60 degree tailcenter runout

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hotwire55

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Joined
Aug 30, 2012
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93
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Wingo, Ky 42088
Hey Guys,

I recently purchased a 60 degree live tailcenter from a pen supplier and the runout on this unit checked with my indicator is .003 for a total runout of .006. Is it acceptable when turning your blanks on a mandrel to run this tailstock against the mandrel? Can I expect acceptable results with this kind of wobble on the end of my mandrel? Oh, my #1 headstock shows zero runout, but, I am showing a wobble at the end of my mandrel near the tailstock. I am turning slimlines and comfort styles to start out. Do I need to try another method of turning my pens to assure more accuracy in the finished product? I'm new at turning and don't wont to start off doing things the wrong way. hotwire55
 
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plantman

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Jan 2, 2012
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Green Bay, Wi
Hey Guys,

I recently purchased a 60 degree live tailcenter from a pen supplier and the runout on this unit checked with my indicator is .003 for a total runout of .006. Is it acceptable when turning your blanks on a mandrel to run this tailstock against the mandrel? Can I expect acceptable results with this kind of wobble on the end of my mandrel? Oh, my #1 headstock shows zero runout, but, I am showing a wobble at the end of my mandrel near the tailstock. I am turning slimlines and comfort styles to start out. Do I need to try another method of turning my pens to assure more accuracy in the finished product? I'm new at turning and don't wont to start off doing things the wrong way. hotwire55

:confused::confused: If your headstock has no runout and lines up with the point of your live center tailststock, I would guess that your mandrel is bent or, you are putting to much pressure on the mandrel nut causing the mandrel to bow in the middle. (very unlikely) Take your mandrel off your lathe and roll it across a flat surface. Mark any high areas, put back onto your lathe, and bring up your tailstock. Take your dial indicator to find any high spots, and using a brass or wooden hammer tap on the mandrel. This should get you to a .001 or better. Jim S
 
Last edited:

hotwire55

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
93
Location
Wingo, Ky 42088
Hey Guys,

I recently purchased a 60 degree live tailcenter from a pen supplier and the runout on this unit checked with my indicator is .003 for a total runout of .006. Is it acceptable when turning your blanks on a mandrel to run this tailstock against the mandrel? Can I expect acceptable results with this kind of wobble on the end of my mandrel? Oh, my #1 headstock shows zero runout, but, I am showing a wobble at the end of my mandrel near the tailstock. I am turning slimlines and comfort styles to start out. Do I need to try another method of turning my pens to assure more accuracy in the finished product? I'm new at turning and don't wont to start off doing things the wrong way. hotwire55

:confused::confused: If your headstock has no runout and lines up with the point of your live center tailststock, I would guess that your mandrel is bent or, you are putting to much pressure on the mandrel nut causing the mandrel to bow in the middle. (very unlikely) Take your mandrel off your lathe and roll it across a flat surface. Mark any high areas, put back onto your lathe, and bring up your tailstock. Take your dial indicator to find any high spots, and using a brass or wooden hammer tap on the mandrel. This should get you to a .001 or better. Jim S

I almost hate to admit it, but I am trying to do this with a poor quality lathe. I have been sliding the tailstock forward and at this point just slightly seating the cone of the tailstock in the mandrel and then locking it down. I then advance the cone into the mandrel a little more until the tailstock spins with the mandrel. I thought this would take care of the fact that the lathe is a poor quality sears lathe and I would be able to compensate for the tailstock moving so much. This thing never heard of a good point to point lineup, but I thought I could somehow overcome that and be able to use this lathe. I appreciate your response and You're right, I have surely damaged my mandrel by trying this my way. Thanks! hotwire55
 

plantman

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
3,437
Location
Green Bay, Wi
Hey Guys,

I recently purchased a 60 degree live tailcenter from a pen supplier and the runout on this unit checked with my indicator is .003 for a total runout of .006. Is it acceptable when turning your blanks on a mandrel to run this tailstock against the mandrel? Can I expect acceptable results with this kind of wobble on the end of my mandrel? Oh, my #1 headstock shows zero runout, but, I am showing a wobble at the end of my mandrel near the tailstock. I am turning slimlines and comfort styles to start out. Do I need to try another method of turning my pens to assure more accuracy in the finished product? I'm new at turning and don't wont to start off doing things the wrong way. hotwire55



:confused::confused: If your headstock has no runout and lines up with the point of your live center tailststock, I would guess that your mandrel is bent or, you are putting to much pressure on the mandrel nut causing the mandrel to bow in the middle. (very unlikely) Take your mandrel off your lathe and roll it across a flat surface. Mark any high areas, put back onto your lathe, and bring up your tailstock. Take your dial indicator to find any high spots, and using a brass or wooden hammer tap on the mandrel. This should get you to a .001 or better. Jim S

I almost hate to admit it, but I am trying to do this with a poor quality lathe. I have been sliding the tailstock forward and at this point just slightly seating the cone of the tailstock in the mandrel and then locking it down. I then advance the cone into the mandrel a little more until the tailstock spins with the mandrel. I thought this would take care of the fact that the lathe is a poor quality sears lathe and I would be able to compensate for the tailstock moving so much. This thing never heard of a good point to point lineup, but I thought I could somehow overcome that and be able to use this lathe. I appreciate your response and You're right, I have surely damaged my mandrel by trying this my way. Thanks! hotwire55

:confused::confused: I have been restoring old tools for a long time and don't believe in a poor quality tool. There is always somehing you can do to improve it's performance. There may be several ways that I would try to improve your tailstock. have you ever seen someone tighten up a sloppy miter guage on a table saw or band saw? They turn it over and with a punch and hammer put small dimples near the edge of the slide arm to expand it enough to tighen up any looseness. You could do the same with your tailstock. If it gets to tight, file it down a little. Second fix is a little more time consuming. You could drill and tap holes (4) in your tailstock and use set screws to adjust side movement. If you alignment problen is down thin shims can be placed or glued undrer you headstock to raise it up. If your center point is to high you will have to file or grind down your tailstock rails. Jim S
 

rherrell

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Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Messages
6,333
Location
Pilot Mountain, NC
Hey Guys,

I recently purchased a 60 degree live tailcenter from a pen supplier and the runout on this unit checked with my indicator is .003 for a total runout of .006. Is it acceptable when turning your blanks on a mandrel to run this tailstock against the mandrel? Can I expect acceptable results with this kind of wobble on the end of my mandrel? Oh, my #1 headstock shows zero runout, but, I am showing a wobble at the end of my mandrel near the tailstock. I am turning slimlines and comfort styles to start out. Do I need to try another method of turning my pens to assure more accuracy in the finished product? I'm new at turning and don't wont to start off doing things the wrong way. hotwire55

IMO .006" is WAY too much runout. I'd start by fixing that problem before you go any further with any adjustments.
 

KBs Pensnmore

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Oct 16, 2010
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834
Location
Murray Bridge 5253 Australia
Before you go to far check that the lathe is LEVEL. Mine was out a lot more than that, until I read an article somewhere about the twist in a lathe creating big problems with centering. Use a good quality spirit level to check the bed, most important on cheapy lightweight lathes.
Kryn
 

mredburn

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Jul 5, 2009
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Fort Myers FL
I have to agree with Rick. Its too much. It might be good enough for a lot of turners. We have all levels of "thats good enough", however the fact that you have measured it means that it wont be good enough and you wont be happy with it.
 

hotwire55

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Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
93
Location
Wingo, Ky 42088
Thanks to everyone for responding to my post! I am gradually improving this little lathe. The first thing I did was shorten it up by removing the tubular extension. As stated earlier I replaced both headstock bearings and just replaced the v-belt today. Replacing the belt has helped this flimsy thing a little bit. Thel old belt had sat on it and developed a hard spot and when the unit would run, you could feel the entire housing that supports the headstock and tubular way jerking some. It was really noticable when your turn off the lathe. I believe .006 runout is not acceptable, but it has so many other problems, that I've just set that concern aside for a while to address other issues. with it. I am gradually learning with this thing, but as soon as I can round up the funds, I will be purchasing a Jet mini or something similar. Thanks for all the help! hotwire55
 
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KenV

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Oct 28, 2005
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Juneau, Alaska.
As a generality,you will avoid a lot of problems with alignment and slop by changing to turning between centers one section of a pen at a time. There are a different set of work process issues, but you minimize the problems of using a mandrel in a sloppy precision environment.
 

hotwire55

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Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
93
Location
Wingo, Ky 42088
As a generality,you will avoid a lot of problems with alignment and slop by changing to turning between centers one section of a pen at a time. There are a different set of work process issues, but you minimize the problems of using a mandrel in a sloppy precision environment.


I plan to give turning between centers a try in the near future. Turning wood is new for me, but I can see how that would be a more precise way to do it. Thanks Ken, hotwire55
 
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