Patent ID: 6912939

Claim:
In a clamshell lathe assembly for machining a work piece, the clamshell lathe assembly including a rotatable ring operatively coupled to a stationary ring, the rotatable ring carrying a tool bit for machining a work piece, wherein the improvement comprises: (a) a tool slide assembly comprising a base and tool bit holder slidably mounted on the base for holding the tool bit where said base is adapted to be mounted on the face of the rotatable ring; (b) a follower assembly operatively coupled to the tool bit holder for following a contour of an outer surface of the work piece as the tool bit is rotated about said outer surface, said follower assembly including at least one roller operatively coupled to a slide plate where a plurality of springs operatively disposed between the slide plate and the base urge the rollers against the outer surface of the work piece; and (c) the tool bit holder further including a tool block capable of incremental translation upon orbiting at the rotatable ring.