Morse Taper Extractor for Kity 663

[Tarrquin]

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie to this forum so please bear with me if I'm posting in the wrong bit!

I have recently been given an old Kity 663 wood turning lathe and I am enjoying learning how to use it. I hadn't used a lathe since turning metal at school some 55 years ago and I'm so pleased to discover I still find it enjoyable and exciting!

Anyway, I have discovered there is a part of the lathe missing, the Morse Taper Extraction tool to ease removal of the driven centre and this is making life a little difficult. A search on the web and an email or two to distributors hasn't helped so can anyone out there offer me information as to what this tool actually looks like? The diagram in the user guide just shows a line drawing of a long rod but I suspect it has a hex end, or similar, to engage with a gizmo deep inside the spindle.

Any description - or, indeed, information as to where I could buy one - would be most gratefully received!

Thank you,
Steve

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's just a rod that goes through the spindle, you give it a tap with something to dislodge the centre. Mine has a small cast steel ball on the end to give the weight, it doesn't need hitting with anything. Any bar that will fit through will do. This is of course presuming there's nothing weird about your lathe.

 

[Richard_C]

As above, metal is best but a bss will do as a try out.

bss - British standard stick.

The one on mine doubles as a way to hold the headstock still when you screw the chuck on or off.

 

[Lons]

What Phil said if it has a hollow headstock which from distant memory I think it had. Just use a suitable dia bar and tap the end gently with a hammer if it's stuck fast. I have several I use on my Axminster and Jet lathes.

We only sold a couple in the 80s so I had very little to do with them and I've had a quick look to see if I still have the details but it seems not apart from a brief description and line drawings of the various models and accessories in a general price list, probably of no use to you but if you wish just send me a pm with your email address and I'll send it.

cheers
Bob

 

[Tarrquin]

That was an amazing response! Thank you all for coming back to me so quickly - sounds like it's a simpler piece of equipment than I'd envisioned

Bob, I shall contact you as requested, thank you

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Tarrquin]

Bob, looks like I am unable to PM you until I've been a member a bit longer but thank you for the offer

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You need another post.

 

[Lons]

I'll pm my email address to you Steve

 

[Robbo3]

Just to reiterate what has all ready been said, if the head stock is hollow all you need is a long enough, preferably metal, bar.
Lathes with a solid head stock need a collar which is unscrewed to remove the drive.
The morse taper should be clean & dry.
The knockout bar only needs to be held with the fingers to generate enough force to remove the drive centre.
I failed to clean the morse taper sufficiently when my lathe was new & had to resort to some hefty blows with a lump hammer. Now a light tap with the knock out bar held between the index finger & thumb is sufficient.

 

[alexalexander]

and remember to have your hand in place to catch the tool knocked out (suitably protected if sharp) - they can shoot out quite fast!

 

[Tarrquin]

With thanks to everyone who has offered me advice on this little problem, I have had another look at the spindle on my Kity 663 lathe and it isn't hollow, at least not all the way through. I tried a 6mm steel bar and it went in only so far, around 100mm or so, then hit something solid (I should mention here that there is no tool in the spindle at the moment, I did manage to remove the earlier incumbent with a bit of brutish effort which I don't wish to repeat!)

So, I used a thin steel probe to see whether I could "feel" what was in there...

At the chuck end, a couple of centimetres in, I could feel an object with a raised, possibly domed, bit in the centre. At the pulley end, it seemed to be a flat surface with a smaller cavity in the centre, about 5mm deep. Very difficult to be certain, but moving the probe around there may have been angles in that cavity, suggesting a hex slot.
Unfortunately, none of my hex keys are long enough to test this theory so I have ordered a set of extra long keys which should arrive on Monday. Watch this space...

Again, many thanks for all your help and have a good weekend!

Cheers,

Steve

 

[Lons]

You might have to get a thread protector Steve which when you unscrew it ejects the morse tapered drive centre. You mentioned you have a chuck for the lathe so it would be the same thread as that and hopefully not too difficult to find

 

[Tarrquin]

Ooh, that looks interesting, I shall start searching... thanks, Bob!

 

[Tarrquin]

Morning All!

Yesterday evening the extended allen keys arrived and I've just tested my theory. And for once, I was right

The 6mm key slotted straight into the socket in the gizmo in the spindle and - this really surprised me - it turned as easy as anything (I suspect it had not been used for some years, talking with the previous owner). To check, I mounted a centre into the spindle and the gizmo easily and cleanly pushed it out again.

Problem solved! =D>

So, we've all learned something about the Kity 663 (and 664) which will probably be of no use whatsoever in the future but, one never knows!

Thanks again to everyone who has provided input on this issue for me, it's greatly appreciated and proves what a useful place is UKW!

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Phil Pascoe]

... This is of course presuming there's nothing weird about your lathe.

The lesson there being don't ever presume.

 

[Tarrquin]

Kity was a French company therefore there could be nothing weird about it. Whatsoever :lol:

 

[Tarrquin]

Now I have a lathe I can use, I have made an important discovery in woodturning:

The difference between a lid that is much too tight and one that is too loose is approximately 0.5 nanoseconds of very light pressure with a skew chisel. Thus proving my signature line!

Teach me not to try to run before I can turn, but the missus seems delighted with a little pot for her earrings, even if the lid does fall off :roll:

Fun though, innit?