adjusting tail stock

I have a question about an HLVH tail stock. Can it be adjusted? If you put an indicator in the spindle and spin it around the inside of the tail stock and it is off, is there any adjustment that can be made to the tail stock to compensate for the deviation?
It seems like the tail stock is fixed and not adjustable.
Thanks for your help.
Allen

The Hardinge Tailstock is fixed and not adjustable.

You didn't say how much off.

Indicating from headstock spindle to tailstock bore really isn't the way to evaluate the necessary attributes of a lathe tailstock.

To do an alignment check that means something, you need a No. 2 Morse Test Bar.

A good practical test would be to set up and turn a piece beween centers.

If the piece isn't too badly tapered, then you are all right for average work.

Lathe tailstocks tend to wear so that their spindles point down at the front. This happens from moving the tailstock back and forth along the bed when doing drilling with the tailstock.

The Engine Lathe was originally designed for turning work between centers. The tailstock was meant to be moved only when the job was set up.

Of course none of us can resist the temptation of sticking a drill in the tailstock, so we suffer the consequences of worn down tailstocks as a natural part of lathe work.

Personally I like tailstocks that are aligned closely enough to turn almost taper free cylinders, therefore I keep turret lathes for those jobs held in chucks that need several drilling operations.

I wouldn't "sewat" the tailstock of a Hardinge HLV-H too much. you can't do much between centers work anyway.

Even if the tailstock is down a little, it is all right for center drilling and drilling.

All the accurate hole making is done with the boring bar.

Allen doesn't do "average work" ...

John

Sorry I forgot to post the variations! I tried 3 different methods. I do not have a dog leg and a face plate so I am not going to be able to turn between centers.

The deviations I am getting are:
Top to bottom -.004
Front to back -.011

I knew the tail stock was off but I did not know it was this bad!

Drilling your average size hole, I would not sweat it and bore it out to size, but there is the occasion where I need to drill a hole .050 and smaller. Am I going to be the "shim-master" or do I need to get a new tail stock?

Thanks,
Allen

I would suggest working on the horizontal problem first, Allen. Mine was off ~.007" when I got it. Not sure why, except the bed may have been ground at some point. A good cleaning, and inserting a .007" shim between the front gib and casting, put it dead on. The vertical wear wasn't enough to worry about - less than .0010", but I measured it after I fixed the horizontal to avoid tracking two moving targets. There's a description of a good measurement process in the rear of the later maintenance manuals, but you need dead centers in both ends.

Tschüss!

- Mike

AAFRADIO wait a minute there what do you mean "Tschüss!"
Wo her kommen sie aus? Sind sie SudDeustcher oder vielleicht SuisseDeutscher?
Der steve

Heh, heh...actually, I come from New Braunfels, so what little German I remember is sort of Tex-Mex influenced in that southern Texas melting pot.

Happy holidays,
Mike

Today I spent some time to work on the tail stock. I surface ground the gibb and adjusted it as close as I could get. Now it is within somewhat acceptable tolerances:
Front to back: +.0002
Top to bottom: +.0014

I guess this is as good as it is going to get! Thanks everybody for your advices.
Allen