IN THIS LETTER:

INDICATOR HOLDER KIT BACK IN STOCK

- AND -

NEW FORMAT RELEASE IN FINAL PRODUCTION

QUICK-RELEASE INDICATOR HOLDER KIT IS AVAILABLE AGAIN, AND WITH EXPANDED USES!

You might remember a few years ago we’d scored a large quantity of bicycle quick-release seatpost clamps, which worked perfectly on our dial indicator holder project. We sold those kits off pretty quickly, and sadly weren’t able to get any more of those really neat clamps.

Well, we’ve just managed to source another lot of them! These are the same great clamps, with all the features that made the holder project so useful.

And, as you can see from the picture, we found yet another use for the holder – it makes a perfect adjustable micrometer carriage stop. We took an old micrometer we had laying about and modified it to fit. It’s an extremely useful tool, that makes short work of precision shoulders and steps, and it’s simple to make. Check out our website for free plans for making the DI holder, a pictorial for making it into a micrometer carriage stop, and -- for those of you who crave a little convenience -- our materials, plans and clamp kit.

For those of you who need only the clamp, or would like one for another project entirely, we’ve got you covered! We will offer a limited number of these clamps by themselves.

While we’re really happy that we found this latest batch, we’re not sure we’ll be able to score another. (Although we will keep trying…) So, if you’re interested, act quickly.

NEW RELEASE – NEW FORMAT!

We’ve gotten quite a few questions on turning precision tapers. There are three main ways to do this on a mini lathe, but the best method is with a taper attachment.

Guess what? We’ve designed an extremely easy-to-build precision taper attachment for the Chinese mini lathe that pretty much anyone can make! With it I’ve turned precise Morse #2 and #3 tapers on test shafts that have made tramming the lathe tailstock or centering my rotary table on my mini mill a snap! Being able to make your own precision tapers opens up some great possibilities.

As I was working on this project, I realized that with just a couple more parts, the basic taper attachment could be used for template-guided turning! With the template attachment, you can make precision copies of whatever parts you wish. I’ve used it to make multiple machine handles, and it’s worked great. If I played chess (which I don’t) I’d be tempted to make a chess set – the basic shapes of the pieces are perfect for template work!

(If you’d like to see template-guided turning in action, making machine handles on my mini lathe, go here: http://www.swarfrat.com/TemplateCutting.htm but please excuse my voice – I was suffering with a touch of laryngitis at the time!)

So, we’re planning on releasing a how-to presentation on cutting tapers, with plans for the taper cutting attachment as well as the template attachment, but in BOOK FORM!

We’ve received a lot of email asking for a book that one could take out into the shop and refer to as one worked. Well, we listened! This will be bound in a manner that will allow it to lay open on your bench, so that it can be referred to as you go along.

Of course, we’re still convinced that multi-media presentations are the most effective, so we’ll include a disk with hi-resolution versions of the books’ pictures, as well as a couple movie clips to show what the procedures actually look like in execution. With the explanation in the book (and the plans,) and some visual aids on the disk, you should be set for a pleasant machining experience!

We’re in final production on this, and should have it out very soon. More projects are coming down the line, so stay tuned!

Best regards,

Lex

Lex Liberato

President-for-life

SwarfRat Enterprises, LLC

www.swarfrat.com
support@swarfrat.com

PO Box 6131
Goodyear AZ 85338

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