Hello, all -
First, to the moderators: If this belongs in the Shops/Jigs/Fixtures/Tools forum, please move it there...but I felt this might be a better forum with which to start.
For the rest of you (and the moderators, too), I have a problem with my mandrel(s) and I'm seriously trying to figure out what to do. Forgive the long background, but let me start at the beginning:
I have two mandrels. Both are Woodcraft, both are "A" type, and neither will turn straight on my lathe. I have a spare "A" shaft (unopened) and a Rockler "B" shaft that I just bought and discovered won't fit my tapers. (Doh!) I've been turning for a little while now (I know, a very SHORT while compared to some of you!), and I have been getting frustrated with OOR that I see as a lack of skill, but have been starting to think may be due to the tools, not the user. I complained last week about the out-of-round problem, I think maybe now I've got it figured out.
Yesterday I spent some time disassembling my lathe and mandrels and looking everything over, and although I don't have a run-out gauge, I can tell that the middle of the mandrel is bowed. Here's what I get - when I hold the mandrel in my hand, the shaft wobbles a little. If I try tightening it, it doesn't turn. But it does wiggle a little. So I put it in the lathe and try to line up the tailstock to see how it lines up - turns out that it's off at the tailstock by about one radius - that is, before the live center enters the cone at the end of the shaft, the edge of the shaft is just at the point of the live center. If I just move the tailstock in, the shaft centers on it, and I usually just move the TS in until it starts turning at the same speed as the shaft, then give about a 1/10th turn to stop the occasional squeaking. However, once the TS is centered in the cone, I notice that the middle of the mandrel appears bowed. I have almost NO pressure on the shaft, so I'm not sure how this happened, but...there it is. If I take the shaft out and roll it on the workbench, it doesn't appear to be bent, but when it's in the lathe, I can feel it wobbling. I even moved the tool rest up underneath it and adjusted the height until it was just barely at the "bottom" of the wobble, then turned on the lathe and heard "tick-tick-tick-tick-tick".
I'm certain this is causing my problems, but I can't figure out how it's doing it on BOTH of my mandrels (one I just bought about 10 days ago). I haven't opened the spare shaft yet, I just may do that.
Anyway, does this sound familiar to anyone? Do I need to send the mandrel back to WC? Is there a good way to check the alignment of the lathe? I use a Jet 1014VS mini lathe, if that helps. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I'm getting VERY frustrated!
Thanks,
daniel
First, to the moderators: If this belongs in the Shops/Jigs/Fixtures/Tools forum, please move it there...but I felt this might be a better forum with which to start.
For the rest of you (and the moderators, too), I have a problem with my mandrel(s) and I'm seriously trying to figure out what to do. Forgive the long background, but let me start at the beginning:
I have two mandrels. Both are Woodcraft, both are "A" type, and neither will turn straight on my lathe. I have a spare "A" shaft (unopened) and a Rockler "B" shaft that I just bought and discovered won't fit my tapers. (Doh!) I've been turning for a little while now (I know, a very SHORT while compared to some of you!), and I have been getting frustrated with OOR that I see as a lack of skill, but have been starting to think may be due to the tools, not the user. I complained last week about the out-of-round problem, I think maybe now I've got it figured out.
Yesterday I spent some time disassembling my lathe and mandrels and looking everything over, and although I don't have a run-out gauge, I can tell that the middle of the mandrel is bowed. Here's what I get - when I hold the mandrel in my hand, the shaft wobbles a little. If I try tightening it, it doesn't turn. But it does wiggle a little. So I put it in the lathe and try to line up the tailstock to see how it lines up - turns out that it's off at the tailstock by about one radius - that is, before the live center enters the cone at the end of the shaft, the edge of the shaft is just at the point of the live center. If I just move the tailstock in, the shaft centers on it, and I usually just move the TS in until it starts turning at the same speed as the shaft, then give about a 1/10th turn to stop the occasional squeaking. However, once the TS is centered in the cone, I notice that the middle of the mandrel appears bowed. I have almost NO pressure on the shaft, so I'm not sure how this happened, but...there it is. If I take the shaft out and roll it on the workbench, it doesn't appear to be bent, but when it's in the lathe, I can feel it wobbling. I even moved the tool rest up underneath it and adjusted the height until it was just barely at the "bottom" of the wobble, then turned on the lathe and heard "tick-tick-tick-tick-tick".
I'm certain this is causing my problems, but I can't figure out how it's doing it on BOTH of my mandrels (one I just bought about 10 days ago). I haven't opened the spare shaft yet, I just may do that.
Anyway, does this sound familiar to anyone? Do I need to send the mandrel back to WC? Is there a good way to check the alignment of the lathe? I use a Jet 1014VS mini lathe, if that helps. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I'm getting VERY frustrated!
Thanks,
daniel