Is .003 To Much Taper Over 24 Inches?

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Scruffy

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I've had this lathe proably 2 years now and never turned anything very long. Well yesterday I was turning a piece of 1.75 stock down to 1.40 and took a measurement.
It is running .003 in bigger at the chuck end of lathe . Question is should I try to get it better, or this close enough?
I don't do work for nasa, just hobby.

Thanks ron
 
I call that pretty good. You can play with adjusting the tailstock but depending if that is coming off your 16" American or you're Logan 820. Can make a difference. That's about the same amount I get off my 13" Sheldon that's 60 years old! It does have some wear in the bed, too. Ken
 
.003" @24" doesn't sound too bad.
a slight amount of twist may be present or as Ken said you could have slight misalignment of the tailstock, or wear or the combination of all.
try to correct for half of the TS error and test again, you may surprise yourself
 
I should have said , it' the American that's doing it. It was made in 54 and has very little wear. I don't know what it had been used for.
I think I will set up a dial indicator and try adjusting the tail stock.
Thanks ron
 
I bet your tailstock has worn enough that it is low on the centerline. May have to put some shims between the joint in the tailstock to raise back up on center.
 
Only you may answer this question.

There is no standard, rule of thumb or conventional wisdom. What the Customer requires is what you produce. If the component works for the amount of time required then it is acceptable. if not then adjustments must be made, accuracy is application dependent. If this were not so every simple mechanical device would be significantly more expensive to produce, do you measure the diameter of the lead screw in a Chapstick™ dispenser or the thread lead of a lipstick package screw?

Make the parts so that they work together, this is the only important consideration, one could spend the remaining days of their lives chasing tenths, if however so inclined have at it.
 
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Something else to consider. If you find that the TS is low due to wear, it won't be consistent along the length of the bed. So shimming it at x position may make it high at y position

Cheers Phil
 
12bolts said:
Something else to consider. If you find that the TS is low due to wear, it won't be consistent along the length of the bed. So shimming it at x position may make it high at y position

Cheers Phil
Click to expand...
Possible and wouldn't rule it out. But the wear ratio between the bed ways and the bottom of the tailstock is like 1 to 20, for every 1 thousandth worn off the bed you will take off 20 plus on the bottom of the tailstock. This is if the bed is harden. And of course how well it has been oiled and ways wiped down over the years. Oh, you also have the issue of wear of the tailstock barrel or spindle wear and tear, too! Don't forget...
 
If the shaft does not have to be exactly straight, do not worry about it.

Tailstock is likely offset a thou or so. Aligning a tailstock is like a dog chasing its tail. Trial and error over and over again.
 
That's why God developed the Cylindrical Grinding Machines. Or was that Brown & Sharpe? He knew the lathe would not cut exactly straight as the customer wanted it. They were made to grind to exact OD's with near zero taper from end to end on a shaft with the correct setup. Ken
 
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