- Pen kits
- Bushes and barrel trimmers for pen kits
- Pen blanks
- Marlas Feathers pen blanks
- DiamondCast pen blanks
- DC Silver Series pen blanks
- DC Radiance Series pen blanks
- Divine Island pen blanks
- Gilbert House pen blanks
- Crafted Makes Spangle Series pen blanks
- Crafted Makes Braided Series pen blanks
- Crafted Makes Carbon Fibre series pen blanks
- Blankwerks abalone pen blanks
- Flower Girl pen blanks
- GPS Alternative Natural pen blanks
- GPS Ranger pen blanks
- GPS Alternative Semi-Precious pen blanks
- GPS California series pen blanks
- Kirinite acrylic pen blank collection
- Kirinite Ice series pen blanks
- Kirinite Pearl series pen blanks
- Kirinite Stardust Glitter series pen blanks
- Minerva Acrylics pen blanks
- Cullinore Acrylique - Spellbinder pen blanks
- Cullinore Acrylique - acrylic pen blanks
- Chestnut acrylic pen blank collection
- Semplicita SHDC pen blanks
- Semplicita Nastro pen blanks
- Ebonite pen blanks
- Wood pen blanks
- Whisky cask pen blanks
- Choose pen blanks by colour
- Pen blanks - reduced to clear
- Marlas Feathers pen blanks
- Bowl blanks, spindle blanks & project blanks
- Fountain pen nibs
- Understanding nibs and choosing the right one
- Bock standard size 6 fountain pen nibs (type 250)
- Bock standard size 5 fountain pen nibs (type 180)
- Beaufort standard size 5 fountain pen nibs
- Bock short body #5 fountain pen nibs (type 060)
- Bock wide shoulder #5 fountain pen nibs (type 076)
- Bock standard size 8 fountain pen nibs (type 380)
- Calligraphy (italic) fountain pen nibs
- Bock twin point #5 fountain pen nibs (type 020)
- Music nibs
- Left handed fountain pen nibs
- Non-engraved fountain pen nibs
- Ready made section sleeves for kitless pens
- Ready made nib sections for kitless pens
- Refillable rollerball nibs for kitless pens
- Understanding nibs and choosing the right one
- Fountain pen ink
- Pen refills
- Pen presentation - pen boxes, pen pouches & pen stands
- Writing accessories
- Pen making tools & drill bits
- Pen tubes, springs & spares
- Mechanisms, ink converters & pencil inserts
- Ready-made nib sections and section sleeves
- Clips for kitless pens
- Thread taps and dies
- Kitless pen making - tools and supplies for custom pens & bespoke pens
- Tutorial - An introduction to custom pen making
- Collets & collet chuck sets
- Keyless drill chucks
- Engineering micro-chucks
- Tailstock die holders
- Tailstock tap holders
- Morse taper lathe centres
- Mandrels for kitless pens and custom pen making
- Marking & Measuring
- Triple lead thread taps and dies for pen caps
- Single lead thread taps and dies for pen components
- Thread taps for Bock fountain pen nib housings
- Thread taps for Bock ready made nib sections
- Thread taps for kitless pen rollerball nibs
- Section sleeves and thread sleeves for kitless pens
- Bock ready-made fountain pen nib sections
- Clips for kitless pens
- Refillable rollerball nibs for kitless pens
- Drill bits
- Threadable pen blanks for kitless and custom pens
- Lubricant for pen makers
- Tutorial - An introduction to custom pen making
- Casting moulds for pen blanks
- Starbond CA superglue
- Abrasives, steel wool, finishing & polishing
- Beall Wood Buff buffing system
- Collets, collet chuck sets and expansion collets
- Versachuck wood lathe chucks
- Lathe faceplates & micro-chucks
- Lathe spindle thread taps & spindle thread adaptors
- Shield Technology - lubrication and rust prevention
- Super Nova1 chuck key
- Shop by Brand
- Beall
- Beaufort Ink
- Blankwerks
- Bock
- Chestnut Products
- Crafted Makes
- Cullinore Acrylique
- DiamondCast
- Divine Island
- Flower Girl
- Gilbert House
- GPS Agencies
- Kirinite
- Liberon
- Marlas Feathers
- Micromesh
- Minerva
- Mitutoyo
- Penblanks & Moulds
- Rotur
- Semplicita
- Shield Technology
- Starbond
- TapCo
- Versachuck
- Volkel
- Yorkshire Grit
- Beall
- Special offers & clearance
How to make a lathe draw bar
Download a printable PDF version of this page HERE
Phil Dart
August 2020
Morse taper attachments mounted in a lathe headstock are prone to work themselves loose whilst under power if unsupported by the tailstock. A draw bar is a method of keeping the attachment seated by clamping it in place. The draw bar screws into a female thread that’s often present on the small end of the tapered arbor of the attachment, and presses on the revolving hand wheel or bearing that’s at the opposite end of the headstock spindle to the lathe bed. Since every lathe is different, a draw bar isn’t something you can generally buy, but they are simplicity itself to make.
Firstly, identify the size of the thread which is inside the back end of the arbor of your morse taper attachment. 1MT arbors often have M6 threads and 2MT arbors often have M10 threads, but you can check with either a thread gauge or by screwing in an appropriate bolt to see if it will fit. You’ll need a metal rod which is long enough to screw inside that thread, and reach all the way through the spindle in your lathe headstock, so that it protrudes far enough out the other end in order to fit a washer and two nuts. You can either thread a steel rod yourself with an appropriate die or you can buy a rod from a hardware store which is already threaded along it’s entire length.
Offer up the MT attachment to your headstock spindle and roughly calculate the distance between the small end of the arbor and the outside edge of the hand wheel or bearing that’s at the other end of the spindle. Add about another 10cm to that to be on the safe side, and cut the rod to length.
If the rod is not already threaded at the arbor end, thread it now, securely fit the MT attachment to your lathe and screw the rod into the arbor through the hand wheel/bearing end of the spindle.
Obtain or make a washer with an inside diameter to suit the diameter of your rod, and an outside diameter large enough to more than cover the hole through the middle of your lathe hand wheel/bearing. It needs to be substantial enough and large enough to not bend or get pulled through. Place the washer over the rod and calculate how much you can trim the rod so that there’s enough left on it to fit a nut and a lock nut. Unscrew and remove the rod, then cut it to length accordingly.
Thread the rod at the nut end if not already done. Refit it to the lathe and screw it back into the arbor. Replace the washer, screw on a nut to a firm finger tightness, then fit a lock nut.
You have a draw bar.
To use, leave the nut and lock nut fixed in place - the draw bar is fitted and removed by screwing it in and out as a whole, not by removing the nuts. Don’t over-tighten it - a firm finger tightness is good enough. And don’t be tempted to use it as a knockout bar, which would be likely to damage either its own or the attachment's threads. If you need to knock out an arbor, use a proper knockout bar.
