Mis-alignment issue

[Fumbler]

I have discovered through my unique powers of deduction that my tailstock is 1-2mm lower than the headstock. When spur/dead centres are meeting at the point, they actually don't meet exactly.

can anyone suggest how I may remedy this, if shims are needed, how and where can I possibly get some, and how would I attach them to the underside of the tailstock?

short of taking it back to the shop (again).

[BobL]

The first thing to determine is how far out it is.
Have you got a set of feeler gauges?
Put dead centres in both tail and head stock and bring the. together so the tips are directly above each other and then use a feeler gauge to measure the gap.
It won't be exact but it will be good enough for Wood turning.

A small selection of Shim stock pieces usually are sold that are no thicker than 1/4mm so 2mm would need 8 strips glued together - some experimenting required
age see https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Champion-Shim-Stock-Steel-Assortment-6-Sheets-CA34/321399041809?epid=1381204940&hash=item4ad4e02f11:g:V2oAAOSwFT9bYlHO

What size/type of lathe is it?
For a small lathe you can probably just find some sheet metal slightly thicker than the right thickness and cut suitable strips and hot glue them to some MDF and sand the metal to the right thickness, a set of calibers or micrometer and some maths will be needed.
Then glue the strips to the the undersides of the tailstock with epoxy.
If it is a budget level lathe I would even consider using double sided tape.
For small gaps tin plate from a food or coffee can works well.

[joe greiner]

I had a similar issue with swapping tailstocks between lathes (don't ask). Instead of gluing the shim material to the base, just make it slightly longer than the tailstock and bend up each end.

Cheers,
Joe

[Paul39]

Is the headstock permanently attached to the bed? If moveable, is there dirt, or wood dust between? Is there dirt or wood dust between the outboard end of the tailstock and bed that would tip the inboard end of the tailstock down?

Before you noticed, has the mismatch caused any problems in your turnings? After several years of use I checked my Hegner and found 2 - 3 mm side to side mismatch. I pull the tailstock toward me when locking down and it gets close enough.

[woodPixel]

softdrink cans are 0.1mm thick.

Make shims from these, perhaps some sort of temporary glue to get it right, then make it permanent with epoxy?

One could do el-cheapo with packing tape :) .... it is super thin, giving very accurate sneak-up layer by layer.

I recently bought this stuff for re-doing all the ducts under the house (Trex Tape 48mm x 11M (https://www.bunnings.com.au/t-rex-48mm-x-11m-strong-duct-tape_p0088305)) it is unbelievably, incredibly, ridiculously, outrageously strong and tacky at an atomic level. Perhaps a little of this to add some "quick thickness". See how it goes and then make it permanent? (like all things, the quick bodge up lasts many years and soon becomes the fix in itself!!!!)

[BobL]

If the item was not under any load and/or the gap was thinner I would agree with using packing tape but a 2mm thickness under load long term is likely to creep. That's why I suggested steel.

[NeilS]

I had a similar issue with swapping tailstocks between lathes (don't ask). Instead of gluing the shim material to the base, just make it slightly longer than the tailstock and bend up each end.

Cheers,
JoeI did the same for a budget lathe at my local men's shed. It seems to have done the job for a number of years now, although I haven't checked the alignment lately as the shim (sheet metal) is unlikely to wear any quicker than the low grade cast iron that was used in the bed rails of that lathe.

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