If the first plan be adopted, any error in the truth of the mandrel will throw the hole out of true with the hub, which would be a serious defect, causing the gland to jamb against one side of the piston rod, and also of the gland bore. The same evil is liable to result from the second method; it is best, therefore, to chuck the gland by the hub in a universal chuck, and simply face the outer face of the flange, and also its edge. The gland may then be turned end for end, and the hole, the hub, the inside radial flange face, and the hub radial face, may then all be turned at one chucking; there is but one disadvantage in this method, which is that the gland must be unchucked to try its fit in the gland hole, but if standard gauges are used such trial will not be necessary, while if such is not the case and an error of measurement should occur, the gland may still be put on a mandrel and reduced if necessary.
In either method of chucking, the fit of the hole to the rod it is intended for cannot be tested without removing the gland from the chuck.
To Turn a Plain Cylindrical Ring all over in a Universal Chuck.—Three methods may be pursued in doing this simple job: first, the hole may be bored at one chucking, and the two radial faces and the circumference turned at a second chucking; second, the diameter may be turned, first on the hole and two radial faces turned at a second chucking; and third the hole and one radial face may be turned at one chucking, and the diameter and second radial face at a second chucking. The last method is best for the following reasons. The tool can pass clear over the surfaces at each chucking without danger of coming into contact with the chuck jaws, which would cause damage to both; second, at the last chucking, the chuck jaws being inside the ring, the latter may be tested for truth with a pointer fixed in the tool rest, and therefore set quite true.
It is obvious that at neither chucking should the ring be set so far within the chuck jaws that there will be danger of the tool touching them when turning the radial face.
In the case of a ring too thin to permit this, and of too large a bore to warrant making a mandrel for it, the ring may be held on the outside and bored, and both radial faces turned to within a short distance of the chuck jaws; at the second chucking, the chuck jaws being within the ring bore, the work may be set true with a pointer, as before, and finished.
If, however, a number of such rings were to be turned, it would pay to turn up another and thicker ring, and use it as a mandrel after the bore and one radial face of the ring had been turned.
To Turn an Eccentric Strap and Eccentric.—The eccentric strap should be turned first, because it can then be taken apart and its fit to the eccentric tried while the latter is in the lathe, which is not the case with the eccentric. The strap should first be held in a universal chuck bolted to the face plate, or held in dogs such as shown in [Fig. 893] at c, and one face should be turned. It should then be turned round on the chuck to bore it, and face the other side.
If the shape of the strap will admit it, it is best chucked by plates and bolts holding the face first turned to the face plate, because in this case there will be no pressure tending to spring the straps out of their natural shape; otherwise, however, it may be held in a universal or independent jaw chuck, or if too large for insertion in chucks of this kind (which are rarely made for large lathes) it may be held in dogs such as shown in [Fig. 893] at c.