Lathe Alignment

boz

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Can the alignment of a craftex 701 12x30 lathe be changed. If so how?

Boz
 
What is out of line on yours? The biggest thing I found with mine was that I needed to spend a bit of time getting it leveled to take any twist out of the bed. I used a machinists level and just kept working at it until it was close to perfect. Other than that, I'm not sure what is adjustable.
 
You should (may) have adj screws on the tailstock. I can actually do tapers on mine to some degree (pun intended) I noticed mine was out around 2thousands and I adjusted it .....I'll work on it again tomorrow I wish I hadn't touched it though ....but it has to be done. .002 was to much for the length I was working on ......and I am hoping I can do better....I'll see .....Oh yeah and if you have a 4 jaw you can dial that in. What exactly are you concerned about ?
 
BMW Rider: I am in the process of leveling and I ask the question only to complete the second phase of the lathe set up procedure which is alignment if required after leveling.
Thanks for the reply

Bopz
 
You should (may) have adj screws on the tailstock. I can actually do tapers on mine to some degree (pun intended) I noticed mine was out around 2thousands and I adjusted it .....I'll work on it again tomorrow I wish I hadn't touched it though ....but it has to be done. .002 was to much for the length I was working on ......and I am hoping I can do better....I'll see .....Oh yeah and if you have a 4 jaw you can dial that in. What exactly are you concerned about ?

I am referring to head stock to lathe way (bed) adjustment not tail stock alignment
Thanks for the reply
 
I have the same machine from another distributor. Just so you know it is not a 12 x 30. It is in reality a 11" x 27". Even Busy Bee has it listed in the specs at 11.5" swing with 27.5" between centers. With that said, the head stock bolts to the ways / base and is "non adjustable" for all practical purposes. There will be some fine adjustment that can be made from how much you tighten the bolts that hold the head stock down. This would seem to be a trial and error type of thing. Torque a bolt, make a cut, measure, repeat. You will be making fine cuts on a larger diameter piece held just in the chuck and then measuring right at the chuck and then approx. 6" away to check for taper. Mine had approx. .0006" taper over 7" out of the crate so I am calling that good for the type of projects I do on it.
 
It can be scraped, the headstock alignment is adjusted once the bed is flat. Tim
 
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