Repair tilting tailstock

I’m about to embark on a tailstock repair project on a Rexvalter vf-118. I guess it doesn’t matter what lathe it is because it is very similar to many others in its class.
The problem I have is the good old “tilting tailstock from wear” so i cannot just shim it to get the correct height since it is more worn in the front. It would have been easier if it would have had flat faces but the v-groove kind of puts me on the spot
Pics:




Don't know if it shows in the pictures but the wear is mostly in the front and hardly anything in the back.
Being a happy hobbyist that loves to repair old machines this of course presents a perfect opportunity to learn how
I’ve searched high and low on YouTube for this but no luck. Plenty of videos showing how to shim it and how to flatten the surface but no luck when it comes to the v-groove.
The flat surface should be parallel to the “top” of the tailstock base, and that one is scraped in so in that direction there shouldn’t be a problem.
But when it comes to the groove I’m very uncertain of how to align it and how to mill it. I’m doing the milling on a small bench milling machine (Hobbymat bfe65) but i think it will work.
Any help appreciated and if you have links to some video I’d be delighted

Can't see from the photos how much wear you have, my impression is there's almost none.
Does it really matter? A repair may well require a lot of expertise and top quality machinery.
I think I would leave it as is. Aim for satisfaction, not perfection.
fusker

It is possible to use a shim between the tailstock and base to correct the tilt.

Well, I haven’t done the math exactly but when I measure with the quill in the inner position, it is 0,1mm low and extended about 50mm more, it is 0,2mm low. That’s how I noticed it was tilting and not just low. I notice it the most when I’m drilling of course because then the drill jumps up a bit.
I would prefer not to put in a shim because I would be shimming a scraped surface and that seems like blasphemy
This is an attempt at shimming it but I'm not to happy with it since it now in reality will not be two flat surfaces matched together. Sorry, not the best explanation but I think you see what i'm getting at

Hello
As a quick fix, you could scrape the base in and leave the bearing areas just hollow in the centre. This will solid things up, atm its all but certain bearing high in the middle and rocking. When you do this keep in mind the quill direction to the bed. You could shim the base to the top of the tail stock for height, shim over the full surface and perhaps use a couple dabs of say super glue to hold in place, clamp up the tailstock and let it go off. Not the 'done thing' but this is the real world. Youll should end up with a solid, functioning tailstock that has the quill on centre.
Now how sloppy is that quill?

This is what I mean about leaving the centres just shy, its the base of a compound but the same gig.

Demon73, the quill is really good, no sloppyness there fortunately.
I didn’t quite understand if you meant I should scrape the base between the base and the bed or between the base and the top of the tailstock?
That would also mean I should create a “hole” in the middle to make it easier to scrape in as seen in your picture? Stupid question, but if you mean I should scrape in the v-groove as well, isn’t that very hard? I’ve scraped flat surfaces before but never a groove

Nickedemuz said:

Demon73, the quill is really good, no sloppyness there fortunately.
I didn’t quite understand if you meant I should scrape the base between the base and the bed or between the base and the top of the tailstock?
That would also mean I should create a “hole” in the middle to make it easier to scrape in as seen in your picture? Stupid question, but if you mean I should scrape in the v-groove as well, isn’t that very hard? I’ve scraped flat surfaces before but never a groove

Click to expand...

Sorry I mean scrape the V and flat of the tailstock base to a decent spot on the bed. Id suggest you assemble the tailstock, lock and indicate the quill sliding it on the ways. Its really not so hard to scrape a V way, just use your common sense and take your time.
The 'hole' in the surfaces are literally only a few tenths clear so as just not to print, you dont have to go mad here.
When youre happy with the quill alignment you can turn a slug of something to the same size as the tailstock quill and indicate how low you are, shim as needed job done

The penny just dropped. You’re right, I can do this! Looking forward you breaking out the homemade scraping thingamajiggie and spending a cosy amount of quality time with my lathe. I tried explaining to my wife the joy of scraping. She did not understand.
But honestly, thanks!