Troubleshooting
Operation and Work Results
Symptom | Possible Cause | Possible Solution | ||
Entire machine | 1. | Workpiece is unbalanced. | 1. | Reinstall workpiece so it is as centered with the |
vibrates exces- |
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| spindle bore as possible. |
sively upon | 2. | Worn or broken gear present. | 2. | Inspect gears and replace if necessary. |
startup and while | 3. | Chuck or faceplate has become unbalanced. | 3. | Rebalance chuck or faceplate; contact a local |
running. |
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| machine shop for help. |
| 4. | Spindle bearings at fault. | 4. | Tighten or replace spindle bearings. |
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Cutting tool or | 1. | Tool holder not tight enough. | 1. | Check for debris, clean, and retighten. |
machine com- | 2. | Cutting tool sticks too far out of tool holder; | 2. | Reinstall cutting tool so no more than 1⁄3 of the total |
ponents vibrate |
| lack of support. |
| length is sticking out of tool holder. |
excessively dur- | 3. | Gibs are out of adjustment. | 3. | Tighten gib screws at affected component. |
ing cutting. | 4. | Dull cutting tool. | 4. | Replace or re sharpen cutting tool. |
| 5. | Incorrect spindle speed or feed rate. | 5. | Use the recommended spindle speed. |
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Can't remove | 1. Quill had not retracted all the way back into the | 1. | Turn the quill handwheel until it forces taper out of | |
tapered tool from |
| tailstock. |
| quill. |
tailstock quill. | 2. | Debris was not removed from taper before | 2. | Always make sure that taper surfaces are clean. |
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| inserting into quill. |
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Cross slide, com- | 1. | Gibs are out of adjustment. | 1. | Tighten gib screw(s). |
pound rest, or | 2. | Handwheel is loose. | 2. | Tighten handwheel fasteners. |
carriage feed has | 3. | Lead screw mechanism worn or out of adjust- | 3. | Tighten any loose fasteners on lead screw mecha- |
sloppy operation. |
| ment. |
| nism. |
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Cross slide, | 1. | Gibs are loaded up with shavings or grime. | 1. | Remove gibs, clean ways/dovetails, lubricate, and |
compound rest, |
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| readjust gibs. |
or carriage feed | 2. | Gib screws are too tight. | 2. | Loosen gib screw(s) slightly, and lubricate |
handwheel is |
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| bedways. |
hard to move. | 3. | Backlash setting too tight (cross slide only). | 3. | Slightly loosen backlash setting by loosening the |
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| locking screw and adjusting the spanner ring at the |
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| end of the handle. |
| 4. | Bedways are dry. | 4. | Lubricate bedways and handles. |
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Bad surface fin- | 1. | Wrong RPM or feed rate. | 1. | Adjust for appropriate RPM and feed rate. |
ish. | 2. | Dull tooling or poor tool selection. | 2. | Sharpen tooling or select a better tool for the intend- |
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| ed operation. |
| 3. | Too much play in gibs. | 3. Tighten gibs. | |
| 4. | Tool too high. | 4. | Lower the tool position. |
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Inaccurate turn- | 1. | Headstock and tailstock are not properly | 1. | Realign the tailstock to the headstock spindle bore |
ing results from |
| aligned with each other. |
| center line. |
one end of the |
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workpiece to the |
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other. |
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Chuck jaws won't | 1. | Chips lodged in the jaws. | 1. | Remove jaws, clean and lubricate chuck threads, |
move or don't |
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| and replace jaws. |
move easily. |
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Carriage won't | 1. | Gears are not all engaged or broken. | 1. | Adjust gear positions or replace. |
feed, or hard to | 2. | Gibs are too tight. | 2. | Loosen gib screw(s) slightly. |
move. | 3. | Loose screw on the feed handle. | 3. | Tighten. |
| 4. | Lead screw shear pin has sheared. | 4. Correct for cause of shear pin breakage, and replace | |
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| shear pin. |
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Tailstock quill will | 1. | Quill lock lever is tightened down. | 1. | Turn lever counterclockwise. |
not feed out of |
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tailstock. |
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| G4003G Gunsmith's Lathe | |
