the screw to feed the quill forwards, and the thread has cracked several times near the tip reducing the travel by a few millimetres. When combined with MT3 tooling with a tang, a further 25mm is lost, reducing the total travel to about 35mm out of 65mm! I can get by with tangless tapers, but there has to be a better way.

Another problem the quill has is that the keyway was poorly cut. As the quill extends the set screw needs to be tightened, and then loosened as the quill is retracted. If not, the quill will rotate slightly as the set screw pushes on the flat of the key way rather than the side wall. I have partially corrected the taper in the keyway, but there has to be a better way.

A solution

Stefan Gotteswinter has done a superb modification to his lathe tailstock which has inspired me to start a similar project. I intend to rotating the handle so that it faces horizontally rather than vertically as I would like to replicate the feel of a turret or capstan lathe.

Like Stefan, I intend to use some round rack, I will also cut a keyway in the rear of the rack and install a key in the gearbox to prevent the rack and quill from rotating.

Stefan’s clamp on the front of the tailstock is also a good one, having the clamping element free to move from the rest of the casting prevents the casting from moving the quill as it is tightened.

CAD renders and some PDFs of the parts will be produced and shared soon. I have not yet found a supplier of round rack in the right combination of diameter and gear module that will be suitable, I’m a little worried I may have to cut the rack myself.