Ok, for those of you that have been turning for many years, you may have heard of this problem before, at least I hope you have.

First, the lathe is out of warranty now so that could be a problem. At the moment though the major issue is that when I start the lathe, I am getting a major rattling going on somewhere between the motor and the headstock. The rattling gets worse with speed increase, this has been going on now for about 2 days. I have checked the motor mount screws, all are now tight, but one was originally loose. I have checked inside the headstock but from my angle I cant see anything hitting the gears. I blew out the major portion of the dust that had built up over the last year.

 

I need some idea as to what to look for other than a loose gear because they all feel tight to me.

 

Thanks

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Charles Nicholls
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You speak of gears but I thought yours was belt driven. If it's belt driven, remove the belt from the motor and inspect the belt for any tears , chunks of rubber missing from the belt. If you find any replace the belt. Then run the motor on it's own, I also assume yours is variable speed that uses a rheostat to adjust speed. With the motor still running without the belt, rapidly adjust the speed back and forth and listen for the rattle. If it doesn't rattle check for loose pulley on the headstock spindle. If all is tight then you may have worn bearings or bushings in the headstock. The best way is to use a dial indicator and check for runout on the headstock but short of that you could try the poor mans method. reconnect everything, adjust your toolrest to where its parallel to the output end of the headstock spindle and 1" away form the flat round portion of the spindle (non threaded section), With the lathe running and with a fine point sharpie advance the sharpie into the spindle very slowly until it just makes contact with the spindle. pull the sharpie back, shut off the lathe and look for a line from the sharpie. If the line marks the spindle completly around the spindle, your bearings should be OK, If the line doesnt show up all the way around then you may have a bearing worn which will affect runout. The best way to check this is with a dial indicator.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Thanks Mike, Yes mine is belt driven, but there are gears inside the headstock. It is variable speed too.

I'll try this and report back.

Thanks much!

Mike Dillen said:

You speak of gears but I thought yours was belt driven. If it's belt driven, remove the belt from the motor and inspect the belt for any tears , chunks of rubber missing from the belt. If you find any replace the belt. Then run the motor on it's own, I also assume yours is variable speed that uses a rheostat to adjust speed. With the motor still running without the belt, rapidly adjust the speed back and forth and listen for the rattle. If it doesn't rattle check for loose pulley on the headstock spindle. If all is tight then you may have worn bearings or bushings in the headstock. The best way is to use a dial indicator and check for runout on the headstock but short of that you could try the poor mans method. reconnect everything, adjust your toolrest to where its parallel to the output end of the headstock spindle and 1" away form the flat round portion of the spindle (non threaded section), With the lathe running and with a fine point sharpie advance the sharpie into the spindle very slowly until it just makes contact with the spindle. pull the sharpie back, shut off the lathe and look for a line from the sharpie. If the line marks the spindle completly around the spindle, your bearings should be OK, If the line doesnt show up all the way around then you may have a bearing worn which will affect runout. The best way to check this is with a dial indicator.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

I have a friend that has an identical lathe and here's the problem.  There is a set screw that locks the belt sheave to a square key.  Move the belt to one side and use an Allen wrench to tighten the set screw.  I believe it is metric.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Ok I have checked the belt and it's fine, i checked the motor without the belt, motor sounds great. As soon as I reconnect the belt i hear a very faint skipping like noise so I use the sharpie method, but i can't find a problem there either. i added my 4 jaw chuck on and the noise get's louder but not real bad. Oddly enough, the noise is worst when running between centers.

I then looked at the 4 jaw again because something caught my eye, there is a very small wobble (maybe 1/16" or less) noticeable at the back of the chuck. but again the chuck being on there makes it quieter but it's still making noise.

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Charles Nicholls
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Ron I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, are you talking about the screw that attaches the pully to the shaft?

Ron Dudelston said:

I have a friend that has an identical lathe and here's the problem.  There is a set screw that locks the belt sheave to a square key.  Move the belt to one side and use an Allen wrench to tighten the set screw.  I believe it is metric.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

No.  although it may also be loose.  Give me your model # and let me look at the print and I'll guide you.

Charles Nicholls said:

Ron I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, are you talking about the screw that attaches the pully to the shaft?

Ron Dudelston said:

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Charles Nicholls
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Commander 10 VS

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Charles Nicholls
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If it moves a 16th of an inch, that's a 16th too much!!

sounds like bearing or a bushing gone bad.

Charles, unfortunately I can't find and IPB (illustrated parts breakdown) on this lathe.  However, I'm guessing it is built like a Jet so the fix should be pretty straight forward.  Since the noise isn't in the motor, them the problem is in the headstock.  If this is like a Jet, there should be a plate on the back of the headstock that opens.  This is the sheave where the belt rides. If you grasp the headstock with your right hand  and at the same time grasp the belt sheave with your left hand and twist them you should be able to feel the looseness.  On the belt sheave there should be 2 metric set screws about 120 degrees apart.  These are the screws that are probably loose.  I really don't think the problem is any more serious than this because the lather and the most precise part of that machine are the spindle bearings and are designed to last years.  Do some digging and I think you'll find I'm right.
 
Charles Nicholls said:

Commander 10 VS

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Charles Nicholls
Site Host
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Hi Ron Im not seeing what you are i think so let me get some images, here is one from inside the headstock.

Oh the first image is  backwards image in that the hand wheel is on the right not the left, I can't seem to find the right size wrench for these but the wheels don't wobble.

Ron Dudelston said:

Charles, unfortunately I can't find and IPB (illustrated parts breakdown) on this lathe.  However, I'm guessing it is built like a Jet so the fix should be pretty straight forward.  Since the noise isn't in the motor, them the problem is in the headstock.  If this is like a Jet, there should be a plate on the back of the headstock that opens.  This is the sheave where the belt rides. If you grasp the headstock with your right hand  and at the same time grasp the belt sheave with your left hand and twist them you should be able to feel the looseness.  On the belt sheave there should be 2 metric set screws about 120 degrees apart.  These are the screws that are probably loose.  I really don't think the problem is any more serious than this because the lather and the most precise part of that machine are the spindle bearings and are designed to last years.  Do some digging and I think you'll find I'm right.
 
Charles Nicholls said:

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Ron, I think this is what you are maybe looking for. http://www.pennstateind.com/library/TCLCs_man.pdf

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Charles Nicholls
Site Host
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Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nichollswoodworks

Charles, I still don't believe a bearing is the problem.  If you look at the diagram, there is a gear with a set screw in it and the ID on the set screw is 19-1 according to the print.  Try tightening that set screw.  The spindle is pretty simple so don't be afraid to pull it apart until you find something loose.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Ok all 3 screws along that shaft are tight. There is no detectable wobble anywhere along there as far as moving it by hand. Once in a while the noise nearly completely goes away after about 5 minutes of running, then comes back.about 5 minutes later. There also does not seem to be any heat building up anywhere.

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Charles Nicholls
Site Host
nicholls61@att.net
Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nichollswoodworks

Any end play in the headstock spindle?

 

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Not that is detectable Ron.

To John Morris, Why do i not get notices about this discussion if I have it set to notify me?

Sorry Ron, I would have replied sooner if i would have been notified of a reply.

Ron Dudelston said:

Any end play in the headstock spindle?

 

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

There is a set screw that locks the belt sheave to a square key. 

That was exactly what I was thinking.  Failing that  bearings which are eminently replaceable. But odds are it's a sloppy gear connection.  Go over them all. Snug 'em up, use locktite on the loose ones or any of them that you pull the grub screw out of.

There's a purple color thread locker  that is meant for things that will be  dis-assembled it's  just not as firm as red locktite.  You can use that too.

Thanks Cliff but nothing I can see feel or otherwise observe is loose. I even suspected the spindle lock so i pulled up on it to make sure it was clear as the lathe was running and still had no change. The only thing I know for sure right now is that it is in the headstock, and I am now suspecting bearings. I have seen no burn marks on the outside of either one, but that doesn't mean one didn't go bad.

I also put in a support email to PSI, my phone was down at the time so I couldn't call them. If I don't hear from them by tomorrow after lunch I'll try calling again.

Cliff said:

There is a set screw that locks the belt sheave to a square key. 

That was exactly what I was thinking.  Failing that  bearings which are eminently replaceable. But odds are it's a sloppy gear connection.  Go over them all. Snug 'em up, use locktite on the loose ones or any of them that you pull the grub screw out of.

There's a purple color thread locker  that is meant for things that will be  dis-assembled it's  just not as firm as red locktite.  You can use that too.

Charles, I really don't think you've put enough distress or mileage on those bearings to have them wear out this quickly unless you are beating the spindle with a ball peen hammer.  The spindle bearings are made to take a beating.  .  I'm going to beat the same drum that something (set screw) has backed off.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

No all screws are tight. There are only 3 on that shaft (1 of which is in the headstock case) between the hand wheel and the end of the spindle.

Ron Dudelston said:

Charles, I really don't think you've put enough distress or mileage on those bearings to have them wear out this quickly unless you are beating the spindle with a ball peen hammer.  The spindle bearings are made to take a beating.  .  I'm going to beat the same drum that something (set screw) has backed off.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks