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A thread about mandrel savers gave me an idea,
Having looked at what is on the market and the stupid prices of them I decided I could make an alternative, but would what I have in my head even work never mind be any better, it will certainly be cheaper.

I had analysed the way a mandrel saver works as basically a live centre with a hole and relies upon the tailstock to apply the necessary pressure, surely this can not be hard to replicate.

Being away from home I don’t have the resources around that I am aware of but I kept my eyes open and eventually sourced for no cost exactly what I was looking for.
The battery clamping rod from an old motor vehicle is exactly the right diameter for a mandrel rod. And a bright steel 15mm rod from a disused printer.

A suitable bribe got me an hour in the machine shop before opening time.

I set about doing the hard work of turning a handle and pressing a button or two.

Cut the battery rod to size threaded two ends and cut and drilled the printer rod, added a corresponding thread and a suitable 60 degree cone for the centre tapers.
Mop my brow after all that hard effort and see what I have created.
This is not so much precision engineering but a prototype and time restrictions prohibit accuracy.
I am strictly off limits in this workshop.
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<blockquote data-quote="clumsysod" data-source="post: 6568" data-attributes="member: 90">A thread about mandrel savers gave me an idea, Having looked at what is on the market and the stupid prices of them I decided I could make an alternative, but would what I have in my head even work never mind be any better, it will certainly be cheaper.I had analysed the way a mandrel saver works as basically a live centre with a hole&nbsp; and relies upon the tailstock to apply the necessary pressure, surely this can not be hard to replicate.Being away from home I don’t have the resources around that I am aware of but I kept my eyes open and eventually sourced for no cost exactly what I was looking for.The battery clamping rod from an old motor vehicle is exactly the right diameter for a mandrel rod. And a bright steel 15mm rod from a disused printer.A suitable bribe got me an hour in the machine shop before opening time. I set about doing the hard work of turning a handle and pressing a button or two.Cut the battery rod to size threaded two ends&nbsp; and cut and drilled the printer rod, added a corresponding thread and a suitable 60 degree cone for the centre tapers.Mop my brow after all that hard effort and see what I have created.This is not so much precision engineering but a prototype and time restrictions prohibit accuracy.I am strictly off limits in this workshop.[ATTACH]525[/ATTACH][ATTACH]526[/ATTACH][ATTACH]527[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

[QUOTE="clumsysod, post: 6568, member: 90"] A thread about mandrel savers gave me an idea, Having looked at what is on the market and the stupid prices of them I decided I could make an alternative, but would what I have in my head even work never mind be any better, it will certainly be cheaper. I had analysed the way a mandrel saver works as basically a live centre with a hole and relies upon the tailstock to apply the necessary pressure, surely this can not be hard to replicate. Being away from home I don’t have the resources around that I am aware of but I kept my eyes open and eventually sourced for no cost exactly what I was looking for. The battery clamping rod from an old motor vehicle is exactly the right diameter for a mandrel rod. And a bright steel 15mm rod from a disused printer. A suitable bribe got me an hour in the machine shop before opening time. I set about doing the hard work of turning a handle and pressing a button or two. Cut the battery rod to size threaded two ends and cut and drilled the printer rod, added a corresponding thread and a suitable 60 degree cone for the centre tapers. Mop my brow after all that hard effort and see what I have created. This is not so much precision engineering but a prototype and time restrictions prohibit accuracy. I am strictly off limits in this workshop. [ATTACH]525._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]526._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]527._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]

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