New to the forum.

[head_turner]

hi guys, i have recently bought a lathe with the intention of relearning the skills i had acquired at university and to get back in to bowl turning and other sorts.

I have a question that my books cant seem to answer.
Why does my tailstock gradually become looser and looser to the point where i can hardly finishing turning a piece without me having to keeping winding the tailstock in till i can't go in further? Its very annoying and I'm sure I'm just being a plank (excuse the pun) but i can seem to figure out why.
Matthew.

 

[CHJ]

I guess the tailstock is not clamped tight to the bed of the lathe and is moving backwards ?

Are you using a rotating tailstock centre?

 

[marcros]

Is the dead centre wearing away the wood, so needs nipping up to compensate?

 

[geordie]

also are you locking the quill sometimes they can slacken with vibration


geordie

 

[finneyb]

Or, unlock the tail stock put your hand underneath and between the ways and tighten the bolt a little - then lock the tailstock.

Brian

 

[head_turner]

The tailstock centre is fixed so it seems like the friction from that burns away at the wood really quickly so i have to nip it up constantly it feels.
Is it worth investing in a rotating tailstock centre?

 

[CHJ]

Yes a rotating centre is well worth the investment.

without me having to keeping winding the tailstock in till i can't go in further?

Can hardly believe that your centre is wearing deep enough to lose all your tailstock quill travel, that would be several centimetres.

 

[head_turner]

 

[head_turner]

I'm ending up with a little campfire :/

 

[CHJ]

Sorry, you definitely require a rotating tailstock.

If you use a fixed centre you must have minimum pressure and provide some form of lubrication such as candle wax or finishing wax.

 

[head_turner]

Minimum pressure?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You should use a mallet on your drive centre, make indents with a chisel or put saw cuts across your piece and use your tail centre to hold the piece in place, not to force the wood onto the drive centre. You can also use a mallet on the tail centre before you mount the wood and (as above) use a little wax to lubricate. If it burns badly it's done up too tight. Save yourself the bother - get a live centre!

 

[head_turner]

Im planning on taking a trip up to peter child's shop in north essex next week so I'm going to have a little spending spree in there.