Thread: Tips for beginners.

Geeze , that is the most typing I have seen you do in ages.

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Geeze , that is the most typing I have seen you do in ages.

The second instalement could be a while coming - his first finger on each hand are now in traction.

Also he needs to be careful the page doesnt "time out" while he finishes the post.

The tailstock.

At the other end of the bed is the tailstock.

It is subject to all the same forces as the headstock. Unfortunately it does not have the same strength as the headstock because it has a smaller footprint and with the exception of movable head lathes is not an intregal part of the bed.

Some manufacturers seem to add a tailstock as an afterthought. I have seen some flimsy ones that have flexed with only a small amount of stuff in them.

They should be well braced against fore, aft and sideways movement. The quill (the bit that goes in and out) should be a good fit in the housing with a minimum of sideways or up and down movement and should move in and out easily and require no force.

Sometimes they get sticky or sluggish. This is generally caused by excessive oiling and sawdust. Sometimes it is rust because of turning green or wet timber. The only fix is to dismantle it, clean all parts and reassemble.

It is preferable to have the quill drilled right through to allow the use of long hole borers for making lamps. It should also have a morse taper (No2is the most common) as well so that centres, drill chucks and other accessories can be fitted.

It should be able to be screwed in and out at least 75mm to allow the drilling of holes to a reasonable depth whilst locked to the bed.

The locking mechanism should be positive and tight to lock it to the bed. Some creep a little bit no matter what you do. If this happens take the tail stock off and clean everything off including the bed that it locks onto. Assemble it dry and see if it slips.

This fixes most but I am hanged if I know why some do and some don't. Do not oil it again if it fixes the problem.

My big lathe has creep in the tailstock and the fix for that was to fit a locking plate behind it.

The hand wheel should be of sufficient size to enable a good grip to tighten it. A handle is a bonus here.

The housing of the quill should contain a spindle lock to lock the quill once it has engaged in the timber. Most manufactureres use this as a locating pin to stop the quill rotating when tightening the handle. A quarter of turn is generally enough between tight and loose.

The last thing with the tailstock is that it requires a little bit of machine oil every now and again where the hand wheel enters the housing to lubricate the wheel against the lock plate.

The tool rest and banjo is next.

This fixes most but I am hanged if I know why some do and some don't. Do not oil it again if it fixes the problem.

What I have noticed is that tailstocks that dont move have more mating surface area than others. A good cam lock system fine enough in the movement to just give enough clearance to move the tailstock. A lot of tailstocks have a coarse cam lock on them and they work after a fashion and slip.
Quality machining so as the two faces are actually flat so as to give maximum clamping control. Along with good design features such as a good sized locking plate underneath the tailstock. This spreads the clamping over a wide area and would increase the friction required to move the tailstock.

What surprises me is that these sorts of problem are not always confined to the lower end of the market.

sori for the hijack

Good point Hughie.

My Old Teknatool has a solidly made tail stock but not a camlock. One locked into place via a plate, nut and bolt it stays put

Thanks for the lessons , Now I'm sitting here eagerly awaiting the next installment

Wow this has really helped me a lot, Thanks