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Drill Chuck Spun in Tailstock Taper

Domodude17

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 14, 2017
I was doing some drilling with a 9/16" bit over the weekend on my 9", the drill bit caught and the drill chuck taper spun in the tailstock. I felt inside the taper and it didn't feel like there were any large ridges formed, but it's definitely been scored in the past. I think the drill bit pulled the taper forwards out of the lock instead of spinning in place.

Would it be worth getting a 2 morse taper reamer to clean up the taper? Am I more likely to just make things worse than sufficiently clean it up? Should I try some high spotting compound to see if this is really even an issue? I've never used high spotting compound before.

If I end up reaming, i'm assuming i'd want to hand ream without center support from the headstock, so it doesn't get misaligned at all if the centers arn't perfectly aligned.

Thoughts?
 
I guess it just depends on what level of precision you are using the tail stock for. As long as they are still holding onto the taper, you shouldn't have to worry about it. I try to stay away from drilling over 1/2" with a Morse 2 taper tail stock and use the tool post instead.

If it was me, I'd consider how much wear is in the bed and if there's any drop in the tail stock currently. IMO you are better off fixing that first and the taper last. If you know your tail stock is lined up perfectly with the spindle, I'd think you'd would want to use the spindle to ream the quill so it maintains alignment and there's no risk of your hands pushing it one way or the other, but I've never done one either.

A couple of our lathes have spun-quills. But I'm not going to mess with them until they are lined up perfectly with the spindle.
 
most dont bother reaming unless taper never holds even if tapped with a lead hammer
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quite common when peck drilling and flutes full of chips when you retract the drill pulls out of the taper. maybe happened to me a few hundred times using dozens of lathes over the decades
 
I have used a drive dog on a large drill before to keep that from happening, would work on smaller stuff too if you have a small enough dog


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I have used a drive dog on a large drill before to keep that from happening, would work on smaller stuff too if you have a small enough dog


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

That seems like a good idea, might have to try that out next time I need to drill a large hole!

The quill still holds things pretty tight, so maybe it was just a mistake on my part. The drill chuck adapter is pretty old and crappy, so I think i'll just leave the taper alone for now!
 
It's really not reaming per se, it's just getting rid of high spots. As above, no need unless the taper quits holding. My lathe had seen some abuse since 1941, a few turns with an MT reamer helped. Just hand pressure on the end of the reamer and a wrench to turn it.
 
Or, take a piece of 600 grit paper and wrap it around a known good #2 shank. Don't let the paper edges overlap but leave a small gap between the edges. Gently use the shank and the paper to buff off any sharp edges inside the bore. It doesn't take much of a burr to mess up the taper holding.
 
When drilling with large drills (and I've drilled with 1" drills on my Atlas), I step up in small increments (like 1/16") so that the drill isn't doing too much work.

Why do tailstocks not have the slot at the end of the taper to engage a tang?

Is this a safety thing? Seems silly to sacrifice a drill bit by scoring the taper.

Steve
 
When drilling with large drills (and I've drilled with 1" drills on my Atlas), I step up in small increments (like 1/16") so that the drill isn't doing too much work.

Why do tailstocks not have the slot at the end of the taper to engage a tang?

Is this a safety thing? Seems silly to sacrifice a drill bit by scoring the taper.

Steve

Some do. My Nardini, for example, has a slot for the tang on the MT3 accessories and drills.
 
When drilling with large drills (and I've drilled with 1" drills on my Atlas), I step up in small increments (like 1/16") so that the drill isn't doing too much work.

While this is somewhat of a common recommendation it's not a great one. It's actually more likely to grab the drill and more likely to chip/wear the cutting edge. It shouldn't be used to use a larger drill than the size MT you have would normally dictate. A proper pilot is right around the size of the chisel point and I usually go from there right to drill size in a machine. Hand drilling maybe 1/4" steps minimum.
 
the truth is most beat the hell out of their little 9s working them beyond their design....that said I'm guilty of same.

On my 9" I actually had a separate quill(crappy one off eBay) just for the cursed occasion I had to drill large holes, a 14N Jacobs was permanently fixed to that quill via loctite....swapped the whole quill.

Saved my good one from slamming tapers in and out constantly and the risk of one spinning...those little unhardened small diameter quills don't like that much.:)
 
the truth is most beat the hell out of their little 9s working them beyond their design....that said I'm guilty of same.

On my 9" I actually had a separate quill(crappy one off eBay) just for the cursed occasion I had to drill large holes, a 14N Jacobs was permanently fixed to that quill via loctite....swapped the whole quill.

Saved my good one from slamming tapers in and out constantly and the risk of one spinning...those little unhardened small diameter quills don't like that much.:)

That's actually a pretty good idea..might keep my eye on Fleabay to see if I can pick up a cheap one at some point.
 








 
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