Taig Lathe - Machining the Soft Jaws 

Appreciate the feedback, I plan to make a few more videos soon. Almost found the time, left it somewhere around here, gonna keep looking.

Totally agree! I just got a taig yesterday. I wasn't so sure of the instructions in the package, but this made it super clear, thanks.

desktoplathes open a patreon account. I am more than willing to send you 5$ a month to get a simple tutorial each week and i am sure many others would! Your explanations are at the perfect level of details for people who just start out!

Thanks! gotta love the minimalist character of Taig products, documentation is no exception :)

@@desktoplathes Yeah. Providing no manual is ...obscene when buying a machine tool.

thanks for the feedback! let me know if you have suggestions for any other how-to videos. I'm trying to decide what to do next.

@@desktoplathes Can you do a video on how to set up and use a dial indicator?

Rick Moskovits - Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. One thing to keep in mind is if you only have the one setup and don’t need to match other surfaces on the work, you can still get away with an un-trued set of soft jaws. But when you have to flip a part or remove and replace... all bets are off. 4 jaw is always the most accurate but often things won’t fit in the hard jaws or you need to match concentricity with an existing surface. Take care!

thank you!

Yep, they can true the outside as well... I think a lot of beginners trip over needing to clamp the jaws down to get rid of backlash in the scroll. Hopefully this video will get them started. Nice lathe you've got over on your vids - sub'd!

when truing the outside you cant use the washer trick but you need to clamp the outside with a big hoseclamp to get rid of the backlash. thanks for the sub

happymark1805 right, backlash in the other direction!

@@desktoplathes Frontlash? :)

yes! you want the jaws to be pushed out as they would be if they were clamping down on stock. The washer acts as simulated stock, ensuring the backlash in the scroll mechanism is removed.

Yes, definitely do that. Filing the remainder without removing the soft jaw that is ideal. There isn't much of a precision registration for each soft jaw so removing and replacing can cause things to end up in a different position relative to the turning axis. If I were to redo this video I would file the jaws in place rather than removing and reinstalling. Most folks use a 4 jaw when higher precision is needed. I plan to do a video on using the independent 4 jaw soon. Thanks for the feedback!

@@desktoplathes Awesome thanks! I have a 4 jaw chuck on the way as well, but if I could get this back down to .001 it will be more than precise enough for my needs.

Rob Thank you! As long as the jaws can all clamp down I believe the washer just needs to be "round enough." I've not had any trouble with one being too out of round and have used a coin before as well. Registration seems good enough for removal and re-installation as I removed and re-installed when filing off the nub. However, I can't say why exactly. The only registration to speak of along the length of the soft jaw is by the two bolts and associated holes. There is a nice tight fit side to side however. If one wanted to bore them out without removing, the washer could be faced down a bit thinner and then wedged behind the soft jaws against the hard mounts, allowing for full boring and no nub to file off. One note about soft jaws... they might be off when holding stock but if you do all of your machine work in one setup, it makes no difference. However when you go to flip the part or need to turn concentric to the held surface, that's when things become critical. And in those cases, you can use a 4 jaw independent and manually dial it in each time (just takes more time). A Collet chuck adapter and ER16 collets would be more repeatable than the 3 jaw self centering but not as accurate as a 4-jaw independent when done just right. I should do a video on the 4 jaw... just need to find the time!

You can do either. I believe I used the jaw itself in this video which is why filing of the nub is required at the end. However the objective is to simulate the jaw positions when clamping down on a part. If they are fastened right to the hardened metal behind, there should be no difference.

Great question, your thumb acts as the clutch by coupling the hand wheel to the carriage. So when the depth stop is hit, there is a considerable force required to hold the hand wheel from moving relative to the carriage and so you let off the pressure knowing you've bottomed out. I might do a video some day just on the power feed as I find it to be a very clever design but it's not obvious how it works.

@@desktoplathes Thanks for that great description!

Say what?