Laguna Revo 1216 Lathe problems

[Luke Wesley]

Hey guys. New to the forum. I recently bought a Laguna Revo 1216 to upgrade from my Harbor Freight lathe. It seems like it doesn’t turn true on slower speeds. Case in point, I was turning a salt grinder and when I went to drill the through hole I slowed down to around 500 revs. The tailstock end was quite wobbly even though I didn’t change anything. It was still chucked in from my original shaping and finishing. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a fix for it? I know there will be a bit of run out if I flip the piece around, but I turn my grinders from start to finish without taking them out of the chuck.
Another problem with the 1216 is the reverse switch. It’s cheap! I’ve replaced it 3 times and now I’m just afraid to even put it in reverse even though Laguna will send the replacement for free. Still have to wait 3-5 days for the switch to come in and the lathe will only turn in reverse when it breaks.

[Richard Coers]

Confused on how a part that was turned round on your lathe, would have runout just because you slowed the lathe. I'd question the tenon, or how you gripped the blank. The way to check runout is by chucking a metal rod in your chuck. Wood compresses and moves. Did you get a different chuck or thread adaptor? Aftermarket Nova inserts are famous for causing runout.

[Luke Wesley]

I’ve used two different nova chucks. One with an adapter and one without. They are both Nova brand. It really doesn’t make any sense at all.

[John K Jordan]

... when I went to drill the through hole I slowed down to around 500 revs. The tailstock end was quite wobbly ....

Did it start wobbling as soon as you switched to the lower speed and before you touched the drill bit to it, or did it start wobbling after you started drilling?

If the latter, are you using a Forstner bit?

[Luke Wesley]

Did it start wobbling as soon as you switched to the lower speed and before you touched the drill bit to it, or did it start wobbling after you started drilling?

If the latter, are you using a Forstner bit?

It wobbles before I touch it with the bit.

[John K Jordan]

It wobbles before I touch it with the bit.

That's very odd. Trying to imagine the things that could cause this...

If you grab the chuck and try to move it from side to side is there any play?

Have you removed and reinstalled the chuck before noticing the wobble? (perhaps a burr on the threads or mating surfaces between the lathe and chuck)

Was the wood dry and was the piece turned in one session? (changes in moisture or relief of internal stresses can warp a turning)
If you switch the wobbly piece back to a higher speed, does the wobble go away?

I assume the piece is tight in the chuck. Does the chuck grip a round tenon turned to the proper size or is it opened wide to grip the square stock?

Does it have the same problem with every long piece you turn round or just that one?
Is the wobble consistent, i.e., is the high spot always in the same place?

The web site indicates this is a variable speed lathe with a DC motor and three pulley ranges. I'm assuming you are using the lowest speed pulley for the most torque. With the belt in that position is there any runout in the spindle or turned piece when the spindle is rotated by hand? If so, did you measure the amount of runout at the end and near the chuck? Belt and pulley in good condition?

Maybe have another turner nearby put eyes on it and see if they notice anything.

JKJ

[Luke Wesley]

That's very odd. Trying to imagine the things that could cause this...

If you grab the chuck and try to move it from side to side is there any play?

Have you removed and reinstalled the chuck before noticing the wobble? (perhaps a burr on the threads or mating surfaces between the lathe and chuck)

Was the wood dry and was the piece turned in one session? (changes in moisture or relief of internal stresses can warp a turning)
If you switch the wobbly piece back to a higher speed, does the wobble go away?

I assume the piece is tight in the chuck. Does the chuck grip a round tenon turned to the proper size or is it opened wide to grip the square stock?

Does it have the same problem with every long piece you turn round or just that one?
Is the wobble consistent, i.e., is the high spot always in the same place?

The web site indicates this is a variable speed lathe with a DC motor and three pulley ranges. I'm assuming you are using the lowest speed pulley for the most torque. With the belt in that position is there any runout in the spindle or turned piece when the spindle is rotated by hand? If so, did you measure the amount of runout at the end and near the chuck? Belt and pulley in good condition?

Maybe have another turner nearby put eyes on it and see if they notice anything.

JKJ

There isn’t any noticeable play in the chuck when it is stopped.

I made 3 salt grinders for Christmas presents and all three were done in one session each with dried wood. It’s rare that I take the chuck off during these sessions. I have switched chucks before and seen the wobble at slower speeds but then it goes away again at full speed.

Yes, I turned a tight tenon at the proper size with shoulder contact all the way around the piece.

I haven’t put my dial indicator on yet. I’ll do that on the next turning. And it doesn’t seem to matter which pulpy setting I use. It wobbles on any speed below about 1500 rpm.

[tom lucas]

Suggest checking the runout without any wood. You need to determine if it's the lathe or the chuck. Since you have a dial indicator, test the head stock bare. Then Test with just the chuck, jaws closed and open. Then maybe test your drill chuck in the head stock. If you have collets, test one of those. Test a drive center. Also verify your tailstock is in proper alignment with the drive head. At some point in this testing you'll rule out sources of the problem.

[Joseph Montroy]

Any updates to this thread. I'm troubleshooting an issue with the same symptoms. Revo 12-16 and a Nova G3 chuck with penturning jaws. Nova is showing .025 runout with a .5" router bit in the jaws to measure with.

[William C Rogers]

I don’t have that lathe, but doubt the problem is the lathe itself. You can check the spindle face and morse taper for runout. Those numbers should be very small. Every Nova chuck I have owned has had runout of 0.002-0.005”, but no where near 0.025. I suspect the chuck is not seating against the spindle face properly IMO. This could be because of something on the chuck or spindle face or debris on the spindle or chuck threads. I have not had pin jaws, so not sure if they could be contributing to the problem.

[Dave Mount]

Not sure it's the case here, but following from William's question -- years ago I had a Grizzly G0462, and the threads on the spindle were long enough that they would stick through and hit the back of the jaws on one of my chucks when the jaws were mostly closed. As a result the chuck didn't seat down tightly and wobbled. Bought a machined washer to go between chuck and spindle face -- solved the problem.

Dave

[Joseph Montroy]

Very interesting information. I don't believe it is the lathe either, especially since they is very little (~.001) runout on a drive spur in the taper. However I will have to check the threads to see if what Dave mentioned is happening. Hadn't thought of that!

[Richard Coers]

There was a period of time when there was a number of people having runout issues with a G3 chuck and a Woodriver branded threaded insert. They switched to a Nova brand insert and problem was resolved.

[Joseph Montroy]

I took some videos of what was going on and Nova sent me out a new chuck. The chuck itself arrived today and I measure less than .001 runout on just the chuck. However, it appears I also have a problem with the pen jaws. With a .5" router shaft installed (I tried two different ones just to be sure) I have about .012 runout measured on the router shaft. This tells me the issue is in the jaws. My question is what tolerance should reasonable to expect here? The Nova G3 penturning package is not cheap. I would hope that the runout on a known shaft in the jaws to be less than/ = .002". Should I contact customer support for Nova again or is it acceptable for drilling blanks on the lathe as it is?

[John K Jordan]

I took some videos of what was going on and Nova sent me out a new chuck. The chuck itself arrived today and I measure less than .001 runout on just the chuck. However, it appears I also have a problem with the pen jaws. With a .5" router shaft installed (I tried two different ones just to be sure) I have about .012 runout measured on the router shaft. This tells me the issue is in the jaws. My question is what tolerance should reasonable to expect here? The Nova G3 penturning package is not cheap. I would hope that the runout on a known shaft in the jaws to be less than/ = .002". Should I contact customer support for Nova again or is it acceptable for drilling blanks on the lathe as it is?

You are turning wood, right? Unless you plan to turn something, remove it from the jaws, then try to remount it in the jaws and expect it to be perfectly registered (difficult or impossible in most cases due to the compression of the fibers), moderate runout in the jaws should make no difference. The work will still always turn perfectly true to the spindle axis of the lathe.

If you are drilling pen blanks there should be enough extra wood to account for moderate runout. (I use a pen blank vise and drill the blanks on the drill press.)

But I don't know what "pen jaws" are or how they are used. Are they holding the pen mandrel? If so, that may be a problem. My pen mandrels both have #2MT mandrels which register perfectly with the lathe spindle and the pen mandrel, bushings, and all pen blanks always turn true.

JKJ

[Joseph Montroy]

The G3 requires "pen jaws" to hold material smaller than 1". Our primary material right now is acrylic and we drill on the lathe along with using the woodpeckers ultra sheer mill for squaring the blanks. The process requires the blank to be removed and flipped multiple times, which is why I think I've been having issues.

[John K Jordan]

The G3 requires "pen jaws" to hold material smaller than 1". Our primary material right now is acrylic and we drill on the lathe along with using the woodpeckers ultra sheer mill for squaring the blanks. The process requires the blank to be removed and flipped multiple times, which is why I think I've been having issues.

I don't understand that process, but maybe it doesn't matter. Are there online instructions somewhere that explains the steps of the process? Having to rely on perfect concentricity of any jaws when working with wood blanks seems problematical to me. If I need perfect concentricity I use another method.

But I am curious, do you have to flip multiple times to drill, to mill the end square, or both? As mentioned, I drill with a drill press holding the blank with a pen vise, glue in the tubes, mount the pen mill in a jacob's chuck on the lathe, and mill the ends square holding the square blanks by hand. Actually, I hold them with an adjustable wrench to keep them from spinning and apply pressure with my hand to push into the spinning mill (with the hand safely away from the cutting edges!)

I have most of Nova's jaws but not the pen jaws. It looks like you are supposed to hold the square blank by the flats adjacent to two corners. How does this work if the blank is not perfectly square? For small square and mostly pieces, I generally use the pin jaws and hold the blank by four sides. If a blank is not perfectly square the jaws bite into the wood, compressing it slightly for a secure hold.

JKJ