How to Realing Jet 1440 VS Lathe

[paulkane1]

I have had a Jet 1440 lathe,I have not used it in a very long time,I’ve cleaned it up,hoping to get back into turning,When I put centres onto the Head and Tail stock ,it’s not centering,it’s out a slight touch ,I’ve sent a image,how do I reset either Tail or Head stock to get it spot on center?

[Tim Pettigrew]

  I'm not familiar with this lathe but see in the specification that the headstock pivots.  My guess is that you need to unlock the swivel head and nudge it across until the centres align.  The headstock  can then be locked in position.

[Twisted Trees]

These are useful REMOVED LINK

Edit sorry posted the wrong link see Bill's post further down.

[BrianH]

With the lathe being out of use for some time probably a good idea to closely inspect the inner surface of both morse tapers for rust or impacted debris.
Brian

[Bill21]

These are useful https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225898150387

That is a Morse taper test bar with a parallel shaft.

A better option is a double Morse taper alignment tool:

https://planetplusltd.com/product/lathe-alignment-tool/

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Just a thought, it may be nothing to do with the swivel head. Are you familiar with "winding sticks"? 2 parallel sticks placed one at each end of the bed and then eyed through to see if the bed is in twist. It only needs one leg to be lower and that could cause your problem.

[Paul Hannaby]

I have used one of the double ended morse tapers and fond that method to be less accurate than aligning the headstock by eye. At close quarters you can use the drive and live centres to align the points but what I do is to put a long piece of wood in the chuck attached to the spindle and mark the centre with the tailstock live centre to get the headstock aligned with the centre of the piece of wood. As this method is done over a greater distance, the errors are reduced.

[Bill21]

I have used one of the double ended morse tapers and fond that method to be less accurate than aligning the headstock by eye.

Perhaps you’re doing it wrong.  I can’t see how seating the tool in both sockets, locking the tail stock and then locking the head in place can go wrong? Of course, if the tailstock has play in it then all bets are off. My current lathe is very good in this respect. The lathe it replaced was very bad so aligning the head perfectly was pointless anyway 

I’m with Stuart Batty on this one, I don’t like the idea of swivelling heads.

[Twisted Trees]

Perhaps you’re doing it wrong.  I can’t see how seating the tool in both sockets, locking the tail stock and then locking the head in place can go wrong? Of course, if the tailstock has play in it then all bets are off. My current lathe is very good in this respect. The lathe it replaced was very bad so aligning the head perfectly was pointless anyway 

I’m with Stuart Batty on this one, I don’t like the idea of swivelling heads.

Paul is not wrong, though on an established un moved lathe Bill is not wrong either! I have on more than one occasion had to give assistance on a perfectly working lathe once a bed extension has been fitted and the distance from headstock to tailstock has increased.

The winding sticks suggestion is also good advice a twist in the bed will increase over length.

Swivelling head lathes are perfect for the smaller workshop as it allows one lathe to function as multiple lathes, yes at the cost of needing to check alignment (sometimes even without swivelling the head deliberately)

In most cases I find near enough is good enough, exceptions being thin stemmed items like Tremblers and Goblets or long items. But I do find it good practice to at least drop a spirit level on the bed in 3 or 4 directions, and check alignment. of course making sure there isn't dust or a shaving trapped between the tailstock and the bed which can be really confusing if you are not methodical.

[Paul Hannaby]

I have used one of the double ended morse tapers and fond that method to be less accurate than aligning the headstock by eye.

Perhaps you’re doing it wrong.  I can’t see how seating the tool in both sockets, locking the tail stock and then locking the head in place can go wrong?

Bill, I've done it both ways and know which gives the most accurate alignment.