What is acceptable runout?

[Bill Lantry]

Hey, folks,

Just got the lathe up on its stand and turned it on. I know next to nothing about lathes, so this may seem like a stupid question. Anyway, here's the story: The box came last week. I wasn't home, but Doorlink was. She took delivery, even though the box was pretty messed up. Now that I've taken a pretty good look at it, it seems the headstock is out of alignment. Or rather, the motor itself is not exactly parallel to the bed. Almost, but not quite. Don't know if it's supposed to be like that or not.

But the real question: I put the delivered faceplate on the spindle, and turned it on. I haven't measured, but I can see visible runout. That is, the edges of the faceplate blur as it's turning. Noticed the same thing, less pronounced, with the spur center on it. Should I be seeing this much, or should I call the manufacturer and get them to send at least a new headstock?

All opinions appreciated!

Thanks,

Bill

[Jim Becker]

If it's visible, at least suspect the face-plate. But put a drive center in the head stock and a live center in the tail stock and bring them together the points should meet almost exactly. See if you also have the "wobble" with that combination, too.

[Bill Lantry]

Jim,

I'll try that this evening. The wierd thing: if I google lathe and runout, all the returns are about metal lathes? Tablesaw and runout returns tons of things. I can't imagine runout isn't an issue with wood lathes? Am I using the wrong terms?

Thanks,

Bill

[Randy Meijer]

You should reasonably expect something around 0.003". If you can see it, it is too much. Set up a dial gauge on the OD of the spindle and check it first, then check the faceplate next. Checking the alignment of the headstock and tailstock is important; but won't really give you a handle on whether there is a runout problem.

As far as knowing what it should be, I would contact the technical services folks of the manufacturer and see what they have to say.

[George Tokarev]

Make sure you're not being fooled by the optical illusion of the spindle threads before you go any farther. Cast faceplates are works in progress, not tools, so I wouldn't put much stock in what its edge is doing. Put your toolrest up close in front, slightly below center, and see if you make a dot or a small circle in the center of the plate with your pencil. Better yet, screw a 4" piece of something to the faceplate and rotate it and see what you get. Farther from the spindle, worse runout affects you. If you can maintain twice lead thickness, it's not going to affect you. The wood will flex more than that.