Taper Tool Remover
One of the first projects I completed (it may have been the first), was a tool to remove tapered shank tools from the mill. The mill has a 1MT taper in the spindle and tools like drill chucks and fly cutters fit in this taper and use a drawbar to hold them in place. I am still amazed by how much friction is created by a tapered shaft. Because of the friction, tapered shank tools need to be pressed out of the spindle. The Sherline mill comes with no provisions to remove the tooling. It is suggested that you support the head stock with a wood block and tap the partially loosened drawbar with a hammer. It takes more than a tap, at least on my mill, and because it's not very rigid to begin with, I don't like the idea of beating on it with a hammer. You run the risk of throwing something out of alignment. I made a tool similar to a gear puller and a collar for the spindle. My first attempt at the collar (2 piece design) was a failure. The collar just slid up the spindle when force was applied from the puller, even when I added a set screw. I remade the collar using a single piece, carefully bored to the right diameter and put set screws on opposing sides. I filed a shallow groove in the spindle while it was running to give the set screws extra bite. The collar stays on the spindle all the time and the puller is placed on only when removing a tool (obviously with the machine off). The drawbar is partially loosened and the puller screw is tightened until the taper breaks loose. The drawbar is still attached to the tool, so it doesn't drop on the table. Click the pictures for larger images.