A spring loaded tap guide assures your tapped holes are straight when hand tapping. I have a 1/2" one from Fisher and it's always worked great. I decided to make a new one that directly fits into the Morse Taper 2 socket of my lathe for a few reasons: I should be able to get more point travel with a larger device, another tap follower would always be handy and that it would be fun project.
Since the end cap will be threaded onto the main body of the guide, I want it knurled. After a few years of practice, I've finally gotten to the point that knurling comes out good, more often than not.
A taper is cut at the edge of the end cap with the compound.
The work was parted and flipped around to drill and ream the hole for the point. Then the inside was drilled out with a larger drill. After drilling, an end mill was used to get a flat surface inside at the end.
One reason I like collects is that you can safely hold a knurled surface without marring the work.
And here the end cap's threads are tapped with the wrench supported by the Fisher tap guide. Next time I'll be able to use one specifically for this lathe!
The end cap was removed and a MT2 blank was inserted directly into the lathe spindle with an adapter. I always keep a few of these cheap MT2 drill adapters on hand for these types of projects.
Threads for the end cap were single-pointed onto the adapter.
Now a cavity is drilled out for the spring and point.
And here the tap guide is complete. The point has a center hole for small taps on one end. I had to make the spring.
After a little cold blue on the end cap, the guide was assembled and is ready to use. I would say it has twice the travel over the smaller Fisher guide.
A shot of the guide in use. Works great!