[michelletwo]

you can shim your tailstock. but I would check other things first..make sure there are no burrs under your tailstock or headstock..this maybe VERY EAsY to fix.

 

[Wildwood]

My sound crazy but would use your OEM to check alignment. Those inexpensive 60 degree pen turning centers sold by vendors not the best.

Could not understand why an old wood turner referred to sliding & swiveling headstock lathes as sloppy until bough my Jet 1642.

Under the headstock there is a bolt that can adjust to bring head/tail stock into alignment. Friend loosen that bolt and with wood dowel inserted into head/tailstock, tailstock locked down he retighten that nut no more miss alignment!

From Jet tech support; man said can adjust leveler to bring point into alignment lot of flex in those long beds and don't have to be level. My Jet 1642 had minor problem alignment problem so change to my old tried and true live center and rechecked before making any other adjustments came out good. Also took the aluminum nose off that OEM live center and rechecked and everything was fine.

If Morse tapers are dirty can also throw off alignment a bit. I use a shot gun bore brush to clean both head/tailstock Morse tapers.

Sorry to hear so displeased with your new lathe, think will find little more help on that lathe over at sawmillcreek board.

Good luck with whatever decide to do!

 

[Grumpymike]

My manual said (after assembly) to line up the head stock drive spur and the tail stock center … they were perfect.
Like you, I took a turning class and was advised to get the 60° live center.
I turned a piece and found that the head stock end was perfectly round but the tail end was a bit oval.
I went back to the turning Guru at the Rockler store and he set up the 60° live center in his lathe and you could easily see the mismatch with your eye.
Wildwood's first sentence is spot on … Use the center that came with your machine (OEM) first.
Also, I have heard of lots of the pen mandrels being defective right out of the box …
I would suggest that you take your 60° center and your mandrel back to the turner that gave you the class and let him look at it.

 

[irpat]

Thanks for the reply's, Im guessing I could aline, even if I need to mill or add shims to my lathe to make it line up properly. But that would not correct the miss alignment though the headstock. As the photo shows, the headstock outboard shaft is off to one side of the casting over .200" being a Plant Quality control person, and quite anal about fabrication as I am and was, this just looks like poor craftsmanship. I could make or beak over 100K by simply being one decimal off on my set up. Now I know we can all argue over .005" all day long, but .200" to me is just not expectable IMHO.
thanks all,
Patrick

 

[Tennessee]

I'd be thinking, (before I packed everything up and did all the heavy work), whether or not the outside diameter of the casting flange in your headstock picture is even a critical dimension for the machine shop doing the CNC work on that headstock. I realize that the hole drilled for the mainshaft is way off center compared to the outside diameter of the casting, but that may not even be on their radar. They would be more concerned with how the main shaft in the headstock relates to the bed and the flats on the bottom of the headstock main casting.

My guess would be no, they don't care about that outside casting dimension. If that was a touchoff point, the whole insides would be off .200", and I cannot imagine the thing even running at that point.

I think that may be just a raw casting OD that has no bearing on the main shaft and how it is supported and spun in the headstock. And if there is an alignment on the bottom to align the headstock and tailstock centers, it would reinforce what I am advocating - that the casting is not the critical dimension, the relationship of the main shaft to the milled flats and how they sit on the bed of the lathe are way more critical. And if there is a way to slide it over with an adjustment bolt system on the bottom, that would be how they align it.

 

[irpat]

Grizzly is sending back my head stock, said the off center looking casting though looks horrid it's within there spec's
but they said after looking at all the photos I sent them, they are putting in a tailstock that they had that lined up perfectly with my headstock. They said this should bring it together perfectly. Yes if anyone out there has to actually be counseled for being what I like to call (a perfectionist), many call it worse words, then you know how hard this is for me
I truly am and do work on my issues, and I have three grizzly machines and to be quite honest, I have yet to break down or have a single issue with any of them, I sold an old Grizzly cabinet saw that served me well four over 15 years when I purchased my ICS Sawstop, and though the sawstop looks and works beautifully, the Motor failed after four years, My Grizzly 3hp was abused, packed full of sawdust till I couldn't tilt the blade time and time again, and not once did it fail me, so????
anyway, thanks to all of you that took the time to chime in, it is greatly appreciated.
-P

 

[irpat]

Just got the head stock and matching tail stock back, and they are a much, much better match, so close its like splitting hairs. One thing no one can argue well, is the fact that Grizzly does take care of their customers. And yes it would be nice if we didn't have problems at all, but all my machines with the exceptions of the few I don't use often, have needed maintenance and repair, and it's nice to know you have support when that day comes.
Patrick

 

[Grumpymike]

Woo-Hoo! Glad that you got the problem solved!
Isn't that Grizzly support group great?