Wicked tool chatter problems!

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hkstrongside

hkstrongside

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2007
Messages
23
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Hey guys, I am totally stuck and am not sure what to do. I recently sold my Jet mini lathe and purchased a new Delta 46-460. I use a Beal collet to hold the pen shaft for use with kit pens. (Jr Gent and Statesman mostly). I also have a live center from Woodcraft, big heavy sucker. I use Sorby tools. Ever since this change I have been getting way more tool chatter than normal. I have even blown out several blanks. I can't get a smooth surface with the tools anymore, total washboard. Any suggestions?

thank in advance.
 
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to get chatter something is moving or flexing.

make sure the bolts for both the headstock and tailstock are tight enough. check the ways for cracks that could allow flex, same for the tool rest.

after that its things like tool rest too far from work. mandrel set too long, tool flexing etc.
 
I suspect that it more of a tool presentation issue. With the previous lathe you had the tools presented at the right height and angle relative to the spindle. The new lathe has different height, so you need to figure out how to adjust our technique. Just get some firewood and turn it between centers. Play with tool rest height and tool angle for a while, and you will discover how to get it all working right again.
 
Tighten down the Beall collet a little more.

I assume by "shaft" you mean a pen mandrel. The beauty of mounting a mandrel in a collet chuck is that this makes it almost impossible to overtighten and bow the mandrel because when the tail stock is tightened it simply pushes the mandrel further into the chuck.

If the collet is not tight enough around the mandrel, it lets the bushings slip and produces an almost "spiral" design on the blank and terrible tool chatter.

Tightening the collet with the spanner wrenches or tommy bars will eliminate this, but the care must be taken NOT to bend the mandrel.

FWIW: when I use mandrels and collet chucks, I put a very tight o ring after the last bushing and before the brass nut. This keeps me from having to "crank down" on the collet chuck.

I won't be a smart Alec and say "turn between centers", because IMHO, there are some senerios where a mandrel is preferred over centers.

Respectfully submitted.
 
On other thing (as a Jet Mini and Delta 460 owner) the tail stock on the jet and Delta tighten differently.

On the jet, if you really crank down on the tailstock wheel, you'll bend the mandrel. My experience with upgrading to the delta is that it takes considerably more pressure on the tail stock set screw to keep it tight.
 
It sure seems like you have plenty of experience, and I don't mean to question that at all - But you are using a 60° live center aren't you?
 
PenMan1 said:
On other thing (as a Jet Mini and Delta 460 owner) the tail stock on the jet and Delta tighten differently.

On the jet, if you really crank down on the tailstock wheel, you'll bend the mandrel. My experience with upgrading to the delta is that it takes considerably more pressure on the tail stock set screw to keep it tight.
Click to expand...

Andy,
Yes, pen mandrel is what I meant. :) Also, I did realize this last night, I really had to crank down on the tail stock lever and the set screw to keep it all totally solid. Today I also drill out slightly the tailstock end of the mandrel thinking that maybe the tip of the live center was making contact a bit before the face. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
leehljp said:
It sure seems like you have plenty of experience, and I don't mean to question that at all - But you are using a 60° live center aren't you?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is the one that woodcraft sells. I actually checked this out last night. The stock one that the delta comes with would contact the tip before the face. So I thought maybe that was happening with the woodcraft one too. So I drilled out slightly the inside of the mandrel. I haven't had a chance to see if this has any effect.
 
Russianwolf said:
to get chatter something is moving or flexing.

make sure the bolts for both the headstock and tailstock are tight enough. check the ways for cracks that could allow flex, same for the tool rest.

after that its things like tool rest too far from work. mandrel set too long, tool flexing etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I checked everything to make sure it is all tight. I learned that I wasn't cranking the tailstock down tight enough. I also reset my beal collet and everything in between to make sure something isn't lose. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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