LMS tailstock issue

[brh]

Hello
I have an LMS 8.5x16 lathe. Overall,I really like the lathe but have a minor problem with the tailstock: It will not self-eject. To remove centers or chucks. I need to use a block of wood against the housing while retracting the quill. Not major, but it would be nice to have them self-eject. What should I be looking at to rectify this?

Regards,
Brian

 

[DAN_IN_MN]

Hello
I have an LMS 8.5x16 lathe. Overall,I really like the lathe but have a minor problem with the tailstock: It will not self-eject. To remove centers or chucks. I need to use a block of wood against the housing while retracting the quill. Not major, but it would be nice to have them self-eject. What should I be looking at to rectify this?

Regards,
Brian

Brian

Welcome to the forum!

I'm a bit lost on how you're using the block of wood.

 

[wrmiller]

My guess would be that you have 'short' MT2 center/chuck which have the end tang cut off to fit in the smaller (7x12 or 7x14) lathes. Maybe your machine takes a full length MT2?

Chris at LMS could answer this real quick.

Bill

 

[rangerman]

The self-ejection process works as a mechanical/physical action when a part inside the tail stock bears/pushes against the end of the installed tapered piece.
Just like what was already mentioned more likely your tapered shank end is too short to make any significant contact with the pushing part within the tail stock even at its maximum reach.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

easiest way I can think of is to cut down some different lengths of appropriate diameter rod (could be plastic, brass, steel, anything really, even a pencil!) and see which is the right length to act as a spacer. You can even do it slightly scientifically by measuring the length of the arbor you're using and the depth of the quill when it's fully retracted. Your spacer needs to be the difference between the two plus a mm or two.

 

[brh]

Thanks for the advice. Yep, the culprit seems to be "short" shanks. Dan, in answer to your question: To eject chucks or live centers, I lay a small block of wood on top of the extended quill. When I crank it in, the wood gets wedged between the tailstock housing and the back of the chuck. The pressure forces the chuck out.

Regards,
Brian