Slipping tail stock

[Dann Chapman]

The discussion on oiling the ways to prevent rust from turning very wet wood (in another thread) triggered me into asking this question. I have a hard time keeping my tail stock from slipping when I need to put pressure on a work piece. Not that I frequently do that. Don't want to create undue wear on my live center. Stilll, sometimes cranking down a bit seems right.

The lathe is old - a Blount VS something or other. Don't the exact model number with me. The pressure on the ways is created by a simple bolt & nut that needs to be tightened down or loosened. The previous owner spot-welded onto the nut a closed end wratching wrench, which is fairly convenient. Not as nice as the cams on newer lathes, of course.

Any thoughts on how to solve?

 

[KurtB]

Tail Stock

Dann,
Without being familiar with this model, many of the older lathes simply needed a 1/4 or 1/2 turn of the screw to tighten the bolt, and then the lever would tighten everything up snug.
Kurt

 

[Mark Mandell]

Dann,

You've got several things to check here. First I would pull the TS off and check both the grip plate under the TS and the underside of the ways. Clean them of any foreign material and correct any burrs that would prevent the full friction surfaces from mating up. Next make sure that your tightening bolt will bring the pressure plate up to less than the thickness of your ways. If, for instance, the tail stock you have is from another machine, it may not tighten properly without some work there. Stubby still uses a ratcheting handle and the draw-bolt on their tailstocks and I can tell you they are sol-lid so don't decry the design; it works. While you're at it, check the thickness of the pressure plate that grips the ways. I've seen regular washers used when something happened to the old one, and they just don't have the rigidity to hold properly. I'd want at least 3/16 -1/4" thickness on that grip plate.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[john lucas]

Everything Mark mentioned plus you might consider increasing the size of the plate under the bed that locks the tailstock down. On some lathes these are pitifully small and there simply isn't enough area to grip. Another possibility but harder to fix is the tailstock not sitting flat on the ways. To lock properly the tailstock needs to have a large flat surface matching the lathe bed flat surface.

 

[Dann Chapman]

Thanks!

Thanks much. You've given me several good suggestions to look into.

Dann