One annoyance that I have with my G0766 is the need to remove the nut on the tail stock to remove the tail stock when I need more room at the end of the lathe. Has any one either found a thinner nut or ground the ways down, or anything else to allow the tail stock to slide off without removing the nut?
You can grind away the top of that safety pin that prevents the tailstock from sliding off, then take a dremal with cutoff disc and cut a new slot in it for a screwdriver, or leave it with no slot, and use some pliars to loosen it if you need to take it out.
Even with the safety pin removed the tail stock will not slide off the end. The nut hits the casting of the ways. Kerry Harrison shows it on his YouTube video comparison between the Jet and the G0733. This is the same issue as the 766.
Scott, I'm not sure if it is the nut or is the length of the bolt for the tailstock that hits the leg casting first. I kind of recall that it was the length of the bolt by 1/4" . You are right, even with the safety pin out it is a slight interference fit. The safety pin is there for those people who do stupid things. I suspect that the rest of us could just remove it and put it in a drawer. I have contemplated removing part of the bed casting where it interferes, but haven't had that level of motivation. I DO find it kind of fun removing the tailstock so that I don't have to bend over when working on a hollow form.
Sorry...I was thinking of my other lathe I had, and answered “from memory” when I was downtown working at the gallery, and not looking at my 0766...my bad!
I ground off just a little off the bolt and just a little off the casting to get mine to slide right off
