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Chasing a 0.003 taper on a shaft took me 3 days and it was the tailstock the whole time
Everyone says check your tool wear first when a shaft comes out tapered, but I had already swapped inserts twice and re-indicated the chuck before a guy at the shop next door asked if I had checked tailstock alignment. Turns out the quill was off by about 0.002 over 12 inches, and dialing it in took 20 minutes after 3 days of chasing the wrong thing. Any of you check tailstock first, or do you stick with tool wear like I did?
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alexlewis15d ago
Checking tool wear first only makes sense if your tailstock was dialed in last time you touched it. Once you know your machine, you check the stuff that moves, and a quill that gets slid in and out all day is way more likely to drift than an insert that you just clamped in. 0.002 over 12 inches is a lot too, that's not some mystery, that should've shown up the second you put an indicator on a test bar. Three days is rough but now you know your machine's weak spot, so next time you'll go straight there.
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