I've had my mini lathe for a number of years and have always accepted that something did not seem quite right with the way the tailstock clamps. I can secure it near the head then when I go to move it I loosen the nut off a bit and slide it towards the end of the bed. After a few inches it will bind so I need to loosen the nut a touch more then I can slide it a bit further.
Clearly there is a taper on the clamping surface under the bed. To put some numbers on this I measure about 0.75mm difference in the thickness between the head and tail ends of the bed. Is this normal or even common?
There is no play on the carriage so the front and back surfaces under the bed do not follow this taper.
Why does it even bother me? Well I was planning a couple of upgrades, 1. a cam lock for the tailstock and 2. a carriage lock. Both are clamping on these surfaces and I feel that the taper is going to be problematic for both but especially for the cam lock which ideally needs to lock close to the peak of it's travel along the full length of the bed.
I'd like to remove this taper but it's not the easiest place to work. Any suggestions how to address this?
Clearly there is a taper on the clamping surface under the bed. To put some numbers on this I measure about 0.75mm difference in the thickness between the head and tail ends of the bed. Is this normal or even common?
There is no play on the carriage so the front and back surfaces under the bed do not follow this taper.
Why does it even bother me? Well I was planning a couple of upgrades, 1. a cam lock for the tailstock and 2. a carriage lock. Both are clamping on these surfaces and I feel that the taper is going to be problematic for both but especially for the cam lock which ideally needs to lock close to the peak of it's travel along the full length of the bed.
I'd like to remove this taper but it's not the easiest place to work. Any suggestions how to address this?