Lathe Help Please!

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TAld

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HELP!! I need some good leadership from anyone! I have spent the last two days reading everything I could find on this group by searching for "runout", "wobble", etc. I have noticed some of my pens being proud on both the cap and nib end by approx. 1/32" or a little more. It was enough to see when you looked at it so I would hand sand for a perfect fit (time consuming to say the least). I did everything that has been suggested by others from prior post which didn't help alot. I purchased a Beall Collet Chuck Kit w/5/16" from Charles(tangboy) at Wood Chips (GREAT Service). After mounting it on the spindle shaft I still felt a little wobble. Long story will now be shorten. Friend brings over his dial test indicator and we read 0.012 to 0.014 runout on the spindle shaft and exactly the same on the Collet Chuck. So the Collet Chuck if fine it is the spindle shaft! Now my question is this what is an acceptable amount of "runout" for pen turning[?]
 
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JimGo

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Tom,
Have you tried turning close to the final shape, then rotating the blank 1/4 turn, touching up the shape, and repeating this 3 or 4 more times? Should get you close to the final shape.
 

Paul in OKC

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It sounds like the whole spindle is not concentric, if both a morse taper mandrel and one in a collet chuck are both out. Might try running the indicator at the mouth of the spindle just inside the taper and see what it reads.
 

TAld

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Jim - Yes tried it and it did help a little; however, it still needed the final shaping by hand. I should add - not every single pen comes out that way but it is disappointing when you have to do the final fit by hand. Thanks much for the response! Tom
 

TAld

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Paul
The reading inside the spindle is 0.007 to 0.008. A little better than the actual shaft with the threads on it.
If it helps any it is a Delta 46-715 14"VS. If I have ommited any info that you need let me know.
Again Thanks
Tom
 

Randy_

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That's way too much!!! Half of what you are seeing would be about the max. that would be acceptable and it should really be more on the order of just a few thousandths. Hope it is still under warranty so you can return it? If it is an older machine, there could be a problem with worn bearings. What brand is it??

Unfortunately, you probably have some other trouble as well. The runout that you are measuring is less than half of the amount that your blanks are proud by.

And I'm a little confused. You said "SOME" of your barrels have problems. Do you mean to say that some of your pens turn out OK?? If the problem varies between different kits, you may have some bad bushings. And are you saying the barrels are a uniform 1/32" proud around the whole barrel or just in spots??

Did you try checking the runout by measuring on the inside of the Mores taper??
 

TAld

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Randy-My mistake it's only proud on one side not all the way around. Yes it is still under warranty and that is the reason I didn't want to remove the spindle shaft and bearings. Just need to know if I should start complaining to Delta? That's why I need to know what the runout should be vice what it is. I don't want them to say it is well within tolerance if it is not. I also can't find a spec sheet showing what the tolerences should be. Hmmmm! It is not quite 1 yr. old and never used for anything but pens and accessories (letter openers, etc.)
 

Paul in OKC

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They probably don't give you that info, but I would think a max amount would be .003 or less at the spindle. It only increases the farther away you get from the nose. I'd take it back.
 

Rifleman1776

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Originally posted by TAld
<br />Randy-My mistake it's only proud on one side not all the way around. Yes it is still under warranty and that is the reason I didn't want to remove the spindle shaft and bearings. Just need to know if I should start complaining to Delta? That's why I need to know what the runout should be vice what it is. I don't want them to say it is well within tolerance if it is not. I also can't find a spec sheet showing what the tolerences should be. Hmmmm! It is not quite 1 yr. old and never used for anything but pens and accessories (letter openers, etc.)

Answer: Yes, complain to manufacturer or supplier. And, right again, don't mess with it if under warranty.
Advice given is good. Run-out should be near zero.
 

Randy_

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Hope it won't be a headache for you; but the other guys are right on the money......take it back. Although I am still puzzled as to how you get some good ones and some bad ones. Sort of seems like they should all be bad??
 

TAld

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Randy, I think it is because I sometimes start at the bushing side and run the skew flush w/the bushing into the blank out of desperation. Seems to work - then finish by sanding and MM. Hope that makes a little sense.[:)]. I agree - I think the spindle shaft is the culprit. I will contact the vendor tomorrow for their suggestion. If all else fails I will contact Delta. Will post the results.
I sure do appreciate the help. Maybe I can sleep tonight[:D]
 
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