Bed Extension Question

[Karl Ziegler]

I just purchased a bed extention for my Jet mini lathe. The box says, "Installs in Minutes!" However, it did not say how many minutes. My question is this: After many minutes of aligning, and even following directions, I was able to align the bed reasonalby well, however it is not what I would call, "seamless." When I move the tailstock over the connection, there is still a slight catch. Everything is level, and aligned as best as I can get it, but it does not line up perfectly. Is that to be expected?

 

[Ken Grunke]

You might try clamping the tailstock directly across the joint with the bolts holding the extension just a bit loose, then tighten them. That will at least get the top surfaces lined up. If there's still a bump, it will be in the inner edges of the bedrails. Loosen the bolts again just a bit, tap the bed extension with a wood mallet directly sideways, clamp the tailstock, then tighten the bed bolts. It may take a few cycles of loosen/tap/clamp tailstock/tighten bolts to get it right on.
If you still get a bump, then either the inner edges of the bedrails don't match up, or the bottom surfaces of the beds where the clamp plate rides is uneven and you'll have to do some filing/grinding.
Good luck, hope this helps.