Testing the alignment of a lathe with a laser lever

[Rick James]

You get what you pay for....I bought a $79 lathe at Harbor Freight ... model #45276 as soon as I get the spindle adapter a 3/4-Inch x 10tpi to 1-Inch x 8tpi and my new Grizzly H6265 chuck looks like I will be ready for some great turning ..many thanks to all the form members for there great help and advice!! But.... I think I am having a problem with the tailstock not lining up I thought it was just me not finding center on the wood. But after using a laser lever to test the alignment from the headstock's to the tailstock. I found that the points did not line up. I placed the laser on top of the head stock's spur point, then I moved the tail stock up and down the length of the lathe several times the farther I got away from the headstock the more out of alignment it got .. it was off about ¾ of an inch. With the laser light coming of the headstock I could not get the tailstock to line up.
But if I placed the laser on the tailstock and pointed it toward the headstock I could then line up the to points by moving (turning the tailstock slightly counter clock wise..hum whats going on..maybe am not doing something right. Any ideas are suggestions.
I suppose this is just my cheap lathe characteristic! 😕

 

[john lucas]

Rick I'm not sure how your using the lazar level. Put the spur drive in the headstock and the tailcenter in the tailstock. The slide them together. The points should line up. However on a lathe that inexpensive I would not be surprised if they don't . It isn't a big deal for most turnings unless you end up swapping the piece end for end or sometimes when using the tailstock and the chuck together. You may be able to shim the tailstock or headstock to make them align.
Use your lazar lever to align the bed and make sure it's level. A twisted bed will throw off the alignment of the headstock and tailstock.

 

[Rick James]

Hi john, I think when I bolted the lathe to the stand that's were my trouble started. I had to take off the bolts on the lathe to bolt it to the stand.
the frame may have shifted...I think I can fix it ....hope!!!!😱

Rick

 

[Gordon Seto]

Don't waste your time. Return it if you can. One of our members had this lathe before he joined our Club. The head stock is made out of sheet metal and hollow square tube ways, there is no integrity in the the spindle and ways of this lathe.
Normally if you just turn between centers (without using any chuck or face plate), it doesn't matter if your lathe alignment is perfect. Your lathe would turn concentric between the two centers. But on this model if you tighten up the tail stock, the bed would bow up. For a 14" lathe with 1125 minimum rpm is way too fast. IMO, if you can't tighten the tail stock to secure your blank, together with high speed, it is not a safe lathe to use.
He couldn't even turn a pen with it. The pen would look loop-sided because it was running eccentric.
Harbor Freight is one of my favorite stores. They provide good service and good value for most of their merchandises, but this lathe is I would avoid.
Not everybody can afford an expensive lathe. I would rather have a smaller capacity lathe or an used good lathe.
When the blank becomes air borne at high speed, it could hurt you bad. Besides when the lathe is vibrating, it would be almost impossible to get a controlled cut.

Edit: the lathe that our Club member had was this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38515
I guess they are both similar in design, in weights etc, except one has a disk sander.

 

[Rick James]

Hello Gordon, I think they may have fixed a few of them...at lest I think they did well this one anyway. this lathe has a solid head stock and is made out of solid metal. As for the speed, yep I agree the rpm is way too fast even on the slowest speed. But I have a work around by adding larger newer steper pulleys that Way I can change the speed to about 600 or 700 rpm for my low speed. A lot of trouble maybe but I like to tinker. I didn't have the lineament trouble till after I added the new stand. 😱 I just didn't put 2 and 2 together until now about the stand..... thank you kindly for your reply!

Rick

I have the one with the sander, it is a little better some improvements ...nothing to write home about lol!!

 

[MichaelMouse]

A firm and flat table will do a lot for rigidity, even for tubes. I'm a believer in following the money in repair situations. Where it could be A,B or C, I start with the least expensive option. In this case it's washers and MDF, though a case could certainly be made for turning this into a buffer and buying a lathe.

Only you can decide if and when "good enough" or "had enough" applies.

 

[Joe Greiner]

Considering the bux you're investing in chucks, not to mention other accessories, you might be better served by the 34706. Substantially a clone of the similar-size Jet, and duplicated by the MC900 in Oz, it's one of the better low-end lathes. A similar one was badged by Grizzly a few years ago, but now dropped. I've had the 34706 for a couple years with no drama (knock wood), except of my own making. A WT club member burned up a motor (I think), and had it replaced by HF, more or less gratis IIRC.

Joe

 

[Gordon Seto]

IIRC, it was how the square tubes were attached to the head stock was the main problem. The square tube were welded to a tab, then screwed (or bolted) to the head stock. I hope HF has corrected the problem.
That was probably 3 or 4 years ago. My memory is not that good. That member donated it to our Club; we couldn't find a taker for two years.

 

[Malcolm Smith]

This is the common problem with inexpensive lathes and especially with the ones that have rotating heads. There's a reason for the Oneway lathes having fixed heads. Worst of all, the tailstocks on many of them don't lock in place adequately. It really is important that the headstock and tailstock lign up. Do what you can, but if you do a lot of turning, you may find yourself upgrading to something more substantial.

Malcolm Smith.

 

[Rick James]

I know you guys are right about this lathe,....and I do hope to buy a good lathe someday. But for the moment I will try to do my best with this machine. I just remounted the lathe on the stand and adjust those square tubes (made new holes) bolted it back up she's purring like a kitten, with maybe a slight cough lol. Maybe not the best but it will do for now. I would like thank every one for there comments and advice I have acquired some good information...I take my hat off to all of you...
thank you guys!!

Rick

 

[john lucas]

Rick We all started that way with inexpensive lathes the would shake rattle and roll. The best thing I did was get rid of it and buy a cast iron mini lathe. They run so much smoother I was amazed how quickly my turning improved. In fact I still have that lathe even though I now have a 700 lb monster.
The most important thing is to just take your time and have fun. Learn to sharpen well and that will improve your turning. Then when the time is right you'll get sucked into the vacuum and buy another lathe.

 

[Rick James]

Thanks Jon for that nice comment...Maybe I will look into a cast iron mini lathe! I guess I need to start saving again and see what I can find!
Rick 🙂

 

[Rick James]

8" x 12" Benchtop Wood Lathe 95607-7VGA

Hi again do you know anythink about this lathe....
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95607

8" x 12" Benchtop Wood Lathe..Top quality benchtop lathe is ideal for crafts, hobbies and professional detail work.

* 750-3200 RPM variable speed for precise control
* 1/3 HP motor
* Comes with #1 Morse taper head and tail stock; 2" and 6" face plates, 4" and 7" tool rests

110V, 60 Hz, 250 watts; 3/4" drive spindle, 16RH thread;
Weight: 44 lbs.


ITEM 95607-7VGA

$139.99

 

[john lucas]

They have had those lathes in one of the stores around here. They are junk. The tailstock doesn't move freely. The castings look cheap and in my opinion 1/3 hp is only good for small work. For another $100 you can get a Jet mini that is 10 times the quality of the HF lathe. I know it's another $100 but you will have nothing but trouble from the HF lathe and if it breaks good luck on getting parts. Jet on the other hand has been very good about carrying parts. They also have a tremendous track record. There are hundreds and hundreds of these lathes out there and a few have had problems but I think 99% of the people who own them are quite happy with them.

 

[Gordon Seto]

Rick,
I am 100% with John on the Jet mini.
If you insist on the HF, the Jet clone 34706 that Joe mentioned is usually for sale at around $160 to $180. I think that is a better value. It has a 1" X 8 TPI spindle thread and #2 Morse Taper, which are the most popular sizes. If you like turning, the accessories that you acquired can be used in your next lathe.
Most of the popular mini lathe has a 10" swing. This model has only 8" swing. The largest object that you can turn clearing the banjo would leave you only less than 6" diameter. This lathe has variable speed which is good, but this feature is not important on lathes of this size and horse power.
HF has very good customer service, you may want to talk to the manager and see whether he can give you the sale price on 34706.
I had the Jet 1236, which was what the 34706 cloned from. I upgraded to the Jet mini 1014. It is more enjoyable to use, no regrets.
I would also suggest you to check out your local AAW chapter:
http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/members.pl?submit=Chapter+List
Members are upgrading all the time. Unless the for sale lathe is one of those high end lathes that every member wants to upgrade into, you may be able to find a good used lathe at a good price.

 

[Rick James]

Hi guys thank you for the advice on the right lathe. Well I decide to go ahead and get the the Jet clone 34706 from HF. I had bought the protection plain for 2 years, so I decide to call HF and tell them the trouble Am having with the lathe they told me to bring it back and the stand and I could up grade to the 34706 wow I was surprised.
So you guys think this would be OK for a now. Man wish that I wooden haven bought ... that Spindle Adapter

Thank you guys again...for your help I will let you guys know how it goes.

Rick