bolt stripping issue

[Paul Atkins]

I have to crank the bolt down on my PM 90 to keep the tail stock from moving and it has a 'tall' nut on it so there are lots of threads engaged. If there is room for a long nut, it might be the easiest fix. Also I don't think grade 8 is needed, grade 5 should be plenty tough. Stainless is not going to help either. Lightly sand the shine off the tailstock base to get a bit more grip.

[curtis rosche]

it has the grip, i have never had it slip. the bottom of the ways on my lathe are now machined, they are cast, and they vary by 1/32-1/64 just enough that you can slid the tailstock then all the sudden it wont move and you have to loosen the bolt.

i just have a bad habit of liking things to be very tight. the last time i didnt make the tailstock very tight was at school, that was back when i had that 20 lbs peice of maple come off the lathe, because the tailstock came loose and i was spindle turning the peice.

thanks for the input. i got a harder bolt (which before it was said here, i thought that all bolts were equal unless you paid a bunch of money and ordered it special) and i got a finer thread (which is the opposite of what i thought i needed before i read that cool bolt site) once again thanks for your help everyone.

[Ryan Baker]

The cast bottom of the ways may be part of your problem. When you are trying to tighten down against an uneven surface, you often have to tighten it down a lot more than you otherwise would in order to keep it from slipping. You might consider a little work with a file or grinder to smooth things off a bit.