Dividing Head Mystery - Stumped

[kruegdr]

Gents -

I was cleaning out a cabinet at work to reorganize our milling machine accessories and found a small, semi-rusty dividing head. It's probably capable of 6" diameter work? I've been cleaning it up to use again (our only dividing head), but realized there was no chuck.

I've searched the internet for the company that made the thing, and no hits come up for "Washington Wholesale Tool Company, Montebello, CA". (A city in the Los Angeles Metro Area). Next, I measured the threads to be 1.25 x 7 TPI. Looks right on my tap chart, but a search for chuck face plates gives 1.25 x 8 TPI as a common thread.

1) Has anyone ever heard of Washington Wholesale Tool Co?
2) Has anyone seen chucks with 1.25 x 7 threads?

I'm stumped. No info on the WWT Co, and no mention of 1.25" x 7 threads on littlemachineshop.com or several other sites.

I'm thinking this thing is almost ready for the scrap bin.

 

[rsanter]

Pictures
Most dividing heads do not have a chuck, they are optional.
A chuck is nice to have to grab stuff but if you are dividing on something between centers then you don't need a chuck. I also have a small diving head that uses 5c collets for doing smaller stuff

If you have a machine shop then you can make a backing plate and cut the threads you need and mount a chuck

And if you are sending it to scrap, then send it to me......waste not, want not

Bob

 

[454ragtop]

Are you sure it's not just Wholesale Tool, a very common tool importer? Also, check to make sure the threads aren't metric. 1-1/2"-8 is the more common size for chucks etc.
HTH, Jim

 

[justanengineer]

Post a pic plz. If its an antique, strange/unique/proprietary threads are normal.

 

[DenisG]

From internet: Washington Wholesale Tools merged with Rutland Tool and Supply in 1988. MSC purchased Rutland T&S in 2010.
http://www.wysk.com/index/california/city-of-industry/kjkx99k/washington-wholesale-tools-inc/profile

 

[Provincial]

That thread sounds like a common thread for import dividing heads in the 1960's. The spindle thread was often a metric diameter with pitch in threads per inch! I believe that I have an old Jet 6-1/2" swing dividing head with a thread pitch that matches your description. Someone had made a chuck back plate that matches long before it came into my hands, and I have had it since the late 1970's.

By the time of a 1984 Jet catalog I have, the 6-1/2" swing dividing heads had gone to a 36mm x 12 TPI thread. The larger 9" swing dividing head used a 41.5mm x 8 TPI.

 

[kruegdr]

Wow, nice find DenisG. Thanks for the info. I saw that Rutland was bought by MSC, and I just searched MSC for any chucks with the same thread. No luck.

454ragtop, I did measure the threads and compare to metric. Thread OD is 1.242", and the thread pitch is definitely 7 TPI.

Everything is in pieces right now in the parts washer. I'll lay everything out and get some pics before and after assembly.

 

[DenisG]

Wow, nice find DenisG. Thanks for the info. I saw that Rutland was bought by MSC, and I just searched MSC for any chucks with the same thread. No luck.

454ragtop, I did measure the threads and compare to metric. Thread OD is 1.242", and the thread pitch is definitely 7 TPI.

Everything is in pieces right now in the parts washer. I'll lay everything out and get some pics before and after assembly.

7 TPI is close to a 3.5mm thread pitch. Could be M32-3.5. There is a listing for chuck adapters for woodworking lathes that has an adapter close to the measurements that you made: http://oneway.ca/chucks/adaptors.htm

See numbers 0289 and 0389 under metric adapters.

Sounds like an "orphaned" piece of equipment, but you might make it usable if you can thread a backplate to mount a chuck for it.

 

[kruegdr]

Here's some photos. Hopefully they'll come through from my phone.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[rsanter]

Very nice, universal dividing head with tailstock
With the setup I see it was originally intended to hold something between centers and that's why there is no chuck.
Just make a backing plate for it and use it ....or better yet scrap it my way
If the price is reasonable I would buy it

Bob

 

[kruegdr]

Correct, rsanter, it did require the tailstock to hold between centers. I'm looking to improve our machining capabilities, and a chuck would help greatly. If I can get a reasonable price on a chuck and backing plate, then we'll keep it and use it for splines/gears/cams and such.

 

[Provincial]

Correct, rsanter, it did require the tailstock to hold between centers. I'm looking to improve our machining capabilities, and a chuck would help greatly. If I can get a reasonable price on a chuck and backing plate, then we'll keep it and use it for splines/gears/cams and such.

Since you already have the head apart and have the spindle available, consider doing what the prior owner of my Jet did. He machined an adapter that is 1-1/4"-7 on the inside and 1-1/2"-8 on the outside. It fits the chucks for the Atlas/Craftsman 10" and 12" lathes, and also small Logans and others. These small chucks are easy to find and pretty inexpensive. You would want the adapter to stay in the chuck so you can use the thread protector if you use the center in the head.

In making the adapter, the PO was careful to time the internal and external threads to leave the greatest amount of meat. Since the thread pitch is almost the same, the external thread would start slightly behind the internal thread peak, match it a 1/2" depth, and end up slightly past it at the end. There is more meat in the adapter than you would think, and it seems plenty strong. By cutting both threads in one setup, they will be true with one another. Even an Atlas quick-change can cut both threads, and all you need for material is a short piece of 1-1/2" bar stock or thick tubing. You can use your spindle as a test plug to get a good fit on the internal threads, and the chuck you purchase to test the external threads. If you find a chuck with 2-1/4"-8 threads, you can have lots of meat in your adapter, but they are less common and often more expensive than the Atlas chucks.

 

[kruegdr]

Here's some photos. Hopefully they'll come through from my phone.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2