Tailstock low?

[wortmanb]

I just put two 60 degree centers in my lathe and discovered, as I brought to points close, that my tail stock is a hair low. Is this easily fixable?

 

[simomatra]

Measure the difference and shim up the tail stock with that amount and easy fix

 

[wortmanb]

What would you use for shimming? Washers or something else?

 

[skiprat]

Personally, on a wood lathe if the tailstock is just a 'hair' low ( or even high ), then I wouldn't worry about it at all. I'd try and fix any front to back misalignment though.
If your tailstock is a type that can be split somewhere between the quil and the surface that rides along the bed, then a very thin piece of shimstock would do the trick. ( Like a metal lathe TS ) If however your TS can't be split then trying to shim it between the bed and the TS would quickly become a pain as the shims would come loose each time you moved the TS.

I guess it all depends on how thick your 'hair' is :biggrin:

 

[mredburn]

Shim stock, you might find it in an automotive store. Amazon, Ebay. Small hobby stores sometimes carry it.

 

[termitepenman]

I had the same problem with my Rikon. What I did was purchase a sheet of brass at a local hobby shop. The brass is soft and I was able to put enough pressure on the tailstock tightening lever to flatten the brass shim to the perfect size to level up my centers.

 

[wortmanb]

If your tailstock is a type that can be split somewhere between the quil and the surface that rides along the bed, then a very thin piece of shimstock would do the trick. ( Like a metal lathe TS ) If however your TS can't be split then trying to shim it between the bed and the TS would quickly become a pain as the shims would come loose each time you moved the TS.

I guess it all depends on how thick your 'hair' is :biggrin:

Mine's a Delta LA200 midi lathe and I think my tailstock is one piece. It might be a milimeter, but I've been noticing that my barrels aren't concentric, and as I start moving towards TBC I want to be sure I'm not further handicapping myself.

 

[frank123]

You should also check to see if the height misalignment is the same amount when the quill is fully extended as well as when it is withdrawn to identify an angular axial misalignment if there is one which will make simple shimming the whole tailstock only useful at one point of quill extension.

 

[skiprat]

If the 1mm worries you then first you need to determine where the problem is. Just because the tip of the tailstock centre is below the tip of the headstock centre doesn't necessarily mean that the TS is at fault.
Are the headstock and the tailstock parallel? They should be made parallel before attempting hieght adjustment.
You may be lucky and the headstock is simply pointing upwards, in which case the fix is simple; a shim under the left side fixing points on the HS.
You probably need a dial indicator to determine this, and to check it afterwards.

When you compare the centres, is the tailstock clamped down and is the quill locked?

If you find that it really is the TS, then I'd be very interested to hear how folks manage to keep the shims in place.

Good luck. :wink:

 

[wortmanb]

If the 1mm worries you then first you need to determine where the problem is. Just because the tip of the tailstock centre is below the tip of the headstock centre doesn't necessarily mean that the TS is at fault.
Are the headstock and the tailstock parallel? They should be made parallel before attempting hieght adjustment.

Wonderful! Thanks, I'll try to check this first. Is there an easy way to check parallel...ness? Parallelicity? In line with each other?

 

[RetiredJake]

If you find that it really is the TS, then I'd be very interested to hear how folks manage to keep the shims in place.

Good luck. :wink:

I cut a "U" shaped shim to fit the bottom of the tailstock. I just catch it with my little finger when I push to tailstock to the left. It stays in place on it's own moving to the right. I have not found this to be any problem.

Jake