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AligningyourLathe
byDickVeitch
Ifyouarejustturningachairlegbetweencenters,itdoesnotmattertoo
muchiftheheadandtailofyourlathearenotperfectlyinline.Likewise,
youcanturnabowlwithoutusingthetailstock.
But,ifyouwanttodoanythingwherethewoodisheldinachuckandthe
tailstockisbroughtuptothewood,thentheheadandtailneedtobe
correctlyaligned.Iamsureyoucanthinkofmanytimeswhenbothachuck
andtailstockareinuse.
Sphereturningisanotherwherethetwocupchucksneedtobenicely
alignedtoturnaperfectsphere.Itwouldbeniceifalllatheswereperfectly
alignedatalltimes,butsomehaveswivelheadsandtheiralignmentneeds
tobecheckedeverytimetheheadisreturnedtothelineofthebed.
Somelathesareonunevenfloorsandthebedistwisted.Somelathesarea
littlewornandneedadjusting.Somewillbeoutoflineforanotherreason.
Ifyouareabsolutelycertainthatthetailstockofyourlatheisperfectly
aligned,thenyoucanputadrivespurinthehead,livecenterinthetail,
andbringthetwointoline.(SeeFigure1.)
Figure1.Usingtwocenterstocheckalignment.
Ifthetailstockisnotperfectlyinline,thenthismethodmaylooklikeitis
workingbutyoufinishupwithbothheadandtailoutofline.Thehard
metalmethodistouseadouble-endedMorsetaper.Teknatoolcallsthis
theAcrulineSystem.(SeeFigure2.)
Figure2.UsingtheAcrulineSystemtocheckalignment.
Simplyinsertthisfirmlyinboththeheadandtailstockwhilebothareloose
onthebed.Tightenbothdownandtheyshouldbenicelyaligned.
Ifyouneedtochecktheheadstockalignmentwithalittlemorecare,then
gripalonglengthofwoodinachuck(SeeFigure3.)
Figure3.Alengthofwoodmountedinachuck.
Nowrotateitslowly(100-300rpm)andmarkthecentralpointonthetail
endasshowninFigure4.
Figure4.Markingtheendoftherotatingwoodwithapencil.
Thenbringthetailstockcloseandthiscentralpointshouldbeatthecenter
ofthelivetailasshowninFigure5.
Figure5.Thetailcentershouldalignwiththepencilmarkontheendofthe
wood.