Calling the machinists - HELP

[potholer]

i recently took back my lathe after an extended loan to one of my daughters boyfreind's,on getting it back it is in a bl**dy state after being left in a damp shed

the moral of this story never lend to family(almost)

anyway long story short, the tailstock centre does not line up with the headstock centre. i know the principle of shimming, however having done quite abit of research im more confused than enlightened, should i use brass or steel shim strips and how do you attach the shim to the tailstock

any help or suggestions would be great

regards

dave

[smokindawg]

Is the misalignment up/down or left/right? What kind of lathe? Pictures may help. Especially of the tail stock.

[potholer]

smokindawg

DUH!

it is a wood lathe cast iron bed and tailstock

mis aligned down and left looking from the tailstock end

will take a pic as soon as

regards
dave

[potholer]

well this is the offending article

Vertical misalignment

Horizontal misalignment

overview


as i said before i understand the principle of shimming i am just wondering how to attach the shim and which material, brass or steel, to use

now i believe that full disclosure has been achieved

any help would be appreciated

regards
dave

[d.huber]

Sorry, but I'm no help here. I hope it gets fixed soon!

[potholer]

thanks UberHuberMan

i will take any/all the sympathy i can get

i can jury rig it with 2 broken stanley knife blades but i am looking for a more usable/permanent solution

regards

dave

[Charl]

I used brass shims on mine. With edges folded up to keep it in place when its being moved.

[potholer]

Charl

that's a damn great idea,
i had toyed with that idea but found nothing to say it worked

i should be able to do that myself!

many thanks

regards

dave

[caskwith]

How about gluing the shims to the bottom?

Your lathe looks a lot like my buffing lathe, never checked how accurate mine is to be honest.

[potholer]

chris

yes that has been suggested and does work, im not sure about how much more damage i can do glueing the shim to the bottom, if i do bugger it up

i will probably try Charl's suggestion and glue the shim where it has been bent up the sides of the tailstock

the lathe is an axminster 350mm swing by 1000mm, 14"x39" for our american brethren
it was probably as good as any wood lathe when new, even the best wood lathe runs out slightly as even the best turners re-true a piece of turning when they re-chuck a piece of work eg bowl turning.

i will try and post after pics

thanks for the reply

regards

dave