redfishsc
Member
I recently purchased a revolving tailstock chuck from www.littlemachineshop.com to replace the use of the live center. I was conviced that the live center method-- even with a 60 degree live center-- had it's faults. I was also turning oval pens like crazy, and did everthing I could think of to fix the problem... nothing worked... UNTIL....... I found the problem. In the process I bought the Beall Collet chuck from Woodchips (highly recommended!) and the revolving tailstock chuck in the following link:
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2504
So here is what I've learned regarding a lathe that turns correctly rounded pens.
1) After all fails, replace your spindle shaft and spindle bearings. $30 later my lathe was found to be one of the major culprits, not just the live center.
2) After futher inspection of my mandrels, one of them has an improperly drilled 60-degree hole---- it has a nipple in the center of the hole which the live center was dancing around, albeit a very small amount to the naked eye, but a LOT when the pen was put together and found to be oval. The rotating tailstock chuck totally eliminates this problem. Yes this was a woodcraft mandrel. So the problem wasn't the actual centers, but the mandrel.
So for the actual review of the product.
1) The thing is HUGE! It is way bigger than it needs to be for our purpopses but it does fit and does work. This is one of those cases where the size doesn't matter so long as it doesn't wiggle the worm.
2) It rotates slick as glass and I cannot detect any slack in the bearing. Straight, solid, and true. I put a 1/16" bit in it and a 1/16th" in my standard jacobs chuck and joined them nose to nose, and with both spinning slowly they both were visibly in alignment.
3) You absolute MUST know your tailstock. Most lathes I've used have tailstocks that have a tad of slop in them, in that they can wobble a tad before you lock it down. Be sure to know your tailstock's proper orientation before you lock it down if it has much wobble. My Delta has nearly a 16th of wobble but it's easily corrected when I lock it down. If your tailstock is off-kilter (or "cantilever" as some of the British folks say) then you may wear out the bearing in the rotating chuck).
4) The rotating chuck ELIMINATES THE KNURLED BRASS NUT in two ways (if you use a collet chuck/adjustable mandrel). First, it galls up the threads when you tighten it so you can't use the nut any how. Second, you adjust the amount of mandrel you need by sliding the excess into the Beall collet/adjustable mandrel. Tighten it down quite tight so it doesn't slip. Then, use the rotating tailstock chuck squeeze the bushings between the tailstock and collet. To do this, lightly hand-tighten the tailstock chuck on the mandrel end (only 3/4" or so is needed) and use the ram on the tailstock to advance the rotating chuck and pinch the bushings. Lock the ram. Use the included key for the rotating chuck to tighten it (but don't gronk it, it doesn't need much).
5) You can buy regular steel rods from places like McMasters or Enco that are the proper diameter and use them instead of mandrels made for pen turners. Cut them with a hacksaw or angle grinder to whatever size you want. I haven't done this yet but I will eventually when I want a new mandrel.
I love it. Yes, costly, but not much more costly than a name brand live center.
The reality is I didn't need to buy this thing b/c the problems I was having with the live centers was more error on the mandrel, so I only needed to check the mandrels before use and return any that were not good (one mandrel out of the three I've bought from woodcraft had a bad end, not a good track record).
But on the other hand, glad I did buy it. It is IMO more accurate than the live center joint, eliminates the need for the brass knurled nut if you use a collet chuck or adjustable mandrel, and is, well, a cool looking tool.
Charles--- GET THIS ITEM but see if you can get one that's a bit smaller (ie, like a 3/8" capacity instead of 1/2" and, well, a more reasonable price).
I like it!
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2504
So here is what I've learned regarding a lathe that turns correctly rounded pens.
1) After all fails, replace your spindle shaft and spindle bearings. $30 later my lathe was found to be one of the major culprits, not just the live center.
2) After futher inspection of my mandrels, one of them has an improperly drilled 60-degree hole---- it has a nipple in the center of the hole which the live center was dancing around, albeit a very small amount to the naked eye, but a LOT when the pen was put together and found to be oval. The rotating tailstock chuck totally eliminates this problem. Yes this was a woodcraft mandrel. So the problem wasn't the actual centers, but the mandrel.
So for the actual review of the product.
1) The thing is HUGE! It is way bigger than it needs to be for our purpopses but it does fit and does work. This is one of those cases where the size doesn't matter so long as it doesn't wiggle the worm.
2) It rotates slick as glass and I cannot detect any slack in the bearing. Straight, solid, and true. I put a 1/16" bit in it and a 1/16th" in my standard jacobs chuck and joined them nose to nose, and with both spinning slowly they both were visibly in alignment.
3) You absolute MUST know your tailstock. Most lathes I've used have tailstocks that have a tad of slop in them, in that they can wobble a tad before you lock it down. Be sure to know your tailstock's proper orientation before you lock it down if it has much wobble. My Delta has nearly a 16th of wobble but it's easily corrected when I lock it down. If your tailstock is off-kilter (or "cantilever" as some of the British folks say) then you may wear out the bearing in the rotating chuck).
4) The rotating chuck ELIMINATES THE KNURLED BRASS NUT in two ways (if you use a collet chuck/adjustable mandrel). First, it galls up the threads when you tighten it so you can't use the nut any how. Second, you adjust the amount of mandrel you need by sliding the excess into the Beall collet/adjustable mandrel. Tighten it down quite tight so it doesn't slip. Then, use the rotating tailstock chuck squeeze the bushings between the tailstock and collet. To do this, lightly hand-tighten the tailstock chuck on the mandrel end (only 3/4" or so is needed) and use the ram on the tailstock to advance the rotating chuck and pinch the bushings. Lock the ram. Use the included key for the rotating chuck to tighten it (but don't gronk it, it doesn't need much).
5) You can buy regular steel rods from places like McMasters or Enco that are the proper diameter and use them instead of mandrels made for pen turners. Cut them with a hacksaw or angle grinder to whatever size you want. I haven't done this yet but I will eventually when I want a new mandrel.
I love it. Yes, costly, but not much more costly than a name brand live center.
The reality is I didn't need to buy this thing b/c the problems I was having with the live centers was more error on the mandrel, so I only needed to check the mandrels before use and return any that were not good (one mandrel out of the three I've bought from woodcraft had a bad end, not a good track record).
But on the other hand, glad I did buy it. It is IMO more accurate than the live center joint, eliminates the need for the brass knurled nut if you use a collet chuck or adjustable mandrel, and is, well, a cool looking tool.
Charles--- GET THIS ITEM but see if you can get one that's a bit smaller (ie, like a 3/8" capacity instead of 1/2" and, well, a more reasonable price).
I like it!
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