Dean Thomas
12-30-2007, 5:09 PM
Hey gang. I have two questions offered in two threads here. This first one is a lift of my response to Dave Stoler's issues about alignment. I've become increasingly aware of just the thinnest of edges at the hardware connection on a few of my pens, and I want/need to fix it. Here's the situation.
Had a blowout on a bowl. The blowout apparently caused the Mayo 1236 head to move a smidge. Made my mandrel about 1/8" out at the end of its world which was more than enough to bow the mandrel and make oval joints instead of round. Too thin on one edge and too fat on the other. Not a nice feeling. Re-aligned and reduce the problem by 90%, but there is still an ovaling problem. Checked and at least one of my mandrels does not fit my Morse taper hole well at all. Sucks in fact. Now I have other issues to conquer in my quest for pen barrels that perfectly match the hardware. And I'll probably end up with some new bushings, too, as I've discovered that some of them (even the new ones!) are simply not tolerable when it comes to round and equal on the mandrel!
Are there mandrels that are better than others? I think my questionable one is my newest one from Woodcraft. Chinese special, sigh. The area of the mandrel that I can touch when it's in the hole (call that the front or fat end) seems to fit just fine, but there are times when I can grab the mandrel and it seems to pivot on that front and it seems to rock in the socket. I'm going down now to see if I have the same issue with my other mandrels. I cleaned out the sockets really, really well, so it's not a dirt issue. If I can't get 'em to fit, they may be going back to Woodcraft.
So far, I've:
made certain that the alignment of the head is spot on
made certain that the spindle spins without run-out
cleaned the mandrel and the drive centers
cleaned the taper hole
rechecked alignment
checked bushings to make sure that they are round and that each has its hole in the middleStill not getting perfect fits to the pen kit hardware. Fits on one side with just enough lip that I can feel it on the opposite side. Am I expecting too much? I surely hope not! :confused:
I still need to check the hole itself for run-out, but I surely hope that's not the problem.
Thoughts, experiences, other ideas?
Had a blowout on a bowl. The blowout apparently caused the Mayo 1236 head to move a smidge. Made my mandrel about 1/8" out at the end of its world which was more than enough to bow the mandrel and make oval joints instead of round. Too thin on one edge and too fat on the other. Not a nice feeling. Re-aligned and reduce the problem by 90%, but there is still an ovaling problem. Checked and at least one of my mandrels does not fit my Morse taper hole well at all. Sucks in fact. Now I have other issues to conquer in my quest for pen barrels that perfectly match the hardware. And I'll probably end up with some new bushings, too, as I've discovered that some of them (even the new ones!) are simply not tolerable when it comes to round and equal on the mandrel!
Are there mandrels that are better than others? I think my questionable one is my newest one from Woodcraft. Chinese special, sigh. The area of the mandrel that I can touch when it's in the hole (call that the front or fat end) seems to fit just fine, but there are times when I can grab the mandrel and it seems to pivot on that front and it seems to rock in the socket. I'm going down now to see if I have the same issue with my other mandrels. I cleaned out the sockets really, really well, so it's not a dirt issue. If I can't get 'em to fit, they may be going back to Woodcraft.
So far, I've:
made certain that the alignment of the head is spot on
made certain that the spindle spins without run-out
cleaned the mandrel and the drive centers
cleaned the taper hole
rechecked alignment
checked bushings to make sure that they are round and that each has its hole in the middleStill not getting perfect fits to the pen kit hardware. Fits on one side with just enough lip that I can feel it on the opposite side. Am I expecting too much? I surely hope not! :confused:
I still need to check the hole itself for run-out, but I surely hope that's not the problem.
Thoughts, experiences, other ideas?