Tailstock trouble...

[Janger]

Hi all and John C. @Dabbler

I have a new to me lathe 14x40, but the tailstock is giving me some trouble. The spindle won't feed properly and binds up when turning the handle or just trying to slide it. I took it all apart and cleaned and cleaned. There were some burrs on the oiler holes which I resolved but after cleaning it all again and shining a bright light on it I finally noticed these score marks on the inside. The worst one I can catch a finger nail on. I can't see anything else wrong - would this be enough to cause binding?

I was thinking of wrapping 600 grit sand paper on a dowel to clean it up. Is this a bad idea? Is there a better way? Thoughts? Thanks for any help...

John

 

[PeterT]

I haven't had mine apart to that degree but I've read about certain issues on Tai/Chi machines like my 14x40

- Apparently the groove in the quill barrel can be a troublemaker. If its milled with burrs left on the edge it can score the ID. Folks have lightly stoned the corner & cleaned up the passage.

- Another issue is the do-dad that slides in this same slot. Sorry I don't have a pic & maybe varies by lathe, but maybe you can show yours. Anyway, if this isn't a proper fit, something drags or gets out of alignment it can bind up during travel IE. has nothing to do with the quill ID/OD travel.

- Look for any distortion on the quill barrel & the ?spindle screw part?. Going on memory here. If the tailstock ever saw high load & these components are slightly banana, then they wont fit the bore hole as well. This can happen with things like a lathe crash or like heavy knurling on those plunge-in style (as opposed to scissor style) knurling tools with TS barrel extended. Roll the parts on a piece of glass & see if it wobbles.

In terms of the gouge fix, yeesh, I hate to give advice. It would be best if you can just work on the localized area & leave as much of the native ID surface alone. Kind of similar to how you de-burred the hole edges only. But that might be tricky with a dowel. Lapping compound would be another method but this gets real dicey - it will likely remove material faster on the male part vs. correcting the gouges. The gouge itself probably isn't the issue, that's just a lube channel! Its any raised material portion on the edge of the gouge. But I'd check the other parts first before assuming that's the culprit.

 

[Janger]

I haven't had mine apart to that degree but I've read about certain issues on Tai/Chi machines like my 14x40

- Apparently the groove in the quill barrel can be a troublemaker. If its milled with burrs left on the edge it can score the ID. Folks have lightly stoned the corner & cleaned up the passage.

- Another issue is the do-dad that slides in this same slot. Sorry I don't have a pic & maybe varies by lathe, but maybe you can show yours. Anyway, if this isn't a proper fit, something drags or gets out of alignment it can bind up during travel IE. has nothing to do with the quill ID/OD travel.

- Look for any distortion on the quill barrel & the ?spindle screw part?. Going on memory here. If the tailstock ever saw high load & these components are slightly banana, then they wont fit the bore hole as well. This can happen with things like a lathe crash or like heavy knurling on those plunge-in style (as opposed to scissor style) knurling tools with TS barrel extended. Roll the parts on a piece of glass & see if it wobbles.

In terms of the gouge fix, yeesh, I hate to give advice. It would be best if you can just work on the localized area & leave as much of the native ID surface alone. Kind of similar to how you de-burred the hole edges only. But that might be tricky with a dowel. Lapping compound would be another method but this gets real dicey - it will likely remove material faster on the male part vs. correcting the gouges. The gouge itself probably isn't the issue, that's just a lube channel! Its any raised material portion on the edge of the gouge. But I'd check the other parts first before assuming that's the culprit.

The groove in the quill did indeed have burrs and the location is the same as the score marks on the barrel. I cleaned the burrs up and decided to ignore the score marks for now - since I don't have a good approach to fix it and not make it worse. The tailstock works much better now and is actually useable. So good call I think Peter thanks for the detailed reply.

The quill does not seem to be bent either.

 

[Dabbler]

glad you got it. just noticed the thread now.

 

[Janger]

Thanks John!

 

[Janger]

More lathe questions.... this thread should be called John's used lathe questions.... :>

I need to fill up the apron with more oil - manual says to use Shell Tellus 32. It is apparently a ISO 32 grade hydraulic oil. Well they have something equivalent called Tellus 32 at princess 20L pail >$110. I don't need that much so instead how about this:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-aw32-hydraulic-oil-5l-0280205p.html#srp

or even this:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-aw32-hydraulic-oil-946-ml-0281703p.html#srp

What is anybody else using?

Thanks Guys

 

[PeterT]

The apron? Do you mean the gearbox bath oil by chance? For the lubrication points (which feeds the ways, spindles & some carriage gears by drip) I use the same way oil as on the bed rails. It comes in different viscosities, I think mine is medium within the range offered. Its kind of the happy middle viscosity of staying put & not running away, yet not super viscous like honey. The gearbox bath oil is completely different animal. Here is what my manual says FWIW

 

[Janger]

This new lathe has a separate gear box and oil reservoir in the apron. It also has a oil level sight glass.

 

[Dabbler]

Hydraulic oil describes oil that has anti-foaming ingredients int it. For an oil bath gear box like you have, you can use any hydraulic oil in a similar SAE rating. The reason that you don't use motor oil is that it has detergents in it, which will cause foaming in an open air oil bath like yours. Just be sure to avoid overfilling the box. You can also use any 'gear oil' in the same SAE range.

Peter T: he means ' the Gear head box' or 'transmission' depending on whether you are using British or American terminology.

If you remember the automotive displays that have three nylon gears on it with two types of oil: one a standard gear lube, and one 'enhanced' lube... well the 'enhanced' one has what one distributor described it as 'stiction' additives that carry the oil all the way around the gear without spraying it. Ideally this is the kind of oil to use. Your Canadian tire oil will also work fine.

 

[PeterT]

I see. That's a more complete lube system than my 14x40 carriage 'drip & squirt' system.