Rikon lathe/Penn Ind. chuck not running true

[Matt Ralston]

well, that's my problem in a nutshell...

I've got a Rikon midi lathe and a Penn Industries barracuda 2 chuck that are visibly out of true. When I use the spur center to turn, there is no wobble, but the chuck just won't run straight. I've tightened it on the threads all the way, and just a bit; makes no difference.

It's my first lathe, so could somebody point me in the right direction as to how to trouble shoot this? start with the lathe, start with the chuck? I'm all ears.

Thanks much in advance.

Matt

[Gary Max]

I would say the first place to start is by checking the spindle and then work your way out.
You will need a mic to check the spindle for run out.

[alex carey]

When you say there is no wobble do you mean the spur center doesn't wobble or that there is a piece of wood there also and this it isn't true after you've turned it. The reason I ask is perhaps you don't notice that the spur center is off center because the misalignment is so small and the diameter of the spur center is tiny compared to the chuck. To illistrate my point more if you put a true chuck on there that is 10 inches wide you would be able to see "Untrueness" of the lathe even more.

Hope that made sense, it might not even be the problem. Here is how you find out though. Turn the lathe on with the spur center in. Balance a straight tool on the spur center if there is any clicking you will know. If it is perfectly true it will be silent and won't move at all.

Just a though, hope it helps.

Alex

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I don't own a PSI chuck, but if you put the jaws on, they should be numbered. Are the right jaws on the right number inserts? My Nova chuck is numbered.
I'd send the chuck back, if the spur runs true and the chuck does not. I was just going to buy a PSI Barracuda chuck... I'll have to watch this thread....

[Bernie Weishapl]

I would suspect the chuck myself. Bring your tailstock up with a pointed livecenter and you drive spur in the headstock. Turn it on and if the points stay put then I would send back the chuck. I had a problem with their utility chuck that way.

[Allen Neighbors]

Could be the insert. If the PSI Chuck has an insert, make doubly sure it has been properly seated into the chuck. Sometimes this is the answer when a chuck doestn't run true.
If the PSI Chuck doesn't have an insert, and is threaded for your lathe's spindle, then I would call PSI and let them know. They'll take it back and give you another one.

[Gordon Seto]

I believe the chuck comes with an adapter for 3/4" X 16 tpi. That is useless IMO; the standard entry level mini lathe is already 1" X 8 tpi.
This model is max out at 1" X 8 tpi. There is no insert available when upgrading to a larger lathe of different spindle size.

Kyle, if you already own a Nova chuck, I would stay with Nova. All their jaws (except 1) are compatible with all their chucks from Midi, G3, SN2 all the way to Titan. That would save you a lot of money if you get into chucks of different size.

[Dean Thomas]

Several thoughts come to mind.


You've already been asked to put spur and tailstock centers point to point and check that. If those are true, it probably is the chuck.
If they are NOT true, pull the spur and make sure the socket is deadly clean. Doesn't take much gunk or wood fluff to make a problem.
If the centers are okeydokey, let's play with the chuck for a minute.

Use your chuck key with a set of jaws on the chuck, and close them up all the way. Do the rims of the "grippers" of the jaws form a perfect circle or is one of them sitting outside the circle?
Do the plates where they screw into the scrolling mechanism form a flat layer where all four of them touch? No part of the jaw sticking up vertically? If this doesn't work, pull the jaws, clean them up good underneath and reinstall the jaws.

Also, make sure that if you have one of the four sections of the jaws that is sitting funny, check the underside to see if there is little rolled steel pin sticking down. If so (there is on my Talon), that quarter of the jaws needs to be relocated to the scrolling segment that has a slot next to it. I'll just bet you know how I know that. :o


Have you checked to make sure that there is nothing behind the chuck, between the chuck and the headstock/spindle parts/pieces that might cause it to lock down funny?

If you have arrived at #5, "None of the above", call PSI and tell them all the hoops you've gone through just to verify that it's not your lathe, and they'll ship you another one and pay for you to ship the other one back.

I had a friend who ordered one of the PSI chucks (can't remember which model) and he had his hands on four of them before he got one where the jaws would close properly. Caveat emptor. Hope it helps.

[Joe Pfeifer]

I had to return a Rikon lathe because the spindle was running at a slight angle to the bed instead of perpendicular. Also, the bearings started to go bad after three weeks of light turning. I now use a Penn state chuck on my Jet lathe with no problems.

[Steve Campbell]

Matt one more thing to check. Look at the back side of the chuck. Does it fit tight against the flat part of the spindle. The chuck should thread on all the way by hand. If there is a gap, some people use nylon shims to take up the slack.

Steve

[Stephen Johnson]

Newbie here, in my haste and eternal cheapness I bought one of the Woodriver chucks from Woodcraft. My question is, after I turn a tenon or mortise either on a faceplate or between centers and then put the piece on the chuck, the piece never turns quite true. Is this normal or should it run perfectly? It's not real bad but I always end up having to return the outside before trying to hollow.

[Jeff Nicol]

Matt, Not sure about the Rikon lathe but if the spur is true that means the morse taper is true. This does not mean the threads are cut paralell to the shaft. If the threads are a little out the chuck will wobble. Do you have a face plate? It it wobbles too then I suspect the lathe is the problem. It the faceplate runs true, then it is the chuck. It seems there are always a few pieces of equipment that have a flaw in them, so far I have not gotten one!! Knock on wood!! If you take a square and put it across the ways then bring the leg of the square that is up in the air 90 degrees to the ways close to the spindle threads. Then turn the spindle slow and see if you can see if the distance from the edge of the square stays the same. If it goes in and out that will show you.

Good luck,

Jeff

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I've seen a few posts about the PSI chuck having some issues. I was going to pick one up for the amount of "extra" stuff it comes with. My Nova is just the chuck and woodscrew. Is the PSI not that great a deal?

Stephen, there is at least 1 other person that has that problem when changing from between centers to the chuck. I'm far from a pro. No matter how hard I try to cut the tenon square, I always get some out of roundness. Usually, since that's the roughing phase it's not a problem. I would think that since they on the same shaft, and you turn the tenon "square" to the shaft, changing to the chuck would be "perfect".......

[David Walser]

Newbie here, in my haste and eternal cheapness I bought one of the Woodriver chucks from Woodcraft. My question is, after I turn a tenon or mortise either on a faceplate or between centers and then put the piece on the chuck, the piece never turns quite true. Is this normal or should it run perfectly? It's not real bad but I always end up having to return the outside before trying to hollow.Stephen,

What you describe is not unusual, even for a top of the line chuck. Frequently, when you tighten the jaws of the chuck, the jaws will sink in a little more on the side grain than on the end grain. That will cause the blank to run just a little bit out of true. It's usually not a big deal and you can simply make one more pass to get things running true again.

To minimize this problem, cut your tenon accurately in both size and shape. Make sure the "face" of the tenon (the part that's perpendicular to the ways of the lathe) is tight against the jaws of the chuck. Then, tighten the chuck until the blank is firmly held but you are just barely denting the wood (if at all).

Another cause of this problem can be using the tailstock for support. Sometimes the tailstock can push the blank off center and it'll not run true.

HTH!