A handle for a Levin

[measuretwice]

I have a Levin lathe that was missing a handle - that was today's little project and I thought I'd post some photos.  The blank is small, .220" dia and less than an inch long.  I turned the press fit section in big lathe then switch to a Pultra and did the balance by hand with a graver.  Fun work, sort of like wood turning.

 

The one I made is on the right, obviously not identical, but good enough for an eyeball job

[PJA]

Good Job! 

[oldhippy]

What did you use? Was it mild steel. That looks very good and a good reason to put your lathes to use.

[measuretwice]

thanks guys, yes it was mild steel, likely screw stock, 12L14, which is so easy to turn. 

[jdrichard]

Where do you get your stock and can i use the same stock for turning Balance Staffs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[measuretwice]

1 hour ago, jdrichard said:

Where do you get your stock and can i use the same stock for turning Balance Staffs
 

I took a load of steel out of a high school machine shop that closed 20 years ago, lifetime supply, but any service centre should have 12L14.  Online metals or metal supermarkets would be two that deal in small quantities.  Its not suitable for a balance staff as its not a steel you can heat treat (for all effective purposes anyway).   For staffs I would use a carbon tool steel like O1, cheap, readily available and easy enough to machine and heat treat.  otoh I'm not exactly deeply steeped in watchmaking experience so I wouldn't be too shocked if there was something else that guys preferred

Edited September 25, 2017 by measuretwice

[jdrichard]

I took a load of steel out of a high school machine shop that closed 20 years ago, lifetime supply, but any service centre should have 12L14.  Online metals or metal supermarkets would be two that deal in small quantities.  Its not suitable for a balance staff as its not a steel you can heat treat (for all effective purposes anyway).   For staffs I would use a carbon tool steel like O1, cheap, readily available and easy enough to machine and heat treat.  otoh I'm not exactly deeply steeped in watchmaking experience so I wouldn't be too shocked if there was something else that guys preferred

Thanks for the reply. The guy i bought the lathe from included some stock, but i dont know what the steel is so i dont want to start cutting Staffs and find out it is nit the right stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[david]

The 12L14 is leaded stock and is specifically formulated tor lathe turning work. It cuts easily and produces a beautiful finish. The lead acts as a built in lubricant and enables the metal to cut like butter. I spent much of my working life in a manufacturing company and we ran tons and tons of leaded stock on turret lathes. We would occasionally get it hardened but we always sent our work out to a heat treating company when hardening was required. I am not sure of the process they used to heat treat leaded stock but they had  equipment like computer controlled vacuum furnaces and  vats of molten cyanide and other nasty stuff that you would not want in your shop.  The major drawback to the metal is is could not be welded.

david

[measuretwice]

5 hours ago, david said:

The 12L14 is leaded stock and is specifically formulated tor lathe turning work. It cuts easily and produces a beautiful finish. The lead acts as a built in lubricant and enables the metal to cut like butter. I spent much of my working life in a manufacturing company and we ran tons and tons of leaded stock on turret lathes. We would occasionally get it hardened but we always sent our work out to a heat treating company when hardening was required. I am not sure of the process they used to heat treat leaded stock but they had  equipment like computer controlled vacuum furnaces and  vats of molten cyanide and other nasty stuff that you would not want in your shop.  The major drawback to the metal is is could not be welded.

david

Did you manage to squirrel away some drops  :)

It would be case hardening, only way to harden a low carbon steel.  Basically you soak it at temp in something it can draw carbon from and you get a high carbon outer layer, then quench.  Think mild steel with an outer skin of O1 (sort of).  It can be really useful as you leave the outside dead hard (no temper) but still have the ductile core so its not brittle.  Same idea as the gunsmiths do for colour pack case hardening, 

You can do this at home with smelly stuff like bone meal, but its hard to get more than a few thou depth; the commercial guys with the nasty bath can get 50 thou with an overnight soak.   I can remember doing the cyanide bath in high school 40 years ago on the grade 9 project, a tack hammer.  I can't imagine a school allowing it today with the general level of paranoia.  Also, you still get mild steel strength, not tool steel's higher tensile strength.  Right on with the welding, but it does braze and silver solder well

Edited July 14, 2018 by measuretwice

[Tmuir]

Nicely done. You managed to get a real nice finish on it too.

[david]

Tmuir,

Leaded stock almost polishes itself when you turn it. If you want to see a dramatic contrast in ease of turning, try to turn a piece of rebar and see how it behaves.. Rebar is made from melted ships and is just about the nastiest steel I can think of.

david.