Hi Mrpete222. I saw this video when you posted it back in 2012. Ever since, it has been in the back of my mind. Just the other day, I ordered the adapters. Now I have the adapters in hand, reviewed the video again as a refresher, and will go into the garage to make the test pieces to align the tailstock! I hope you realize, how many lives you have influenced with your videos, and how that has influenced our world! Thank you sir!!!
In these days of no one giving a dam, it is a pleasure to find someone willing to help and share experience. I cant see where anyone could have any reason to complain. I personally would like to take you out for a steak dinner.
Another great lesson I've Learned !! Don't Let The Negative Comments get you down .There Will Always be some Keyboard Warrior that is miserable in life and takes it out on others I do feel bad for them You Tube has some Great Teachers like you Thanks for the videos !!!!!
Very useful! Thank you. Please don't become discouraged because of negative comments on RU-vid. Many people seem to gain a feeling of superiority just by criticizing and they will criticize every and anything. You have an enormous number of fans out here.
this looks like a real good idea. it's cheap and easy to do and has the adantage of being able to check for tailstock alignment at any place on the lathe.
Hello Sir, Please do not take a dislike personally. It could be something as simple as they think they have a better idea. Weather they do or not is not the point, the point is we know you have gone out of your way to film, edit and place them on you tube (without ads!) for us to learn and enjoy. As a Teacher you sometimes need a thick skin! Thanks for your hard work.
Mr. Pete. You're simply THE Gold Standard. Though I'm probably closer to your age, I think back to my father as you speak, knowing that he taught with the intention of making me better than he was. If you have a son/s or daughter/s, I can only imagine how proud they must be of their ol' man. Cheers to a happy and health new year and Thank you for your hard work!
I certainly would have enjoyed having you as my shop teacher in high school. Your videos are always thoroughly enjoyed and the detail that you go into is great. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks so much for your efforts in sharing your knowledge. I grew up with an old South Bend 9" lathe in my Dad's workshop, made all the mistakes possible, but learned from them. Your videos have proved that it's never too late to improve. Best always.
I greatly appreciate the time you spend sharing your knowledge. I knew nothing at all about machining about a year ago and because of your videos and reading books(LOTS of hands on LOL) I have a hobby I love. You are a true craftsman. I am a carpenter by trade but have always wanted to learn machinist work. It has come in handy. Have made replacement parts for my old tractor and some custom parts for my truck. Just built a cnc mill also...its the same but different LOL Thank you VERY MUCH!
Maybe you did beat the subject to death but it's WELL worth it!! Thank you for all the hard work and your time producing these videos. I have learned so much.
Grandfather was a machinist at Bethlehem Steel. In the disposable world we live in, it's good to see someone who has the skill to fix things right. I think everyone is tired of seeing someone hack at a car, bike, or espicially a gun with a die-grinder.
Thank you Tubelcain for your videos! I recently got an old South Bend lathe and got it up and running again. I pretty much don't know how to do anything with a lathe, but your videos are a fantastic help. It's great to have your depth of knowledge captured and available to those who need it. Thanks a stack! God bless!
Hi Mr. P. Thanks for another great video. Your dad had a great method of testing for tailstock alignment. This was passed on to me by a former student of his who later became my shop teacher. Start with a straight piece of CRS about 3/4" x 18" or so long; Face and center drill each end; weld a steel washer maybe 2" OD. close to each end; Turn between centers using a bent tail lathe dog; mic the washer at each end after turning; when measurements are equal, alignment is perfect.
,,, it's a cool day over here on the east coast of Arkansas = more time in the shop,, only after a morning in the classroom,, a very good lesson today,, thanks
While it would be more work I think I will make the 1st version one with the milling. I never was aware of milling the center drilled hole, until you presented it. Thanks1
Appreciate your videos! I just went to the shop to see if I needed to get anything to align the centers. Turns out that using my 3MT sleeve and 2MT live center, I can make the alignment as the outside of the live center is straight. The outside of the stationary part of the live center is a nice cylinder. Just put it in the 3MT sleeve in the headstock, zero the test indicator, and transfer the live center to the tailstock and adjust, if necessary. Thanks to you, tubalcain and Michael Parry, for great ideas and technique.
easier way is to use coaxial indicator...first turn any piece of metal you have in chuck,to have perfect round piece ,then ,put indicator in known good drill chuck ,or MT holder with known good ER collet for holding coaxial indicator ,and thats all
I’m really liked this idea for Aligning lathe centers, we are getting a lot of work that requires us to use the tail stock on a CNC lathe. I think this method would make setups easier and faster to insure more accurate alignments
Nice idea. You could use blank end arbors also, they are even cheaper than drill chuck arbors and come with a much larger "head" I always keep a couple of hand for making very accurate tool holders such as for center drills.
This is a great idea, out of the two methods you show in these two vids, I like this one, so thanks, I intend to do this method as soon as I can get hold of some drill chuck arbors, excellent stuff!
I bought mt2 and mt3 straight stub arbors and had to machine them. They were visibly out when I put them on the lathe. Took a 1" down to .92 to get them right. Thanks again Mr Pete for all your videos.
Hi Tubalcain. Sending you this message from England UK. Love your videos, I have watched nearly all of them over the last month. I'm sure you know this but another way I've used is holding an indicator on a bent bit of rod which in turn is held in the chuck. and run the indicator on the inside of my morse taper. It's quick and easy if a little hard to read at 180 degrees! Also accounts for any chuck inaccuracy. Although I also found out my tailstock was 10thou too low, vertically!
Mr. Pete, Brownell's still sells them, however they are now $34.99 plus what ever they charge for shipping. Thank you for all of your excellent videos!
Thank You I am going to use this method very shortly when I maintenance my machine again !! You're videos are great and are an inspiration. Thank You for taking the time to share your knowledge with us !!
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GREAT VIDEOS. YOU ARE AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THOSE (IDIOTS) THAT LEAVE 'REDS'... SOME PEOPLE WILL CRITICIZE ANYTHING.
Great idea! I have a couple of beat up MT2 and MT3 dead centers that could easily be turned down and used in this fashion. I keep picking them up at estate sales for a buck or two knowing that they'd come in handy for something and this is just the ticket for them.
Mr. Pete, YOU ROCK! Don't worry about the knuckle-heads that give you a red mark. Trust me, they are the one's with the problem. Thank you and keep 'em coming.....
Made my set today for my $1100.00 over the pond lathe and they work well, thanks very much for sharing you knowledge Cheers Richard The land down under
i made one of these at my internship it was a grinded rod with 2 bronze discs pressed onto it with between te disks some distance. they said the used it to measure if the sled of the lathe moved straight. was a simple but fun thing to make though!
Tubalcain, thanks immensely for all the great videos. You have conveyed an enormous amount of information on your channel. It's an incredible asset for many of us, both for beginners and the experienced that need a bit of a refresher. It really is a great library of videos. I wouldn't get too discouraged over the few dislikes you receive. If GOD posted a RU-vid video, someone would hit the 'dislike' button. Thanks again for all your effort. (Whew! 180 videos down ... 81 to go! lol)
I really like the Jacob's taper best because you can check the bed of the lathe at different points too. The buttons look like they would only test at the nearest point of the tailstock on the lathe and then the 12" bar would only test the tailstock at that position. I suspect that with my SB 9A (1946) lathe bed, there might be some wear and to be more accurate, I might have to test where I am going to use the tailstock and then do my adjustment if necessary and then do my work. I don't mind since I simply enjoy using this old but wonderful machine!!! My dads Clausing (that I inherited) also has much wear so I'll need to make a set for that lathe too.
I bought several no#3 arbors with .750 and 1.00 straight stubs from busy bee tools here in Canada. I think they came from china but are ground and soft stubs so they are easy to machine.
These are awesome. I look forward to making a pair. I don't understand the point of the Brownell's things. Wouldn't it be more accurate to just align the points of your centers if they're already that close anyway?
Just an idea for a video, we have a set micrometer that goes into the jaws, it has 3 diameters (biggest to smallest on the plane side) with an attachment to extend and screw a micrometer in. To use it, you chuck the small diameter, use the middle diameter to true it up, and the biggest diameter holds the micrometer. Then run the tail stock out, then you read the complete OD of the tail stock by manually turning the chuck. (really only worrying about the parallel sides.)
Great video as always. Very much appreciate the effort you put into these. Was wondering why you need to machine two arbours, and why you cannot use just one, moving it from headstock to tailstock. No doubt there is a good reason - I'm still thinking it through! Kind regards, Andrew UK
i wanted to comment, but have decided to say: michael parry, i more closely agree with 1 rather than 2. you're on the more pragmatic path... both part 1& 2 are entertaining videos...
Just a word of favor for you , I don't believe you over explain things because we all learn differently and sometimes I don't get it from one point of view but by you using more than one ... I get it ! How big of a taste of coffee does one take to tell if it is good or bad ? Keep being You that is what we like to watch and your information too .
Good video I m learning about this stuff. I wish I had a metal lathe. I need one for the build process of my solar trackers. The machine shop want 100 bucks for a small job I have to do turning down a drill stock I use on my trackers. I have to hand grind and sand it for now.
Mr. Pete....another method????..... Put a coaxial indicator in the head stock and then sweep either the id of the tail stock taper or the od of an insert within the tail stock id. What do you think of this method?
great idea but only if your lathe does NOT turn a taper or you turn very short pieces...from my experience turning a long piece requires you to reset the tail stock over to compensate because of (bar flex) etc..so great to reseting for drilling! anyways still very educational thanks for sharing
You could market that idea!! That's thinking outside the box. I was wondering why couldn't you just put a center in the tail stock and the drill chuck taper in the head stock and just align the tail stock center with the center hole in the end of the drill chuck taper? I did that once before just to check the alignment on my lathe. I haven't had to adjust it yet.
enjoyed another video, question??? I've always wondered advantage vs disadvantage of DEAD CENTERS VS LIVE CENTERS. would enjoy a video on this. Still learning
Thanks for this tip. A two piece test is excellent, this enables you to measure at any spot along the bed. But you really don't have to turn both pieces to the same size, you only need to know the two diameters and use a little math. Hey I'm lazy, LOL. But the pieces should not be tapered as this would induce error into the measurement. Just another way of skinning that cat.
Mr Pete, I love watching your videos, I inherited an atlas th54 and had zero experience, I can now grind tools, set-up my lathe, make replacement parts for some other equipment I have. Thanks so much. Regarding the machining of the JT arbors, why not just use a straight stub arbor? Would you still machine it some before using it? S.
The chuck arbors you used could be used just like the buttons, instead of using your test indicator. Also I believe you, said you didn't know if Brownells had a web site. Maybe you saw it later, but it was right on the front cover. I don't know how many times I've done the same thing.
Could you use your "foreshortened" test bar set the same way the Brownell buttons are used? i.e.: extend the tailstock quill until the ends butt together and then mike the joint. Any reading other than the .749 would indicate a misalignment if I understand the method described in the catalog correctly. Take care Bob
I recommend that before anyone adjusts their tail-stock that clean ways are important and that when making things it's a good idea to brush off and wipe down your ways, and if you use an air blower 'do not' blow the chips towards or against the rubber way wipers (it will blow trash past them) And a couple thousandths chip under your tail stock will push the top off center even farther. So before making your testing pieces I would remove the tail-stock and check for debris. :o] O,,,
I get them here in Canada from Busy Bee Tools. Travers Tools in the states should have them. I tried to check but was unable to connect. Other good metalworking stores should have them. I will check
If your tail stock is out, there are straight pins you can use as a sub. Moreover, between centers and a drive dog make a blank and turn check the taper and adjust accordingly. I can tell from your MT-3 in headstock and sound of your lathe ...time to replace the bearings. Of course that just my opinion ...I could be wrong.... But I'm not!
Hi there, I'm a mold maker apprentice from Germany and wanted to ask you why you allways have your top slide (I think thats the english term) angled like that. We in Germany have yours always straight, parallel to the ways. Greetings.
