Patreon Q & A February 2016
Added 2016-02-09 12:36:42 +0000 UTCNot long after I purchased my little red lathe, I started to wonder whether I had just invested in a shiny red boat anchor. The tailstock design is incredibly poor, and its almost unusable for any sort of precise operation - I say almost, because there are a few things you can do to squeeze some surprisingly good quality work out of it.
Cheers,
Chris.
Tubalcain's videos on making a test bar for aligning a lathe tailstock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLXL3cdnbpM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqjO4yPvhQs
Comments
Yes I do - I honestly think there's a great little business opportunity for someone with foundry facilities/experience (like MLA for example) to make and sell well designed after market tailstocks for the top 5 or 6 Chinese re-brand lathes. Just the castings, milled to fit the bed, with the quill to be bored on the lathe by the owner. I know I wouldn't hesitate to to pay over the odds for one if I knew it was going to solve the problem. Re: lathes in Oz, all Chinese imports that I have clocked show similar issues; its something the Chinese manufacturers either don't understand, or don't see as important. Its a shame, because without too much effort or expense, they could significantly improve what they are selling. Cheers mate :)
Clickspring
2016-02-15 20:54:22 +0000 UTCHi Chris...good to see you back....need to get you on the NBN! Shame to hear about the tailstocks on the Seig lathes. Do you think its worth trying to upgrade it with a larger cast iron moulding and milling to match? Which lathes available in Oz do you think have a good tailstock?
Johnno Dee
2016-02-15 20:34:40 +0000 UTCThanks Steve, me too! I was starting to get a little bit grumpy after the third attempt to upload!
Clickspring
2016-02-09 19:30:03 +0000 UTCGreat video Chris - glad your internet upload is working again! Cheers, Steve
TheEvilestSteve
2016-02-09 16:13:51 +0000 UTC
