Taiga Chuck Loosening

[Mark Beattie]

Good day,

Tool help needed. I'd had a problem in the past where my self centering 4 jaw chuck would loosen off at high speeds. One time coming right off while it was at full speed. This was attributed to a belt that had bulged at one end. Belt replaced, worked great.

As of late, I've noticed some noise in the headstock. Sounds like the bearings are dealing with some play with the headstock spindle. I did check the spindle and there is about a 1/16" of play from side to side and it seems like the nut that is on the rear of the headstock may be mis-threaded as when I turn the spindle, I can see a space between the headstock and nut on the top but not the bottom. All of this was remedied when I simply tightened this nut a couple days ago but I'd like to know if anyone has a fix for this before I fire up the Taig again. Thanks.

[Tyler]

Mark,

Which way is the the lathe spinning? The only way I can imagine then chuck coming off is if it is spinning the wrong direction. It's a threaded spindle that the chuck mounts on, and it should be spinnning in such a way that the chuck is being tightened as it spins.

Unless I'm missing something, I can't imagine how the chuck could come off while spinning.

I've had a Taig for 10 years. I'd be glad to talk on the phone if that might help. PM for phone number if you'd like to talk.

Tyler

[Mark Beattie]

Hi Tyler,

Thanks for the reply. I believe the problem is coming from the nut that is tightening the spindle on the rear of the headstock. There is about 1/16" play from front to back with the spindle. I've taken the pulley off and that nut as well. When I attempt to tighten that nut on the spindle, it threads correctly for about half the length and then will begin to thread crookedly, so that it appears to have a 1/16" gap from to to bottom between the headstock face at the top of the nut. Basically, it's threading crookedly. When the chuck is spinning, there is a bit of vibration and I believe it's coming from the loose spindle and it's causing my tools to cut roughly and, in one case, the chuck started to slowly release from the spindle. Also, at medium to high speeds, the bearings are louder than they would sound normally. I'm hoping the bearings are still good and that the play in the spindle is the culprit. I've ordered a new nut from Taig and am waiting for it to come in.

Can you shed any light on this, Tyler?

Thanks,

Mark

[KurtHuhn]

If that nut is not tight against the thrust bearings, that could be the culprit. Without that nut keeping the spindle from moving around, you'll never get a clean cut, and all sorts of bad things can happen. Also check the preload nut inside the headstock. From what I recall, the preload nut also is designed to keep the spindle held tight so that it doesn't have side-to-side play. You will have to disassemble the headstock to check it.

Refer to the exploded drawing here for reference:
http://www.taigtools.com/mlathe.html