# New lathe, centers do not align vertically



## TPOK (Jan 3, 2017)

First post. Just joined and need help already 

Just took delivery of a Laguna 1836. Set up was easy, if a bit heavy.

Then checked center alignment for the tail and head stock. Put the supplied drive center in the head stock, live center in the tail stock. Horizontally, peaches. Vertically, the tail stock is visibly higher than the head stock.










I contacted Laguna CS. Was told the tolerance is .020, but that if I wanted to be more precice, I could remove take an orbital sander to the bottom of the tail stock and remove enough material to align the centers to my satisfaction.

More investigation:

I grabbed a couple of drill driver bit holders and mounted them in a lathe chuck and a drill chuck.










The two drivers are .055 different in diameter. They line up perfectly on top. Mic to .055 difference at the bottom. So .0275 out of alignment, give or take. Out of what seems to me to be a rather generous tolerance of .020.

So, question(s) to the learned members of this forum:

How big a deal is this? Jeez, my old Jet 1014 has perfect vertical alignment.

Sand the bottom of the tail stock? Any of you ever had to do that? I think a machine shop is more likely.

Thoughts?

Thanks, in advance.

Tim


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Shim the headstock.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

I would send Laguna your measurement of being out by .055
Along with a measurement from the bed to the center on your head stock… (or your tail stock) so that they can either send you one that is 'properly shorter' or have you machine the tail stock base and send them the bill.
I think sanding .055 of cast iron is not a reasonable request for buying a new 2500 dollar piece of equipment.

there are workarounds for everything… e.g. maybe it is simpler to shim the headstock, if you don't intend to move it around to do outboard turning of large bowls. But For a new piece of equipment I would ask them to fix it.


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## TPOK (Jan 3, 2017)

Loren,

I thought about shimming the headstock, but I want to be able to move it. I have the bed extension on order that allow turning stock beyond 18" in diameter. Although I could shim the headstock temporarily to make a really good determination of how much to remove from the tailstock. Hadn't thought about that till now.

I'm not a machinist, or a mechanic, by any measure. What material would I use to shim the headstock? Where would I get it? Sorry if these are dumb questions.

DrDirt,

Agreed on the sanding. It would actually be .0275, but there is no way I'd keep that flat with a sander. Just seems an unreasonable request all around.

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

Get a test indicator and a good face plate to see exactly how far it is off and make sure the tailstock moves in parallel to the headstock axis.

To shim the headstock, you can buy steel shim stock, steel feeler gauges or cut up tin cans to make shims.

On a metal lathe my target tolerance would be 0.0005" or less and unless my lathe ways were warped or bowed somehow I would shim until I get there.

Sanding the tailstock is never the answer on a metal lathe, if it is out too far to shim you solve that by surface grinding and scraping.


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## TPOK (Jan 3, 2017)

OSB,

Thanks for the reply. What sort of "test indicator" are you referring to? Forgive my newbness.

Also, how would I determine that the tailstock is moving in parallel with the headstock axis.

Thx.


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

Test Indicator = Dial Test Indicator = Dial Indicator.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-623.html


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

When ever I have needed thin shims, I usually buy a few of these cheap feeler gauges at the auto parts house or WalMart. Buying several gives you a range of thicknesses and you'll have pairs of the same thickness. 
.


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## GlenintheNorth (Dec 6, 2016)

I would go back to Laguna and tell them their tailstock is .0075 out of tolerance. If you ever turn between centers that will be unacceptable.

Of course, I come from metal-land on this stuff, but make them pay shipping until you get one that can be used. Else, I'd send it back. .020" is dare I say a retarded tolerance on that. And then to MISS it…


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## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

> I contacted Laguna CS. Was told the tolerance is .020, but that if I wanted to be more precice, I could remove take an orbital sander to the bottom of the tail stock and remove enough material to align the centers to my satisfaction.


New? tolerance should be right on, every other brand is.

I think Laguna should send you a new tailstock or return shipping labels.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

> Test Indicator = Dial Test Indicator = Dial Indicator.
> 
> http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-623.html
> 
> - brtech


Not really, I just bought a digital "dial indicator", it has a measurement range of 0.500" and a resolution of 0.0005". A test indicator is a much more sensitive device with a measurement range of about 0.020" and a resolution around 0.00005".

There are some electronic test indicators that can resolve microns but that is pretty exotic.

If you want to really nail the setup you need to measure it to a high degree of precision.

Testing to see if your lathe bed is parallel to your headstock axis is pretty easy on a metal lathe, you just turn a test cylinder and measure for taper. On a wood lathe and hand held tooling, I'm not sure how I would do it. Maybe you could clamp a bar to the headstock, attach the test indicator to the end of the bar and use that to indicate on a drill rod or plug gauge held in the tailstock. If you can spin the headstock 360° without the needle moving much, the tailstock is concentric. If you can get a good result with the tailstock at both ends of the lathe bed, you should be good.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Pretty sure lathe instructions tell you how to level your lathe along & across the lathe ways (bed). Simple answer to your problem is take out of level until to get points to line up. There is play a lot of in this style cast iron lathe. Also those mass produced OEM centers not always running true right of the box!

Once get heads/tailstock aligned does not mean that is going to true as move the tailstock back from the headstock.

http://www.lagunatools.com/lathes/18-36

When first got my Jet 1642 head/tail stock tad out of alignment using OEM centers. Inserted my favorite two prong & aftermarket live center everything aligned! Also found if removed the cone from live center lathe also in alignment. After running lathe few months and installing the cone back on my OEM live center everything was aligned.

Another Jet 1642 owner was told by factory rep to take his lathe out of level to fix his alignment issues. It worked for him!


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

> New? tolerance should be right on, every other brand is.
> 
> - Tim Dahn


NOPE. Tolerances are about the same for Jet too.
My Jet 1642 centers didn't line up even after getting TWO replacement tailstocks. Never did get it to line up perfectly. Finally gave up and filed down the best one til I got it sorta close.

But yeah, I hate those SLOPPY tolerances.

Did you know you are supposed to adjust the legs to get the centers to line up from front to back? Basically you're just twisting the bed….


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

TPOK,
Glad you joined here welcome….
I have the very same lathe….how disheartening…I had the good fortune of not having any issues. A long time ago I bought a Rikon that was not co-planar. I bought it specifically for mounting a Beall Buff, so it really didn't matte all that mucr, but it did to me….I shimmed it but that is a PITA! Occasionally I use it to mentor another person and the shims move and come out…etc…shimming is not the answer in this case for a high end lathe.

I posted when I got the lathe… http://lumberjocks.com/topics/151282 .....and one of the posters had some issues with the tailstock and subsequent issues with Customer Service. He called management…..it was RAMI….starting on Post #24. Maybe PM him and ask who he tallked to. This is not a 300.00 Rikon like I had the issues with. This is a direct competitor to the big dogs like Power Matic and Robust. If they want to play they need to pony up and produce the same product….

As wildwood said, (He has always given me good advice) move it around a little..move the headstock down the ways and try the co-planar then…try different things. Also who is to say which peice is out of tolerance the Head or the tail stock? Good Luck, I will be interested to find out how you fix this…...no to mention it is not a good idea to have this posted to how ever many thousand woodworkers that are on here that are potential customers that their customer service told you to basically pound sand…...Maybe the Laguan exec needs to know that?
Just my .02
Mike

RAMI


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## PineSucks (Aug 3, 2015)

Wow. So 0.02" is their tolerance? That is just sloppy.

Reminds me of the who had a brand spankin new Jeep that was burning oil. He called the dealership and learned that the specs for acceptable oil burn is 1qt per 1,000 miles. The recommended oil change interval for new Jeeps is every 6,000 miles. They take 5.5 quarts of 5w20 at oil time. That is some seriously sloppy math right there. Simply put, it's within their tolerance for there to be no oil in the Jeep at oil change time.


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## restored (Sep 2, 2012)

I'm sorry to hear you have this issue right out of the box. Always looking to upgrade my Powermatic 90, I keep an eye out for the new and used models that hit the market. I recall a few years back a few others who purchased the larger Luguana lathes had the same issue, and got nowhere with customer service. I would have thought like with the development of improved VSD's etc. that lathe producers/ makers have seen a growing market, and with that to compete with the big boys, as Rami stated, A perfect product which is brand new is the only way to do so. Realizing nothing is perfect, this isn't where you want a problem with one of the little things. The tolerance seems to be be only a excuse for poor workmanship. Not professing to be a expert of any kind, and have only been turning for 5 to 6 years, from a lifetime in the shop, I quickly learned the same fundamentals apply to turning as to building. Shimming is not the answer, co-planer wise. Once again like Rami mentioned which is the culprit. I almost pulled the trigger buying the same machine in Hartford Ct. last week on my way home from NC. The floor model was marked down 600.00. I'm glad it was raining, and we were driving into a northeaster, and time was a issue. They did not have centers in either end, and while they were rounding up a couple, my wife informed me that NH wanted all off the roads by 6 PM. I realize I could have gotten lucky. I would follow most members advice, you just purchased, do everything you can to send back. I wouldn't even accept a tail stock. A new lathe yes, with clear understanding, that the tolerance for this is a close to perfect as possible. In writing. I'm sure this can happen to any company but service after the fact is so important. Good luck, Restored


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## Leovanderloo (Apr 28, 2016)

Have you tried to lift one or the other legs, to see if this will improve the alignment ??

Maybe your floor is not level and this would/could throw the alignment out.

On the other hand this mis-alignment makes no difference when turning pieces between centers by hand, only if the centers are close together does this affect the turning, BUT I would not be happy with this if I bought a new lathe.

The ever looking for the cheapest price for whatever we buy can/does come back to bite one in the ass.


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## TPOK (Jan 3, 2017)

Bed is level and squared up. Did that first thing. I can see how raising or lowering a leg could help with side to side alignment, but not vertical, at least not much. What am I missing in my thinking?

Moke,

Thanks. If I don't get good service through CS, I'll call Woodcraft. That's who I bought it through. Great advice.

BrTech,

So I picked up a test indicator today along with a magnetic base. Set it up with the live center in the tail stock. Adjusted to 0. Slid the tail stock back (with the indicator armature lifted). Put the live center into the head stock. Slid it under the test indicator and set the armature down. -.021. Reversed the procedure to ensure the magnetic base hadn't moved. Live center in the tail stock measured 0. Oh, and rotated the live center to check how true it is. Dang. Didn't move the needle more than .0005.

I will repeat this procedure at 3 other locations along the lathe bed and report the results in a subsequent post. Will also take pictures to send to Laguna.

Mr. Van Der Loo,

Thank you for the response, but turning between centers isn't as much of an issue as drilling is an issue. For some projects, a particular hole size is pretty important, and consequently, precision is important. If the centers are this far off, then the tip of the bit is inserted at a point where, in this case, the tip is on the edge of a circle .042 in diameter. In the worst case, the drilled hole will be too large by about 1/24". Not to mention the unnecessary stress put on the tail stock mechanism by the torque imparted on the bit.

As regards your comment, "The ever looking for the cheapest price for whatever we buy can/does come back to bite one in the ass.", all I can say is that I'm not a wealthy man and I spent every dollar I could spare on this lathe. Didn't think for a second I was looking for the cheapest price, I was looking for what I thought would be the best lathe for the money I had to spend.

Everyone,

Thanks for the helpful replies and concerns. I will keep you up-to-date on progress.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Good luck tpok, I would be aggravated too if a new lathe was that far out of whack.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

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dgEBOG5tfessbeLvMpCryREVZEREBERAWP058l95B+fGsgsfp35L7yD8+NB6aylZK3A8XbdptcjNrg5uY7QFSetcbXVdQyRoI3ryL88ZIPYVeao/XJnwir75j3HMrPJYqyqlON2Z4n1rrMruZX2oHSd3lcAqqf7FJT/AMUYLn5OW+Z+iFsUtctih/nWP+zl/AtjUiUREVQREQEREBERAREQEREBERAWvv7SDvhlMOUBPnI72LYJa7ftFSX0hCOVO3zMshQVQFk6IdEdx/E5Y2yyVJwHd/icor1tVo7AWfC6g8oWjzkHsVXsVq/s/j4RVnlHF6Xv9iC7ERFUEREBERAWO098j95B+fGsisdp75H7yD8+NBkVTGuIG/q++X1FXOqV1klBqpyeG9eP75as8lio5z0nd5XAL0VkNpHfWPrXWIkaTbYof51i+pN+BbHrXLY022lYe1sw/wDycf0WxqsZoiIqgiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAte/2hRavi5Pp23HUS2SQXtzzWwi14/aKl/nCBvKnb6ZZPYlFYsAHZ28l72t7QchmOHgsZi6ll9G07zG+TCTG17GF3UHPa8tHiGO8u0KK5Bqtn9n5o3tZzwQfim/0VWtAVjbDKrDWyx/9yEnxY9pHoc5BeaIiqCIiAiIgLH6c+S+8g/PjWQWO098l95B+fGgyK1a0vp9w0hUhxJjfIBb6JxNOIem49i2gqZMLHO5NJ8hdaa6VkxTSn94+jJSrEkq6NuNxP0n+hxHsXBlCxet77588/MBy60i6n+xfRjPdb5QM2ROAN8uk5g4c7Aq6FVexGLOqfbqhHplJ9QVqKsiIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAtZtvlSHaWc36EUTT4hz/8a2ZWo+06u32lax44b0s/8QEX+FBG4uN+SvLZ1qyKjV2oa0AyTPke3+0hwiNvmz+8VRzOHerd2Ma/Q0bH0tU4tjc/HG+12tJAa5rrZgZA371FQOMqWbMKrd6Tpj1Oc5h+2xzR6SFjdcaSOKunELmuic7eRuYQ5pZJ0wAR1Akt+yvHois3M0Uv/bkY/wAGvDj6kG1iICiqCIiAiIgLHaf+R+8g/PjWRXXPC14s4Ai7TY82uDmnwIB8EHj1hkw0tQ7lFKfJjlp/pZmGZ47b+YuttNeJMNBUnnG4fxdH9VrXpzRm8bjGTmkDvB4Dz9azb21J05UUl4mn91n4QP0XZiXnomERNByOEcewuXbdWC5tiTPg87ucoHlG0/4lY6r7Yq34FKec7vyolYKrIiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIg82k61sMMkz/ixse89zWlx9S0uqpXSPc9/wAZ7nOd9ZxJPpK252iPtoutP/x5vTGQtS4yHXv1Akm2eRA8ePYoOpo4C46/Uu5gtlfO+foXF0fA8Rz9vJc4znyRWTgdku/ivBE7Mdx/Q5c+BXsa5IrabVOt31FTS9b4oyfrYRi9N1llB9jdXj0ZG29zG+Vn98vA8nhThVkREQEREBERBF9pbraNnt/7f50aoed3RI67sPk4XV+bRoi7R1QGgkhrXWGeTZGOcfAAnwWs2htJlxLHuuSSWm/PMt9ixynbUZSqPqP6Lpau6fq8fV/oulqvH9irv2Kn4DIOUzvy4lYCrbYc/wCCzjlNfziYP0VkrTIiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIg8el9HR1MMkEoJjkaWusbGxFjY9RVCay7F6yOVwpPfoiOiSY2P7WvxOaL9oFj2LYdEFX6i7IKemBkqjvnywhkkT2sLGOcWOdhIzJBbYOB5qPa6bFHNxS6OdiHHcPPSH9m88e4+ZV4og02kgkhk3crHMc02c14II53B4L1NW0es+qdLXsw1EQLh8WQZPb3O6x2G4Wvg0TFidlfM53I67cLrN6anax9gVXeOqh+i6N4+21zT+WFbCqbY3RtjnmLAReMXzJGT8uPefNWyrEoiIqgiIgIiIPhCi+ktn9BPKZXxZuw3DThacIsOGbcuRClKINc9f9BijrXwt+TIEkd+pj8Qw367ODhfkAo5GL9StfbTSe/0coAzEjD9lzHNv/E5RCMOHDLusP0yWNxuTU02HPIFVGQR8i4X7d40/hHmrTVa7JC7eVOI36MVs79b1ZS1LrNnYiIqgiIgIiICIiAiIgIiICIiAiIgIiIIftHoNJSRMdo2fA5mPeRjA10oOHDge4GzhY5XF8XHJUu6N7HYJGOa8HCQ5rgcVwCCerO11swuLowTcgE9oCzeOrLiBbM9XqmmfM+oj3Yc1oaC5jiTck/FcbdXmp+iKyYloiIqCIiAiIgIiIIltF1XkrYY9y4CWJ+IBxs1zTYOFwDY5Ajut13FRihkvhdkcWGwuSHXtwWxK44Re9hfms2asuIlqNqjJRPlc+Vr8bWgBoIthLjck96l6ItRLRERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQEREBERAREQf/Z

Best of luck tpok! Sure seems odd that such a nice machine would be out like that.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> Best of luck tpok! Sure seems odd that such a nice machine would be out like that.
> - waho6o9


I agree… for the beans that thing costs, I would expect much better QC. If it were mine, I'd keep on them until they either make it right or refund your money.

Cheers,
Brad


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

Drills are self centering and usually the shank has enough flexibility to let it do that.

I would still be upset by the poor alignment but in practice it probably wouldn't be as bad as you might think.

When I screw up a cut it should be 100% on me, I don't want any question about the tool.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

This line of reason comes through often.someone upset because of what they view as a fault. What difficulty does it really cause. Van der loo has brought some sense to the table. Tail stock alignment is noticeable but seldom produces expected difficulty in the work piece and only when the work piece is chucked not when between centers. try drilling as you have suggested and you will find that it is not as bad as you perceive it will be because of the machines operation. Remember that PROCESS also plays a major role in faulty parts as well. Properly checked you will find that your lathe is not only off in one axis but in several. Both the head and tails stock can be off in more than one of four modes each.


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## Bill7255 (Feb 23, 2012)

> I m sorry to hear you have this issue right out of the box. Always looking to upgrade my Powermatic 90, I keep an eye out for the new and used models that hit the market. I recall a few years back a few others who purchased the larger Luguana lathes had the same issue, and got nowhere with customer service. I would have thought like with the development of improved VSD s etc. that lathe producers/ makers have seen a growing market, and with that to compete with the big boys, as Rami stated, A perfect product which is brand new is the only way to do so. Realizing nothing is perfect, this isn t where you want a problem with one of the little things. The tolerance seems to be be only a excuse for poor workmanship. Not professing to be a expert of any kind, and have only been turning for 5 to 6 years, from a lifetime in the shop, I quickly learned the same fundamentals apply to turning as to building. Shimming is not the answer, co-planer wise. Once again like Rami mentioned which is the culprit. I almost pulled the trigger buying the same machine in Hartford Ct. last week on my way home from NC. The floor model was marked down 600.00. I m glad it was raining, and we were driving into a northeaster, and time was a issue. They did not have centers in either end, and while they were rounding up a couple, my wife informed me that NH wanted all off the roads by 6 PM. I realize I could have gotten lucky. I would follow most members advice, you just purchased, do everything you can to send back. I wouldn t even accept a tail stock. A new lathe yes, with clear understanding, that the tolerance for this is a close to perfect as possible. In writing. I m sure this can happen to any company but service after the fact is so important. Good luck Restored
> 
> - restored


I would look at the tail stock base and check to see if there are any burrs or a small dent causing the problem. If Laguna CS is of no help I would see what Woodcraft has to say. It might be a matter of changing your tailstock from the one on display. Assuming the tailstock is "high" and not the headstock "low". I wonder if their tolerances are +/- .010" on each part and you got the max tolerance stackup. I also have a PM 90 and was thinking about an upgrade, however after reading so many problems with lathe models I can afford I decided to keep the PM 90. It has it's own set of anomalies, but precision is not one of them. I ended up raising the swing to 18" and buying new tool rest from Robust. It is a 1973 and after 44 years I can still buy many OEM parts from Powermatic.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

> This line of reason comes through often.someone upset because of what they view as a fault. What difficulty does it really cause. Van der loo has brought some sense to the table. Tail stock alignment is noticeable but seldom produces expected difficulty in the work piece and only when the work piece is chucked not when between centers. try drilling as you have suggested and you will find that it is not as bad as you perceive it will be because of the machines operation. Remember that PROCESS also plays a major role in faulty parts as well. Properly checked you will find that your lathe is not only off in one axis but in several. Both the head and tails stock can be off in more than one of four modes each.
> 
> - REO


That is true but it is no excuse for selling a lathe that is off by that much and it's no reason to accept a brand new lathe built that poorly.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

There are several ways to make adjustments on this style lathe if have the patience. Clean internal/external Morse tapers with solvent & recheck. Rotate headstock spindle after locking down tailstock seeing if center runs true. Use your old lathe centers to check alignment.

For few dollars & trip to harbor freight for some feeler gauges might seem simplest way but not sure. Simply moving the head/tailstock to new location along the ways might make the difference. If have a car jack easy to raise the lathe and adjust leveler to see if that helps.

Didn't know the bed made from steel until read the manual at Laguna thought it was cast iron. Also read their instructions on making adjustments to bring head/tailstock into alignment. Without a lathe in front of me did not mean much!

Of course went to Wood Craft to see their return policy. If really that unhappy bite the bullet and take it back to Wood Craft. Paying shipping fees & paying 25% restocking fees might yourself lot of time and money. Waiting for new head/tailstock or following instructions will get from different CS/TS people at Laguna could end up very arduous task.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

You shouldn't have to pay a restocking fee on a tool that is out of spec.


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## Leovanderloo (Apr 28, 2016)

Tim I understood that the tailstock headstock did line up horizontally, as in even in the horizontal line, so not higher or lower.
Then the points should be of left to right from the vertical line ??

And for that lifting one leg or the other, the points would lineup better if done right.

See I bought a 3th lathe, new Delta 46-460, and there was enough clearance between the tailstock foot and the ways that I could have the center way off or right on, I used a brass shim to get it centered and glued it on the foot with lock-tide, this was several years ago, it's still on there and the lathe is just fine otherwise.

Now to the picture you show of the two bars you placed head to head, it would/could increase the difference the longer the bars are if there is a slant on either one piece, that is tailstock or headstock.

The biggest question is of course what is out, headstock, tailstock, or the bed ways, and then just one end of either or over the whole length.

Getting another tailstock will not help if the headstock is out, right, mounting a long and straight bar in the headstock, and measuring to see if the out off, is more or not than right up close and doing he same with the tailstock might tell you what part is out.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

As Leo points out you may find that in the right circumstances they might come together on the money. trying to figure out why you posted. For information on how to fix it? To get a consensus to bolster your courage to return it? just to complain? I have fixed several types of lathes from jets, harbor freight, atlas, sheldon, bridgeport,Haas, Bardons and oliver, warner swasey, oliver, american, Tsugami, and hardinge to name a few. The closer the tolerance the higher the cost. Your concerns seem to change when a problem is addressed. if you want a different lathe and can prove that it is off spec. send it back. they wont charge a restocking fee. It isnt lumber jocks you need to convince its the distributor. If you want to fix it you have come to the right place to find out where and how to deal with it.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

What is with the Lagun apologists?

Maybe I was too polite earlier, return the POS!

I would be upset if I got a tape measure that was off 0.027", that's almost 1/32".

A company manufacturing machine tools should not be working with tape measure precision.

It doesn't matter if it can be made to work, they should have too much pride to ever let that go out the door.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

LOL that is the standard acceptable deviation for a class 1 tape over 10' 1/32" ,for a class 2 tape measure its 1/16" in 10 feet. The local diy tapes generally aren't certified and can be much worse! They are not held to a standard! Checl the first foot of your tape see if it has a class cert. You may be surprised!


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## Woodbum (Jan 3, 2010)

New product not up to your standards? Stay on Laguna and the retailer until you get what you paid for, or get a refund. For that kind of money you shouldn't be asked to settle for less than precise. I have a 15-20 year old Jet mini, and it is still coplanar. The head and tailstock line up exactly. If you pay for quality, you have a right to expect quality. Just my humble opinion.


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## Leovanderloo (Apr 28, 2016)

Nobody is apologizing for Laguna, just bringing to the fore that maybe there is a reason things are off.

And as the someone else says, if you pay for quality, you have the right to quality, yes, but that is exactly the problem.

Quality comes at double the price paid for this lathe.

If you are lucky you GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR.

The lowest price in that size of lathe and high quality at the same time ???, maybe you are dreaming.


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## OSB (Dec 16, 2016)

> LOL that is the standard acceptable deviation for a class 1 tape over 10 1/32" ,for a class 2 tape measure its 1/16" in 10 feet. The local diy tapes generally aren t certified and can be much worse! They are not held to a standard! Checl the first foot of your tape see if it has a class cert. You may be surprised!
> 
> - REO


Yes but that is the deviation at 10', not at 0'.

If you got a tape measure that passed as a class 1 tape but was off by 0.027" at 0', it would be garbage too.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

TPOK my apologies to you. I mistook you for OSB.


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## yvrdennis (Jun 14, 2015)

Precision alignment of the headstock and tailstock is important if you are planning on doing much drilling. I make a lot of pepper mills for sale. When I replaced my Nova DVR with a Oneway 2436 the biggest difference I noticed is that drilling out the mills was much easier. The holes centred better and there was much less vibration and burning. I think this was because the the Oneway was better aligned than the Nova. Of course the Oneway costs 3 times as much so this isn't meant as a knock on Nova, or Laguna for that matter. But for my purposes I don't think I would be willing to accept that level of misalignment.


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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

Go to Woodcraft and see if their floor model lines up properly. If so, tell them yours doesn't and you want to swap out yours for theirs. You paid far too much money to accept that misalignment.

First thing I do on a lathe, even though I don't have a serious high dollar lathe, is to check the alignment. My Jet lathes have all been perfect (so far).


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## TPOK (Jan 3, 2017)

Gentlemen,

Been away from the Internet for a couple days. Sharp-tail grouse and pheasant hunting in south central ND for season closing. -17 on Saturday morning, but the hunting for grouse was outstanding 

I tried adjusting individual legs up and down, to the point of even placing one leg on a 2X4 to see if I could get some improvement. Nothing.

YVRDENNIS, thanks. It's drilling that is my biggest concern. I didn't itemize and prioritize my concerns I guess, so that seems to have caused distress for some. Sorry about that.

Mr. Van Der Loo, the brass shim with loc-tite seems a good idea. I will pursue that if all else fails. Turns out 24 gauge yellow brass sheet is .020 thick. Shimming the head stock with that would bring things right into alignment.

I have had further contact from Laguna CS. We are working on it. I will post progress.

Thank you, everyone, for the help. It's great that I can get sage advise at a site like this.


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Once Again the common factor in all this as I told the owner of Laguna one day chatting with him, "His Customer Service Dept is terrible. They should be all over this to make it right. I have 4 friends that have Lagunas and have had separate issues and say they are fed up with them. I'm in the market for a bigger lathe and considered them but just cant pull the trigger. Its going to be a Robust or One-way I guess I'm saving a little longer.

Hope this works out bud.


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## xunil76 (Feb 16, 2017)

my Harbor Freight lathe that cost $63.xx is dead-on accurate between centers…they can do a better job.


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## REG40 (Jan 1, 2019)

I purchased a new Jet 1640evs and I'm having problems with the centers alignment. They are off by .110". The low point is at 8:00 and the high point (the drive spur) is at 2:00. I have talked to customer service and their solution is to shim the feet to twist the bed. The horizontial plane has move a small amount but not the vertical plane. Going to talk to the seller soon. Either they correct it or take it back. Not very happy with CS attitude.


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## redlee (Apr 11, 2016)

Did you put a dial on the spur center and the tailstock center ?
May be that one or both is out. Remove them rotate 180 and if you have the same error then they are not the problem.
Those drivers that you show in second pic, are they true ?
If you try and fix a new machine you own it, if you determine that the machine is faulty dont touch it and return it.


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## jacksdvds (Jun 13, 2015)

> Mr. Van Der Loo, the brass shim with loc-tite seems a good idea. I will pursue that if all else fails. Turns out 24 gauge yellow brass sheet is .020 thick. Shimming the head stock with that would bring things right into alignment.
> 
> - TPOK


Caution on which stock you shim. You could be doubling the error if you do the wrong one. Just because two points in space align does not mean the shaft/carriage they are mounted in is parallel with each other. After rereading you stated you used the supplied spur center in the test. Is is possible a faulty center?









Re-rereading you stated misalign vertically! Hence you might need to shim the entire tail stock both sides to elevate it evenly.


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## danicarby (Oct 4, 2014)

My alignment is off as well but in the opposite direction. I knew it was off but I got by until today when I drilled a 9/16" hole into a pen black and saw that my metal core has a 1mm gap around the whole thing. Very frustrated. I've had the lathe for almost 10 months. Working on contacting Laguna now.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

"I contacted Laguna CS. Was told the tolerance is .020"

This is bringing back to me threads of old where people were saying DO NOT buy Laguna, between QA, and Cust Serv they aren't a serious toy manufacturer.

Them telling you to do their job, pretty well cements this.

Pretty sure a Horrible Fright budget lathe is going to be tighter, sure will be less money. What return options do you have?


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> If you try and fix a new machine you own it, if you determine that the machine is faulty dont touch it and return it.
> 
> - Richard Lee


Sage advice here, plus a person doesn't pay that kind of $$$$$ to manufacture their own lathe. If this is new there is a 30 day period where most legit companies will allow for return of poorly made items, if they don't play nicely, your credit card bank certainly will.


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## mel52 (Sep 4, 2017)

My Rikon was out just a little when new and a friend of mine came over to help me try and fix it. He took the tailstock off and sanded all metal parts touching the table to take out all burrs seen or not . He then sanded the table the same way. Checked the lock down system to make sure it didn't torque any when tightened. Put it back on and everything was perfect. I may have just been lucky, but who knows. Mel


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## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

My two cents.

On a wood lathe .020 most likely will not make any difference on the output of turnings, but it is a bit much.
As for shimming the headstock, this is a good solution. Shim stock brass is easy to obtain from places like Amazon, etc. " https://www.amazon.com/Goodson-Shim-Stock-Assortment-Brass-5/dp/B0009RGYZO/ref=sr_1_7?gclid=CjwKCAjw5_DsBRBPEiwAIEDRW_1VlCiV1V5i7luLvcDYDWZxTtE7UKVxrIWV3KoRZt5vifjOuB6oERoCfdoQAvD_BwE&hvadid=176327223285&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9010938&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=102730282235342062&hvtargid=aud-647846986281%3Akwd-4037226987&hydadcr=23729_9775904&keywords=shim+stock+assortment&qid=1570549346&sr=8-7":https://www.amazon.com/Goodson-Shim-Stock-Assortment-Brass-5/dp/B0009RGYZO/ref=sr_1_7?gclid=CjwKCAjw5_DsBRBPEiwAIEDRW_1VlCiV1V5i7luLvcDYDWZxTtE7UKVxrIWV3KoRZt5vifjOuB6oERoCfdoQAvD_BwE&hvadid=176327223285&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9010938&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=102730282235342062&hvtargid=aud-647846986281%3Akwd-4037226987&hydadcr=23729_9775904&keywords=shim+stock+assortment&qid=1570549346&sr=8-7 (That's one hell of a URL!!!) *Combine different thicknesses of sheet to make up total shim thickness needed.* Another supplier of small amounts of brass shim stock is http://www.ksmetals.com/30.html


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