# Lathe Alignment



## scjohnson243 (Apr 30, 2014)

Morning Everyone (I'm a new guy that is just getting tools setup)

I bought a lathe from Harbor Freight (I realize it is not a great lathe from what I have read after, but if it can get me through a few months I'll upgrade it to a better brand) I read on the forums that when you but the tailstock and headstock together the tips should meet - Mine do not quite meet together, but I think I could put a small piece of steel down beside it before I tighten the base of the tailstock down to move it the small amount it takes... I took a picture with my phone (Sorry for quality) - To me it looks like its a small modification, but to you more experienced guys is this a really big problem?


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## jgilfor (Jan 25, 2013)

Before modifying anything, you need to make sure you know wha is causing the misalignment.

Take the following steps:

Ensure that the lathe itself is completely level, horizontally in both X and Y planes.

Ensure that,when checking the alignment, you dog down (lock) the tail stock before running it out to meet the head stock.

Reverse the live and dead centers to ensure that it is the lathe, and not the centers causing the problem. If it is the centers, switching them will cause the misalignment to reverse. If it is one of them, you can get inexpensive replacements from Penn State Industries or other similar supplier.

Lastly, before going nuts modifying the lathe, ensure that the beds are not the cause. This is the hardest to check. You can use a known straight edge laid against the beds to check, or you can try the alignment with the tail stock as close to the head stock as possible. That would eliminate most of the bed from the equation.

Ensure too, that both the head and tail stock tapers are completely free of debris and dirt of any kind. Small bottle brushes work well for this. Any debris will affect alignment.

Lastly you can shim the tail stock.

I'm not sure though that the misalignment you show there will cause a real problem except with the most delicate of finials.

Good luck.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

scjohnson243 said:


> Morning Everyone (I'm a new guy that is just getting tools setup)


Welcome to the vortex! :laughing:



> I bought a lathe from Harbor Freight (I realize it is not a great lathe from what I have read after, but if it can get me through a few months I'll upgrade it to a better brand)


Which one? Harbor Freight sells several, and a couple of them are actually outstanding value -- and it may not be necessary to buy another until you actually need "more" of something (horsepower and/or swing -- the distance from center to the bed -- being the usual reasons folk upgrade).

Another thing to remember about checking alignment -- the tailstock quill should be locked (that little handle sticking out the side in the photo).

I have the HF 12" x 33" with a rotating head, model # 34706, and something to be aware of is that the detentes aren't always perfectly positioned.

The other HF lathe that's decent is model # 65345 "5-speed benchtop lathe" (which is an exact clone of a model sold by Penn State, Rockler, and some other outlets).

If you have either of these two lathes and can't get the head & tail aligned using reasonable effort, simply take the lathe back to HF and tell them you want one that doesn't have a manufacturing defect.

(I checked mine at the store before dragging it home :yes

_edit ... if you have one of the other HF models and can't get it aligned, ask for your money back or ask for a trade to the #65345_ ...


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## robhodge1 (Feb 14, 2011)

I have the same lathe and since it has a rotating headstock you can check to see if there's any play in the headstock which might allow you fix your issue.

Actually duncsuss made a good point. I think yours maybe a bench top model.


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## Pauley (Jan 21, 2012)

scjohnson243 said:


> Morning Everyone (I'm a new guy that is just getting tools setup) I bought a lathe from Harbor Freight (I realize it is not a great lathe from what I have read after, but if it can get me through a few months I'll upgrade it to a better brand) I read on the forums that when you but the tailstock and headstock together the tips should meet - Mine do not quite meet together, but I think I could put a small piece of steel down beside it before I tighten the base of the tailstock down to move it the small amount it takes... I took a picture with my phone (Sorry for quality) - To me it looks like its a small modification, but to you more experienced guys is this a really big problem?


Make sure you lock down the tail stock when checking the alignment. If you slide the tail stock to the headstock, then tighten the tail stock, I'm pretty sure you'll see they actually are aligned.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

That tiny bit of misalignment shouldn't be a problem. You may find that you can wiggle the tailstock a small amount to take care of the slight error. If, as somebody mentioned, the headstock rotates, then tou should be able to easily get rid of the alignment error. There is another error that hardly ever gets mentioned, but it is more significant than the lateral misalignment ... and that is angular misalignment. The points can match perfectly, but the angular misalignment may be very large and what's worse is that there is no easy way to measure it.


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## scjohnson243 (Apr 30, 2014)

duncsuss said:


> Welcome to the vortex! :laughing:
> 
> The other HF lathe that's decent is model # 65345 "5-speed benchtop lathe" (which is an exact clone of a model sold by Penn State, Rockler, and some other outlets).


This is the lathe I have, so its nice to hear I didn't buy a terrible one right off the bat! (Beginners luck!)

I dont think my tailstock was locked down yesterday when I took the picture, so that could account for it - I put a few small 4" pieces of cedar branch I picked up a few weeks ago on the lathe yesterday (First time ever turning anything) and made what almost looked like a mushroom! 

it took a few pieces to figure out putting things on the "Spikes" in the tail and headstock center was very important. 

Thanks again for all the advice!!!!


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Bill Boehme said:


> That tiny bit of misalignment shouldn't be a problem. You may find that you can wiggle the tailstock a small amount to take care of the slight error. If, as somebody mentioned, the headstock rotates, then tou should be able to easily get rid of the alignment error. There is another error that hardly ever gets mentioned, but it is more significant than the lateral misalignment ... and that is angular misalignment. The points can match perfectly, but the angular misalignment may be very large and what's worse is that there is no easy way to measure it.


This is the best method I have found to check the alignment of a headstock:
http://www.neme-s.org/Rollie's_Dad's_Method.pdf

You will have to make up a mount for the dial gauge that is moveable on a wood lathe.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

scjohnson243 said:


> it took a few pieces to figure out putting things on the "Spikes" in the tail and headstock center was very important.


One thing I was taught by a member of the club I go to when he saw the way I mounted a blank between centers ... take the drive spur out of the headstock and use a mallet to knock the "blades" into the end grain of the blank.

I was using the tailstock quill to "ram the piece home" by really cranking down on the handle. He said not to, because it puts a lot of stress on the bearings in the drive mechanism. (Same goes for hammering the blank onto the spur drive while it's in the headstock.)

HTH


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

duncsuss said:


> One thing I was taught by a member of the club I go to when he saw the way I mounted a blank between centers ... take the drive spur out of the headstock and use a mallet to knock the "blades" into the end grain of the blank.
> 
> I was using the tailstock quill to "ram the piece home" by really cranking down on the handle. He said not to, because it puts a lot of stress on the bearings in the drive mechanism. (Same goes for hammering the blank onto the spur drive while it's in the headstock.)
> 
> HTH


I see artist types who know zilch about machinery abuse their lathes all the time by tailstock ramming or hammering pieces onto a drive spur while it is on the lathe. Their response is always the same, "I've been doing it for years", meaning of course that they have no intention of heeding words of wisdom.

The ball bearing assemblies used on lathes are designed for radial loads and not axial loads (along the axis of rotation). In addition, they should never be subjected to impulse or shock loads (hammering) regardless of the direction. The type of damage caused by these two kinds of abuse is called brinelling. Brinelling is indentations or dimples in the bearing race caused by shock loads or high forces. When the races become indented, the balls no longer run smoothly. They bounce and vibrate and that leads to chipping of the balls and more race damage. For the ball bearings, it's like driving down a road full of pot holes.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

Bill Boehme said:


> The ball bearing assemblies used on lathes are designed for radial loads and not axial loads (along the axis of rotation). In addition, they should never be subjected to impulse or shock loads (hammering) regardless of the direction.


That's almost word-for-word what he told me. Fortunately I hadn't been turning long so it wasn't an ingrained habit and I was able to quit a lot easier than giving up cigarettes :laughing:


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## Barouh (Jul 7, 2014)

One thing about HF, the store here in Roch. NY is fantastic about returns. Great customer service.


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## jokker78 (Feb 10, 2014)

I bought that same lathe, Just because it is a clone doesnt mean it is good. It also looks like a grizzly . I turned a 10 inch bowl with it, before I got done sanding the bowl, the lathe gave up on life. It could have been that I just got a bad one. I got my money back and went on my way. Check into getting a 4 jaw chuck also. I lovd mine


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