Tail stock Clamp revisited

Sorry guys-- thought I had a handle on pictures but not so . In my original thread ? I talked about paint on the clamp, there it is in the preceding post! Plan now is to make 0.375 X 6.0" parallels to support the now upside down clamp to machine a smooth area for the adjusting bolt to work in. The bolt pulls tight against the casting as taken from the mold. That area on my Clausing has a machined face, then flip it to remove paint and a light truing cut.
So much for that.
Ray
 
Ray, I recently worked on the tailstock on my similar 13x40 (Ray and I had a short PM conversation about the issues) and scraped the bottom of the base in to fix a small amount of rocking and out of flatness and plane, using the like new hardened bed ways as a reference surface, while also keeping the quill properly level and inline within specs. Then I fixed some rock and poor fit between the upper and lower sections of the tailstock by scraping and a thin shim in one corner, while still maintaining quill alignment and height. I did not address the ~.025" over 5" slope from one side of the tailstock to the other between the upper and lower sections. After some careful thought I realized I can live with that, though I am still shaking my head. I then cleaned and lubed the cam parts for the lock down lever meachanism. They were dry and rough ex factory. Then I cleaned up some paint and primer I found here and there on the ground flats where the plate clamps and slides under the ways. Finally to the bottom clamp plate. It was making very poor contact with the lower ways at just the four corners of the plate, probably not 1/4 square inch total contact. The notched in flat ground on one side was poorly ground, with a radius where contact was being made, not on the sorta flat portion. So, I first hand filed the upper surface of the plate casting flat enough for good contact and no rocking on a flat surface. I then mounted that side down to the surface grinder chuck, and surface ground in the reinforcing "ears' on the lower side of the plate until I produced a stable platform. Then I turned it over again, and ground the previously filed upper surface properly flat. Finally, I ground the notched flats that ride on the ways until they were flat, parallel, and with sharper radius corners. The whole tailstock hold down system now actually works, and the tailstock does not slide on the ways when clamped down until massive force is applied. Whoever wants to know how they make Chinese lathes so inexpensive should sit down with me for a long talk... :-| No regrets, I am retired and have time to learn, diagnose, repair, and enjoy the improved results. Being retired, I work even cheaper than the Chinese do, and better, because all the effort is done only for my benefit...

Whatever anybody's estimate of how long it takes to do this work carefully and correctly while learning from self study is, they should multiply it by a large factor and then know they still guessed way too low... :frown:
 
Thanks Bob
You mentioned hand filing the top of the clamp at the beginning of your procedure, I wish mine was of that shape. However, I believe my plan will follow your methods pretty closely.
Discussing Chinese manufacturing (what little I know of it) may take longer than the time I have left. And I agree with your estimate on getting the work done.
Enjoy your retirement
Ray

PS I got lost in my own picture it may be possible to start by using a file, As Bob says the starting point is under the washer in the picture.
 
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