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Realign Headstock and Tailstock

R

Raif Harik

Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
299
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120
Location
Austin, TX
Perhaps this is something super simple or common, because I can't find anything when searching for it. That's usually a good sign that I'm doing something terribly wrong.
Anyway, I have a Luguna 24/36 probably about 6 months old. When I pull the live center up to the drive center I find the live center is pointing at least 1/8th in below the drive center.
I'm not sure how to adjust this, or how long it's been going on. My lathe does tend to dance a jig every so often, but it is sitting on a new concrete slab that is pretty level.
Anyway, again, can someone advice me on how to adjust this alignment?
Thanks,
Raif
 
For up and down check for dirt under the tailstock. It the headstock slides or rotates check for grit under it or make sure the tightening lever is tight.
 
Liquid wrench will do the trick. It soaks into any rust or corrosion. Keep a small can in the cabinet.
 
If you rotate or reposition your headstock a lot you usually need to bring the tailstock up to the headstock and align the two as needed. It is a lot easier to leave the headstock locked down in one position and only use the tailstock to move as needed. They do make a double ended Morse Taper alignment tool that quickly brings the headstock spindle and tailstock quickly into alignment. I use a laser alignment tool that mounts in the headstock spindle and provides a laser point to use as a target when locking down the headstock or tailstock. On some machines if the tailstock does not have adjusting bolts for the elevation you can use shim stock under the headstock or tailstock as needed. You should check the level of your lathe and make sure you don't have a twist in the ways or one end of the lathe is sitting on a high or low spot on the floor. You can use a precision level to check the level of your lathe and verify there is no twist in the ways.
Mill Drill Laser.jpg
 
Before you move any screws, the most common cause for mis-alignment is the lathe is twisted. That is, one corner is lower than the others even on your new floor, and all the feet may well be touching. It can affect any lathe even stiff lathes like Oneway or Robust. If the tailstock point is closer to you than the drive center, put a shim under the leg by your right foot etc. You'll be able to see if that affects it. Laguna has a procedure on their website, but if you move the adjustments and the problem is twist, you're going to have worse problems. And getting the centers to touch by moving those screws doesn't mean that you have alignment, just that the points are touching. The headstock and tailstock may then be on different axis. :eek: It's usually a pretty safe assumption that things were on the same axis at least once, so getting the points to touch is probably ok

The Laguna is the only lathe I know of with those adjustments, and I assume it's because it's a welded up, fabricated steel bed that needs them. I would not assume that the headstock and tailstock are on the same axis. One can chuck up a longish 2x2 and turn it cylindrical and face it off and THEN see if the tailstock center lines up with the center of the faced off end.
 
I spoke to the Laguna tech the other day, it was about another issue which I just posted about https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/laguna-delta-s1-vfd-possibly-others.17763/
but I also mentioned the alignment issue. He confirmed that I should mess with those two bolts. I have to use my liquid wrench stuff. But I also need to reassess the situation. I'm a bit embarrassed to say, but I think the pin in my drive center was actually a bit loose and misaligned. I was spinning the live center to make sure that wasn't the case, didn't occur to me to spin the drive center. Anyway, thanks for all the help.
 
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