Dividing on the Warco 220 Lathe

Peter Shaw describes a mandrel dividing attachment for this popular lathe that can be adapted to fit many other benchtop machines

- Peter Shaw

Users of this lathe will no doubt be aware that limited simple dividing by 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 can be accomplished using the pre-drilled holes in the mandrel flange along with a simple accessory which bolts onto two pre-drilled and tapped in the headstock housing. If you have not got one, then drawings for this accessory were published in MEW 135, February 2008.

Divisions of 2, 4 and 6 are quite useful on their own as along with a suitable filing rest, one can produce spanner flats on a bar, a square end on a bar or a hexagon for use as a nut. But what if you need to divide by 8, say for a cover with 8 fixing holes? Well, you could rig up something to engage with the 32 teeth gear wheel semi-permanently mounted on the mandrel inside the gearbox. This same device would also give you 16 and 32 divisions if you need them.