Slop in tailstock

[hazmat74]

Having some problems with the tailstock on my Rikon 70-100 lathe. When I slide the tailstock with center in it up to the headstock with center in it, the tailstock is off a bit to the left as you're looking from tailstock up the bed. It's not low or high, just left.

I noticed that there's a bit of play in the tailstock from front(side of the lathe I work on) to back, but more so in a twisting motion, clockwise, as opposed to the whole assembly sliding front to back. When I first noticed this, I tightened the nut on the bottom of the tailstock, but that clearly isn't the fix, unless I need to do so a bit more.

This isn't a huge problem, but it's frustrating me so I'd like to do whatever I can to get it sorted out. I can drill just fine, but it requires me paying a pile of attention to what I'm doing. Turning isn't horribly off, but it's enough that I notice it and then I sort of get twitchy about it, even if others can't see it.

Any ideas?? Thanks!

 

[KenV]

Wood lathes are not built with the same precision as a metal lathe. Even my expensive big lathe has some lateral movement between the tailstock and the inside of the ways. The best fit for me is to push the casting near the quill end of the tailstock away from me while locking it down.

I put a bore sighting laser in the ER 32 collets chuck and watched where the tip of the live center was at in the laser beam.

There is not a lot of play in that tailstock, and you want some to assure that debris does not bind the tailstock base and make movement difficult. The control surfaces are the inside of the ways.

Shimming and such is possible, but is a lot of work to install with moving parts and pieces.

 

[Justturnin]

Mine does this but towards the Right as you are looking at it or to the Back if standing in front of the lathe. I found that is I pull the TS towards me as far as it goes it lines up so I do this when tightening.

 

[Dan Hintz]

Ken has the right idea. Even on my Robust, the difference in tail and headstock alignment prevented me from doing accurate drilling on segmented blanks. In my case, it was the headstock causing the issue, verified by a laser pointer used for center alignment. I had to take it off about 10 times to slowly file down one corner of the tenon (and crushed my finger in doing so... those things are HEAVY!). It lines up beautifully now, no matter where the tailstock is situated. The tail itself has no slop in the bed, but the head could be twisted a bit when not locked down.

 

[plantman]

My method of truing or restoring lathes takes a little time to start with, but once done, you won't have to adjust again. Drill and tap your tail stock to except a pair of allen screws on both sides, that will meet the rails of your lathe bed. Set your tail stock and your head piece in alignment and adjust your allen screws to bring them into the same plane. Slide your tail piece back and forth to make sure it isn't binding any place. You may have to file your rails slightly if there is a nick or high spot along the length. This method can also be used if you need to make an up or down adjustment and works better than shims. Spend the time up front, and make life a whole lot easier after that. Jim S

 

[hazmat74]

This is pretty much the way the crossslide of my little Taig lathe is set up and it makes good sense. I'll keep this in mind if I can't straighten things out another way. Mostly, I'm uncertain I have the hardware to drill through cast iron and feel comfortable that I'm not going to mess something up. My Craftsman benchtop drill press may not have that sort of lead in ITS tailstock, if you catch my meaning.

ETA: Thanks for all the other replies. I know these things are laser accurate, but this bit of slop I'm dealing with is aggravating. Just when I think I've got it situated, it seems to fall off. I may have to get new drive and live centers, as these came with the lathe and could be the problem more so than the tailstock. I need them anyway, so it's not like I'm going out of my way.

My method of truing or restoring lathes takes a little time to start with, but once done, you won't have to adjust again. Drill and tap your tail stock to except a pair of allen screws on both sides, that will meet the rails of your lathe bed. Set your tail stock and your head piece in alignment and adjust your allen screws to bring them into the same plane. Slide your tail piece back and forth to make sure it isn't binding any place. You may have to file your rails slightly if there is a nick or high spot along the length. This method can also be used if you need to make an up or down adjustment and works better than shims. Spend the time up front, and make life a whole lot easier after that. Jim S