Slight OOR and a wobble

[InvisibleMan]

Well, nOObs like me shouldn't have problems, but we do. I'm a complete tool infant, so sorry if I use funny words:

I have a new Jet 1014VS that I've been using for about a month turning the usual $1.80 slims. I've begun turning cigars, and am having OOR issues. Not bad, but noticeable by me. I'll be just proud of the bushing on one side and a little under on the other. I'm turning between centers with bushings from Penturnersproducts, so no mandrel problem.

When I took the lathe out of the box, I knew enough to check and make sure the centers aligned. They did. Now I'm noticing that, even though the centers align pretty well, when I turn the wheel I can see the dead center tip sort of orbit the live center tip. Also, I can see a wobble in the wheel on the headstock when I turn at low speeds. I have no idea whether this is a new problem, or was there from the start.

So, where do I begin? Do I take the headstock apart to check for foreign objects or gremlins or something?

Thanks,

 

[studioso]

If you are lucky, it only a bad dead center.
You say that the dead center orbits when you spin it: what if you but the love center in there: does anything change?

I think that you can ignore the wheel itself: it's just a cast piece of metal, no reason for it to be perfectly round (although you should make sure that any set screw is tight)

 

[turbowagon]

It could be that the dead center is seated in the morse taper badly. Try knocking it out, clearing any dust/debris from the taper and trying again.

 

[KenV]

I will ask if you have a 60 degree tip on the live center ( worded that way because the oneway and nova live centers have a 60 degree tip that can be replaced for other applications). If you are using the stock live center that came with the jet -- odds are that is the problem.

Grubby taper can contribute.

Turning between centers can tolerate a huge amount of missed alignment

Given good live center, the precision of the milling of the ends of the blanks and/or crud and debis in the tube affects the match of the bushings to the blank --- and the match of the bushings becomes critical for process control. The slightest missed alignment is magnified and results in a few thousands out of round.

 

[InvisibleMan]

Thanks for the responses.

Most likely I suppose is crud in the taper or misaligned bushings/bad mill jobs. I'm using one of those mills you put in a hand drill, but I have a disc sander in my garage and a PSI jig on order, so hopefully that'll help.

I've always got shavings and dust in the taper and I've just blown it out. I'll give it a good wiping out tonight and see what happens.

As for the orbiting tips, I do have nice 60* live and dead centers, but it's also noticeable with the stock center as well. I don't think the dead center is the problem.

It could also be that I'm just too picky. Do pen parts fit perfectly against the finished blank if done right?

 

[workinforwood]

yes, pen parts should fit perfectly to the pen barrels if done right. There should be no slop inside the head nor the tail stock. Everything should be solid. The center should not wobble at all. The bushings you have are perfect, I'd bet money on that, there's something up with the machine or machine accessories, but if both centers, the new and the factory one both wobble in a clean hole..there's something wrong with the head stock. I would take the machine back where you got it...if it's only 30 days old. Those are great machines, but that doesn't mean you can't ever get a bad one.

 

[InvisibleMan]

Thanks for the replies. I feel like I called the repair man and he came and plugged in my toaster for me:redface: I cleaned out the tapers and the paper towel came out black and slightly chunky No more wobble:biggrin:.

Some lessons should not need to be learned. I have a collection of 'em.

 

[aggromere]

it happens to everyone. I always blow out my head stock and tail stock when I'm changing centers and wipe the MT2 down well before inserting it. I use the same lathe and it came lined up perfect right out of the box and has stayed that way through several years of hard abuse. When turning between centers with Johnny's bushings and you get a wobble or out of round it is almost always;

1. gunk in the tailstock
2. gunk in the headstock
3. gunk on the dead or live center
4. A drop of glue or something in the tube that pushes the tube out of round
5. Something on the ways directly under where the tailstock clamps down.

Just my two cents worth.

Also, if you square the tubes with a pen mill and a hand drill you might not get them square and that can sometimes cause the blank to cant to one side or another causing issues. I use my collet check and square the ends with a skew chisel. Have never had a problem since I started doing that. It was a tip a couple years ago from Butch.