old folks
Member
I have a Record 300C Swivel Head Mini Lathe... the drive center and the live center do not meet evenly. </u>please</u> tell me how I can fix this. Thank you... see pic
Help with lathe
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Rifleman1776
Member
Hope it is new and under warranty. Unlikely it is fixable.
stilgar
Member
Is there slop in the tailstock? I had a new centering washer machined for mine and now they line up.
terrymiller
Member
John is the tailstock higher than the headstock or off to the side a little. If the headstock is lower is it possible to shim the headstock to meet up properly? Hopefully someone else will chime in with the correct fix.
mrcook4570
Member
If the headstock assembly is movable, it may be possible to shim it at the lathe bed to raise the drive center. Or you could (carefully) sand the underside of the tailstock to lower it.
Borg_B_Borg
Member
My Nova Mercury is like that, but it doesn't concern me because I don't think this slight mismatch alone contributes materially to runout.
Steve
Steve
Paul in OKC
Member
HI John. I agree with Steve, this mismatch will actually mean very little for wood turning since diameter sizes and tapers are controlled by your hand with the tool. This does not cause the concentricity issues people have, that is from wobbley mandrels. As a machinist the thought of this would drive nuts a little, but for wood turning the distance between the tail and head is great enough that there should be no problems.
Dario
Member
If I may respectfully disagree.
Having a misaligned headstock and tailstock means a lot and MAY (and WILL) cause non-concentric pens!!! The reason, you are actually bending the mandrel with this when you mount it.
I really have to think about this reply 100 times because I have so much respect for Paul.
Paul in OKC
Member
Thanks, Dario. I agree that it can bend the mandrel, but IMHO, the force is always the same direction, not going back and forth. A severe mis-alignment could have the same effect as bending a bar back and forth in one spot causing it to break.
I would agree with the above post about checking to see if it is still under warranty. I would not have a problem turning on it if the mismatch is around 1/64" or less point to point, because the effect of this at the distance between points when turning will minimize the effect.
Do I understand what I just said[
]Dario
Member
The lathe is actually fixed (If I read it right on another thread). The misallignment is only because the headstock was not locked.
That is not the point I am after now though. More on information for the good of many (mine included).
You are right that the direction is the same...but what will happen to the mandrel? Will it keep on flexing back and forth at the rate of the lathe's RPM...minimal as it is, won't that break the mandrel eventually? To see my point...try to exagerate the misalignment and see what happens to the mandrel as you give it a turn.
That is not the point I am after now though. More on information for the good of many (mine included).
You are right that the direction is the same...but what will happen to the mandrel? Will it keep on flexing back and forth at the rate of the lathe's RPM...minimal as it is, won't that break the mandrel eventually? To see my point...try to exagerate the misalignment and see what happens to the mandrel as you give it a turn.
Paul in OKC
Member
Yes, eventually. I had this problem on my first lathe (home made). It had the small 10/32 thread on the end of the mandrel. When I went to the 1/4" thread, it went away.
Since this is a swivel head lathe, I would always look for debris between the surfaces that swivel, or a loose lock bolt, before doing anything else. This is a common problem with lathes that swivel. Apparently, that solved the problem here.
I disagree that it should be ignored. While an offset, either parallel or angular, between the head and tail stock center-lines may not be a problem for spindle turning furniture parts where there can be some flexibility at each end of the stick held between two centers, it becomes a real problem if you ever want to drill a hole in a piece of wood, like using the lathe to drill pen blanks. It also a problem if you ever turn anything on a faceplate or in a chuck and want to use the tail-center to support the wood. In either case, 1/32" is a lot.
Is it a problem for holding a mandrel that is fixed in the headstock and pulled into a bow by the tail-stock?? If you are not having any problems with out-of-round or eccentric pen barrels, and you never want to use the lathe for anything else, then it isn't. If you are having problems with out-of-round and eccentric pen barrels, this is the first place I would look. If you want to use the lathe for other things (like drilling blanks), then it is a problem that has to be fixed.
And that's my opinion.
I disagree that it should be ignored. While an offset, either parallel or angular, between the head and tail stock center-lines may not be a problem for spindle turning furniture parts where there can be some flexibility at each end of the stick held between two centers, it becomes a real problem if you ever want to drill a hole in a piece of wood, like using the lathe to drill pen blanks. It also a problem if you ever turn anything on a faceplate or in a chuck and want to use the tail-center to support the wood. In either case, 1/32" is a lot.
Is it a problem for holding a mandrel that is fixed in the headstock and pulled into a bow by the tail-stock?? If you are not having any problems with out-of-round or eccentric pen barrels, and you never want to use the lathe for anything else, then it isn't. If you are having problems with out-of-round and eccentric pen barrels, this is the first place I would look. If you want to use the lathe for other things (like drilling blanks), then it is a problem that has to be fixed.
And that's my opinion.
RogerGarrett
Member
I was just getting ready to post a similar reply when I read Russ' response above.
If you want to use the lathe for anything else besides turning pens, you really need to have the problem addressed. I turn conducting batons in which the long shaft has a tenon on the thick end (handle side) and I join a handle to the tenon via a hole drilled with the drill chuck in the tail stock. If there is any misalignment the 1/16 to 1/4 inch handle will not drill properly - a real problem.
I hope you can get this problem fixed!
Best wishes,
Roger Garrett
Randy_
Member
Woodcraft sold those things about 10 ten years ago; but I don't see them in the current catalog nor could I find any listing for them in a quick Internet search. I would guess this is a used machine with somes miles on it.
Rifleman1776
Member
They are supposed to line up. And they are supposed to line up for a reason. If they don't line up, and possibly have other defects, that is probably a good reason why they are sold on eBay. Bummer. Sorry. []
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