Play in tailstock mounting?

Play in tailstock mounting?

Post by Paul Kierstea » Sun, 04 Apr 2004 00:57:17



My quest for a cheap starter lathe locally continues...

I was looking at a local one, cast iron bed, etc.
See:
http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture?&NETID=1052330402040515547&NTI...
B2198

Seems ok for what is available locally, so I went and had a gander at
it. One think I noted is where the tailstock meets the bed is a bit
"loose"; i.e. the slots in the bed are somewhat wider (maybe 1/16") then
the stub from the tailstock. Sorry I don't know the terminology.

Will this cause any serious problems keeping the tail center accurately
lined up with the drive center? Is there a easy hack to fixing it if it
is a problem? Keeping in mind my metal-working skills consist of being
able to file things down and cut them off, roughly at that. I am not
even very good at drilling holes in metal...

Thanks.

 
 
 

Play in tailstock mounting?

Post by Ronald Berma » Sun, 04 Apr 2004 01:43:45


Paul,

I got this advice when I started and didn't follow it; boy was I mistaken!

Buy the biggest, heaviest, highest quality machine you can afford. If you
can't afford it now, save. Anything else will be totally unsatisfying and a
big dissappointment.  Things like a loose tailstock will drive you
absolutely nuts!

Best of Luck.

Ron


Quote:
> My quest for a cheap starter lathe locally continues...


 
 
 

Play in tailstock mounting?

Post by The Eyre » Mon, 05 Apr 2004 14:42:15


I have to underscore Ron's comments.  I started with a cheap Grizzly and had
nothing but problems. I stumbled on to a used Delta for $250 and it is so
superior to the Grizzly that it is a joy to use. My Delta certainly doesn't
fall into the "lathe of your dreams" category but at least everything lines
up and nothing keeps breaking.  I still lust for a really good lathe but
just can't justify 5 or 6 grand. Look around for a used lathe. There are
alot out there and many have been hardly used.

To your specific question: "Yes, a loose tailstock will line up different
everytime you loosen and tighten it so you will always be retruing anything
you are using it on."

Earl

 
 
 

Play in tailstock mounting?

Post by gu » Mon, 05 Apr 2004 22:15:41


Leave it alone and walk away!! Nothing wrong with used lathes but if
it is obvious that something is wrong don't even bother with it, the
frustration is just not worth it. You can find a nice used lathe but
it takes a little hunting, luck, and speed (good ones go fast).
Another thought is start out with a mini like a Jet. The manual speed
change ones are inexpensive and work well. Use that to figure out what
you want to continue doing and either sell it or keep it around for a
spare when you get a bigger lathe. Just my opinion. Have fun and good
luck
 
 
 

Play in tailstock mounting?

Post by DanPa » Tue, 06 Apr 2004 09:18:06


Paul,
This looks like the low end Grizzly. Same specs & look. RUN AWAY. It is
nothing but junk. I know because I had one. Lasted 6 monbths before the
motor burned out. Got a Delta 1440 & never looked back, until the General
showed up. Once that piece of iron was in my shop the Grizz went into the
dumpster.
Save your money for something a little better.
Just my $0.02

Dan Patterson

L'aissez les bon temps tourner!

Member AAW since 2003

www.bayouwoodturners.com



Quote:
> My quest for a cheap starter lathe locally continues...

> I was looking at a local one, cast iron bed, etc.
> See:
> http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture?&NETID=1052330402040515547&NTI...
> B2198

snip
 
 
 

Play in tailstock mounting?

Post by Paul Kierstea » Tue, 06 Apr 2004 15:01:05



Quote:

> Paul,
> This looks like the low end Grizzly. Same specs & look. RUN AWAY. It is
> nothing but junk. I know because I had one. Lasted 6 monbths before the
> motor burned out. Got a Delta 1440 & never looked back, until the General
> showed up. Once that piece of iron was in my shop the Grizz went into the
> dumpster.
> Save your money for something a little better.

Thanks for the help. Alas, it is a wee bit late :) I did go out and buy
it; hopefully it will not die within 6 months. The machine I received is
a fair bit tighter then the showroom one I evaluated.

I agree that something better would indeed be better, but I got wood to
buy! Money comes, money goes; if I lose some on this one in the long run
it is ok. Time just goes in one direction; I would rather be turning
today on something less then great then turning next year on a top-end
machine. That could add up to a lot of experience.

Alas, the used route I was really hoping would solve the dilemma, but I
looked for a few weeks and the only "good" (i.e. beyond what I bought)
one came in at $550 and most came in at well above that. So, being stuck
is it. Now I will have to tune it a little; I think the very rough tool
rest seems to make it difficult to slide a gouge along, so first step is
file and polish...

Thanks everyone for the replies! I expect to have a few more questions
along the way :)

Paul K