Thread: tail stock alignment the easiest way ?

good day guy.
after seeing a lot of way to align the tail stock and i come to this method where I roughly did with the dial indicator but the final alignment using the method below.
what i did was using the 1/2" solid bar , facing it clean .using a very small center drill then just mark the center ( not drill in as normal)and using a 0.6mm drill bit to drill the center . if the tail stock not align then the drill bit will wiggle and will break , if the tail stock is align prefect then it will drill without wiggling the drill bit .
i found this work for me .

Peter

Eeeeekkkkk

thorens watch this TAILSTOCK ALIGNMENT on Clausing Atlas South Bend Lathes Part 1 - YouTube

Hi Peter,
I have to agree with John, its hardly an accurate repeatable test, and really, can you see a .05mm wobble? I can't!

I just use the DTI method off the inside of the morse taper, and then again check it on the live center (i always put my live center in the same spot). With the smaller lathes you may be able to get a within a thou repeatably, with bigger lathes like John's Macson or my Leblond you can get it pretty darn good. Put a DTI in the quill and lean on the tailstock and you'll see what i mean, or unlock it, push or pull on it whilst locking it and it will magically move....For the final adjustment you need to torque shim it, just work on the tension of the front bolt.

I've been meaning to align my tailstock for ages, but always seem to get caught up in another job. I have noticed that my centre drill kicks up slightly when it first touches the work. I assume this is caused by tailstock misalignment.

I like the look of this method of tailstock alignment as you don't need an accurately ground test bar:

South Bend Lathe Tailstock Alignment - YouTube

I'm not sure how useful it is for measuring vertical alignment, because bed wear will cause the carriage to drop as it moves towards the headstock. But for lateral alignment it looks like an excellent way to do it.

Chris

Originally Posted by jack620

I've been meaning to align my tailstock for ages, but always seem to get caught up in another job. I have noticed that my centre drill kicks up slightly when it first touches the work. I assume this is caused by tailstock misalignment.

I like the look of this method of tailstock alignment as you don't need an accurately ground test bar:

South Bend Lathe Tailstock Alignment - YouTube

I'm not sure how useful it is for measuring vertical alignment, because bed wear will cause the carriage to drop as it moves towards the headstock. But for lateral alignment it looks like an excellent way to do it.

Chris

Hi Chris.
yes I did see that video earlier . may give that a try .

Peter

Originally Posted by thorens

Hi Chris.
yes I did see that video earlier . may give that a try .

Peter

Good video.

Easy way as discussed, but you still need to turn a shaft and mike that IMHO to overcome any runout in chuck, morse tapers, dead centres, bed etc when turning in the real world.

Rob

I like this method MACHINE SHOP TIPS #96 Making a Test Bar pt 2 tubalcain - YouTube

The main advantage is that you can quickly check TS alignment for any position of the TS and any extension of the quill.