lathe Allignment help

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DennisM

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Apr 30, 2009
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Northern Illinois
Hi all,

I have turned a couple pens with the new to me jet 1014. Not one is perfect like I am used to. Each is a little OOR and a tad off axis it seems. Which makes the pen when looked at close non-symmetrical.

I checked the allignment with the tailstock by putting the live center in tail, and spur center in head, they are pretty much dead on, head has a very very slight off axis spin to it, it seems, but not much have to really watch and look.

Now I put in the drill chuck in the tail stock and brought it up to the spur center and well, you can see in the pic below the issue there.

Is that a problem with the chuck or the tail stock? It is the cheap MT taper chuck from HF. Should I take it back and try a new one?
 

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Take out the chuck from the tailstock and replace it at different positions and if the mis-alignment is the same in any position then the chuck is fine but the tailstock is out.

If you use the search function with 'Tailstock Alignment' there are dozens of threads where various problems like this have been solved.

In this one, I showed some pics of how to test alignment
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55560&highlight=tailstock+alignment
 
Thanks Skip,

Just went out and did that and what do you know, its the same in every position.

So I guess now its time to look for a replacement tailstock assm. I am thinking when this was dropped by the shipper more damage was done then just breaking off the tailstock handle from the lead screw! :(

Oh well not happy now..
 
DennisM said:
........... I am thinking when this was dropped by the shipper more damage was done then just breaking off the tailstock handle from the lead screw! :(

Oh well not happy now..
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Ouch!!! There's your problem. People often think that a big chunk of metal like a tailstock assembly can't bend. Can you still claim? If it's too late to claim, can your tailstock be split and possibly shimmed?

I'd try my damnedest to get the entire lathe replaced if it fairly new.

Good luck.
 
skiprat said:
Ouch!!! There's your problem. People often think that a big chunk of metal like a tailstock assembly can't bend. Can you still claim? If it's too late to claim, can your tailstock be split and possibly shimmed?

I'd try my damnedest to get the entire lathe replaced if it fairly new.

Good luck.
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No its a used one and the person who shipped it didnt insure it. :( Going to set it aside and next month just buy a new rikon, dont feel like shimming it as I was advised, since i would have to worry about them always being under the tailstock and not slip out..
 
My tailstock has a little slop in the banjo, that is magnified by a long drill bit. I figured that was an unavoidable issue, but maybe not?

For example, if I loosen the banjo with a drill chuck and bit installed, I can rotate the tailstock assembly a little before tightening down the banjo, so that the tip of the drill bit can vary to maybe 1mm in either direction of center. This is on a Delta 46-460. Maybe some of the more experienced turners can chime in?

If this problem could be avoided, it would make drilling on the lathe easier.
 
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On this one, even with the chuck in place, pushed in tight, and the entire tailstock assm tightened down , the center is about 2mm lower then center.

I will try shims for now, while saving for a new one..
 
Oh, it's lower than center. My problem is more of a side-to-side shimmy depending on what position it is in when you tighten it down.
 
turbowagon said:
Oh, it's lower than center. My problem is more of a side-to-side shimmy depending on what position it is in when you tighten it down.
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That's because it's a wood lathe and doesn't have precision ground ways for the tailstock to travel in or lock down on to like a decent metal lathe.
You could try and 'tweak' the block that rides inside the bed, but I don't think you will get rid of it completely.

My wood lathe is the Pipe Bed type and you can swing it from the 10 oclock to 2 oclock position!! :) I'd be real happy to only have 2mm movement :)
 
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While saving for a new lathe, could you put a washer about 2mm thick between the botttom of the tailstock and the tightening assembly? Not sure, just a thought.
 
If that spur is in the head then your issue is similar to mine. The head looks from that picture to be high and maybe angled up. I removed the head stock and cleaned up the suface of the bed and headstock. Then with a level and a pack of razor blade (I shave with a safty razor) I went about shimming and eyeballing until it all lined up. I used ca to hold my shims in place. The whole procedure took me about an hour in a half but has paid off. My 160 dollar HF lathe now turns true. A bit of caution using razor blades as shims dull them first, wear eye protection and gloves when cutting and cut them so they are narrow enough and not to stick out or interfere with your belt. DAMHIKT. You can also lay some wet sand paper down on each track of your bed to lapp your tail stock. Also ensure your bed is level, cast iron will warp.
 
Dennis, it looks like you're using a drill bit to check alignment. I'd rather see you use a live or dead center instead. Drill bits really aren't accurate enough.

This may sound crazy but try some shims under the "feet" of your lathe. You'd be surprised at how much a lathe bed will twist doing this. It helps if your lathe is bolted down to something solid when doing this so if it's not already bolted down solid I would do that first. It's a trial and error thing so put a shim under one of the feet, re-tighten, check alignment, repeat!:wink:
 
lazyguy said:
Then with a level and a pack of razor blade (I shave with a safty razor) I went about shimming and eyeballing until it all lined up. I used ca to hold my shims in place. The whole procedure took me about an hour in a half but has paid off.
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Two sets of leaf thickness gauges will allow you to make a very accurate shim and get that puppy dead on height. If the tail stock is bent, that is a whole nother ball game.
 
You mentioned that the seller didn't insure the shipment.... That doesn't mean it isn't Insured ... I believe most packages are insured up to a point and when you buy insurance it is for "extra" above and beyond that amount. Not sure on this but it may be worth checking into. Might be enough for a new tailstock assembly.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I am going to head out today and get some shim material and see what I can do.

Also going to test it again with the live center in the TS and see how that is. Might end up just leaving it like it is. Have to pick up a 60 degree center anyway so will test with that..

Also the lathe isnt bolted down, with the rubber feet on it it doesnt move at all. But I will drill a couple holes in the bench and mount her down. Should I level it off the ways?



Dennis
 
randyrls said:
Two sets of leaf thickness gauges will allow you to make a very accurate shim and get that puppy dead on height. If the tail stock is bent, that is a whole nother ball game.
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I was going that route until I realize I have enough blades to get me thru the coming shaveapocalypse so why buy something else. :biggrin:
 
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