Help with steady rest

Dirtbmw20

Dirtbmw20

Lee Casto
Silver Member
I have had some issues with boring the head stock, finally got it bored to under....or within .001 thousands, which I'm told is exceptionally good for a taig lathe.

Here is my problem....... when trying to use ANY of my steady rests. My 4jaw steady rests, large bore steady rests, and small bore steady rest, my ground steel rod ( or anything else I chuck up in the head stock) is MAJORLY off center and does not line up with my ground steel rod. Here are pics of all the steady rests sitting in front of the head stock with the ground steel rod chucked up in the head stock. Notice how NONE of them are centered to the rod and on the small bore steady rest, the rod won't even fit through the hole.
Can anyone tell me what's wrong or steer me in the right direction as to what to do to fix/correct this issue ???
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Before anyone asks, YES, all the knobs/bolts ARE tightened up on the head stock, the risers, and the steady rests. The pics were taken with my cell phone and are not EXACTLY centered in the pic, but you can obviously tell the steel rod is not centered in any of the steady rests and willnot even come through the small bore steady rests.

It doesn't matter if I flip the steady rests around on the risers,there is no offset on the risers and the results are the same. Also, ALL the steady rest were bought from the same place, at the same time of purchase, from Taig directly, including the riser for the head stock.

What would cause ALL my steady rest to not line up with my head stock ???
 
Show some pictures of the head stock, and the mounting to the lathe bed. I notice your head stock is in the same position on all three pics, does it stay concentric when turned or does it move inside the steady rest? Best I can tell from the pictures it looks like your head stock is out of alignment some how. What work was done to bore the head stock?

Put up some pics or maybe Hightower will chime in here......
 
Albatross Cues said:
Show some pictures of the head stock, and the mounting to the lathe bed. I notice your head stock is in the same position on all three pics, does it stay concentric when turned or does it move inside the steady rest? Best I can tell from the pictures it looks like your head stock is out of alignment some how. What work was done to bore the head stock?

Put up some pics or maybe Hightower will chime in here......
Click to expand...
Not that it matters but its a Mid America lathe from Todd and not Hightower although Chris has been very helpful in the past. The pics are deceiving because they are taken with my cell phone and not taken exactly centered.
 
Its late here in Ga so Im hitting the sack. Will try and take some more and some better pics tomorrow.
 
Are all the steady rests new or have you used them on this lathe before, did they line up prior to boring the head stock? I see two ways you can find out what the issue is...

First drop a centering line from the middle of the steel rod to the lathe bed with it chucked in the head stock.

Next chuck the rod in the four way steady rest an drop a front and back line off the center of the of the steel rod.

Measure with a mic from the edge of the lathe bed to the centering marks.... Should let you know if it is the head stock or the steady rests that are your issue...
 
Here is my Take on your situation.
I think either the lathe bed is slightly twisted, or the head stock needs aligning or a combination of both.
Look straight down the shaft and the steady rest and then eye the top of the rest to the top of the head stock. To help with the visualisation, you can put a rod along the top of the rest and the top of the head stock. If the ends of the rod from the head stock or the tail stock are not in line, then the bed most likely is twisted.
To pull the rod back to centre , you can very lightly loosen off the front screw and tighten the back one. It will move the rod as much as 6mm or a 1/4 inch.
Neil
 
Hi,

The way it stands, I would not want to try making a point veneer cue with an a joint on that lathe for sure.

As Neil suggested, I would bet there are multiple problems going on that needs to be sorted step by step.

Good luck,

Rick
 
Can you take a picture of your headstock? The only input I might have is there are two different types of riser blocks, the straight and the ones that are made for the original taig that bring things to center used to the compound cross slides since they can't go in as far as the standard cross slide. Just make sure both riser blocks match.
 
The difference we're seeing is between a head stock from Todd mid-america cues and a head stock from Hightower one of them turns the headstock around....... You can try turning the riser around or you will have to remove the spindle cartridge from the headstock and turn it around and put it back
 
do you have a VERY flat surface you can check the straigtness of that rod on? I wouldnt assume its straight because its ground.

Also, knowing what it cost for precision machining, and then adding the complexity of multiple interfacing parts...i cant imagine that even if you had the best batch of match grade parts that it would be even close to .005 or less where alignment or concentricity are concerned. If the dovetail angles from headstock to steadyrest were machined even the slightest bit untrue then your problem would be compounded such as what you've shown.

Another thing to think about is that if you bored your jaws, then possibly re-allign headstock to bed then you will need to re-bore. The angular discrepancy will be very small at the jaws but will be compounded down range. Like shooting a rifle. Raise the barrel 1/8" and the bullet will likely be an inch higher at 100 ft away.
 
Lee,

First let me ask if when you rotate the spindle of the headstock does the rod stay off set in the same position in the steady rest or does it move around?

If it stays in the same relative position then the problem is probably in the alignment of the headstock (either where the headstock is clamped to the riser or where the riser is clamped to the lathe bed, something is not lining up properly.

When you rotate the headstock spindle if the relative position of the rod moves around in the inside the steady rest. Then the problem is probably in the way the rod is chucked up in the jaws or in the jaws themselves.

Please let me know what you see and I will be happy to try to help you.

Thanks,
Todd
 
tsp&b said:
Lee,

First let me ask if when you rotate the spindle of the headstock does the rod stay off set in the same position in the steady rest or does it move around?

If it stays in the same relative position then the problem is probably in the alignment of the headstock (either where the headstock is clamped to the riser or where the riser is clamped to the lathe bed, something is not lining up properly.

When you rotate the headstock spindle if the relative position of the rod moves around in the inside the steady rest. Then the problem is probably in the way the rod is chucked up in the jaws or in the jaws themselves.

Please let me know what you see and I will be happy to try to help you.

Thanks,
Todd
Click to expand...

I have 2 spinners for finishing..... one from Mid America and the other from Hightower..... the centers of the 2 head stocks do not line up...... unless you turn one of them around............. that is the problem....................... Which one does he have?????
 
It's the risers themselves guys. The risers that the headstock and tail stock are mounted on are offset and the risers the steady rests are mounted on are not offset. Pics to follow......
 
tsp&b said:
Lee,

First let me ask if when you rotate the spindle of the headstock does the rod stay off set in the same position in the steady rest or does it move around?

If it stays in the same relative position then the problem is probably in the alignment of the headstock (either where the headstock is clamped to the riser or where the riser is clamped to the lathe bed, something is not lining up properly.

When you rotate the headstock spindle if the relative position of the rod moves around in the inside the steady rest. Then the problem is probably in the way the rod is chucked up in the jaws or in the jaws themselves.

Please let me know what you see and I will be happy to try to help you.

Thanks,
Todd
Click to expand...
Todd..... look at the pic of my risers. Notice how the two larger ones are offset and the three smallest ones are not ???

The two larger ones are what my headstock and tail stock were mounted on while the three smaller ones were what my steady rests were mounted on.

These all came straight from Taig. Not you or Chris. What do your steady rest look like compared to the ones I have ?? What do I need to correct my problem ??
 
deadbeat said:
Can you take a picture of your headstock? The only input I might have is there are two different types of riser blocks, the straight and the ones that are made for the original taig that bring things to center used to the compound cross slides since they can't go in as far as the standard cross slide. Just make sure both riser blocks match.
Click to expand...

Nice thinking deadbeat....... you were right on !!!
 
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