What am I missing...? Zeroing dials on my lathe

S

slowneasy

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I have a Acra 1340 that I picked up used, am new to turning metal but it appears to me that my dials can't be zeroed out. Am I missing something? If they can't be zeroed, is there some sort of aftermarket setup that will allow them to be zeroed? I don't have a DRO on it, would like one in the future but that's down the road (hopefully not too distance). Is this normal to not be able to zero dials on the saddle, cross slide & compound? If they can be zeroed, how? Thanks all!

IMG_3440.jpg
 
There should be either a collar in back of the dial to lock and unlock it, or a small screw or setscrew right on the dial itself. It would be very unusual for there not to be a way to set the dials.
 
I have the same style of lathe different brand. All three handles have spring loaded dials to zero the dial. What you do is with one hand hold the handle solid then with your other hand try and spin the dial ring and set to your zero point. The springs have enough tension to hold the dial to not spin freely.
 
Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate it. I want to believe you but I just can't Will those dials to move without the attached handle and lead screw moving. I'm pretty dense so maybe it's just me. Here are some pictures of my dials...
IMG_3792.jpgIMG_3793.jpgIMG_3794.jpg
 
See the knurled band next to the hand wheel? Grab and turn that knurled band and hold the handwheel still.
 
Your lathe is a common import design, my 12x36 is the same. No thumbscrew to lock down the dial. As mentioned it's usually just a flat piece of spring steel bent in a V shape that sits in a groove that provides friction on the ID of the dial. Or it can be an actual spring that wraps around the entire diameter but does the same, relies on friction. It's not uncommon for carriage handle wheel to be fixed, some are, some aren't. The cross slide, compound slide, & tailstock should be adjustable though.

It's unlikely that all the dials are stuck from rust or something. The lathe looks to be in good condition too. They should be very hard to move either. I wonder if someone did something to them. The dials aren't hard to take apart. Cross slide & tailstock should be the easiest to check. Perhaps pulling one them apart to have look inside would be a good idea. Remove the handwheel & the dial should slide right off.
 
OTmachine said:
Can I ask what the Allen set screw is doing?
Click to expand...

I could be wrong but it looks to me like that is how the compound slide handwheel is mounted since there is no SHCS on the face like there is for the cross slide handwheel.
 
Damn, I need to get a modern lathe!

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
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