# lathe drilling - what am I doing wrong



## r-ice (Nov 16, 2011)

Okay Here is the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25CgeirNH-8

What am I doing wrong?  As soon as the drill bit catches and starts drilling.  The drill just starts spinning causing the rear hand to spin out of the control and the rear stock to just start heading backwards.  I have no idea what to do.


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## Russianwolf (Nov 16, 2011)

I wear a glove on my left hand and hold the drill chuck to prevent the spinning. The glove just protects my hand from the key teeth on my jacobs chuck. 

If it grabs hard enough to spin it with me holding it, I turn the machine off.


You could use a dead blow to seat the chuck in the taper fully, but I never bother.


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## DurocShark (Nov 16, 2011)

When inserting the chuck into the tailstock, you have to twist and press while seating. If you do this right, you will rarely have trouble.

That said, I still keep my hand on the chuck. Even if it doesn't try to spin, your arm adds a bit of vibration damping which helps with smoother straighter holes.


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## alphageek (Nov 16, 2011)

I'm not 100% sure... But here is what I think I see:
- The drill chuck should NEVER spin.   The headstock spins in this setup, the tail shouldn't.
- The drill chuck starts spinning right away with contact.   This tells me that the MT2 isn't locked into the tail stock well.
- I can't tell from the angle, but it looks like the drill chuck is very close to the tail stock body.   On my lathe, if I back it up that close, it releases the MT2 taper.


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## Russianwolf (Nov 16, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1suUVIQpfQ

He's doing it the way I do. I just had a bad grab one time and the key teeth tore my palm up.


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## r-ice (Nov 16, 2011)

okay that makes more sense that I should be holding on to the drill.  I thought you just started to turn the handle and let the drill bit eat away at the wood. 

Thanks!


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## NewLondon88 (Nov 16, 2011)

I think Alphageek nailed it .. your tailstock is too far back, so the
taper is being held by the tailstock.
Try extending the tailstock a bit before putting in the chuck. Just
crank it out a few turns, then put in the chuck. You should feel
it hold. If you turn it back all the way, it will push out the chuck.


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## r-ice (Nov 16, 2011)

okay I will give that a go.


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## juteck (Nov 16, 2011)

NewLondon88 said:


> I think Alphageek nailed it .. your tailstock is too far back, so the
> taper is being held by the tailstock.
> Try extending the tailstock a bit before putting in the chuck. Just
> crank it out a few turns, then put in the chuck. You should feel
> it hold. If you turn it back all the way, it will push out the chuck.




It also looks like the tailstock isn't completely tightened against the bed, and the tailstock spindle lock might be too loose.  



Clean the morse taper spindle shaft hole and drill morse taper shaft;
Extend the tailstock spindle as mentioned above to make sure the morse taper of the drill chuck is seated firmly in the hole of the tailstock spindle shaft and the morse taper doesn't spin;
Tighten the tailstock spindle lock so the tailstock spindle shaft doesn't spin in the tailstock; and,
 Tighten the tailstock against the bed.


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## Russianwolf (Nov 16, 2011)

NewLondon88 said:


> I think Alphageek nailed it .. your tailstock is too far back, so the
> taper is being held by the tailstock.
> Try extending the tailstock a bit before putting in the chuck. Just
> crank it out a few turns, then put in the chuck. You should feel
> it hold. If you turn it back all the way, it will push out the chuck.



That looks like the same tailstock design as the turncrafter pro that I had way back. You have to use a push rod to get the chuck out.


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## JeffT (Nov 16, 2011)

On my Rikon lathe, if the tail stock is back all the way, the MT-2 taper on my drill chuck will not seat. It is just long enough that it bottoms out and I have to advance the tail stock about 1/2" to get the MT-2 to grab. Once I figured that out, it's been no problem.


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## Parson (Nov 16, 2011)

Ditto on what Jeff wrote above with my Jet. I must extend the tail stock out about a 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch so the drill chuck's taper can fully seat.

On another note, giving the bit a little pre-drilled hole to start with sure does keep the tip of the bit from wandering and making the front of the drilled piece larger than the rest of it. I watched Jason (Timebandit) do this every time he drilled on his lathe for his kitless pens and it made all the difference in the world.


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## r-ice (Nov 16, 2011)

thanks for all the help!


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## Curly (Nov 16, 2011)

juteck said:


> Tighten the tailstock spindle lock so the tailstock spindle shaft doesn't spin in the tailstock; and,



From what I see John nailed it with the tailstock lock. The chuck and tailstock quill are spinning together. The morse taper is not slipping so that isn't the problem this time. There should be a slot cut along the side of the quill that the bolt of the lock sits in. It prevents the quill from spinning in the tailstock. Get the quill aligned with the lock and turn the lock in until it touches bottom and then back it off 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn at most. If the lock has one of the spring loaded adjustable handles set it so that it is pointed down when backed off, so that it doesn't loosen more with vibration. If you continue to spin the quill in the tailstock they will wear and the slop will cause more turning and drilling issues.


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## Holz Mechaniker (Nov 16, 2011)

alphageek said:


> I'm not 100% sure... But here is what I think I see:
> - The drill chuck should NEVER spin.   The headstock spins in this setup, the tail shouldn't.
> - The drill chuck starts spinning right away with contact.   This tells me that the MT2 isn't locked into the tail stock well.
> -* I can't tell from the angle, but it looks like the drill chuck is very close to the tail stock body.   On my lathe, if I back it up that close, it releases the MT2 taper.*



PLUS!!!!!!!!  your speed of your lathe is way to *bleepin* fast, it appears that it is what over1500 rpm.  
Get a pair of leather gloves, HF has a nice pair of anti-vibration 1/4 finger leather gloves less than $20.  they have lasted with me over 2 years.  Anyway, HOLD ON TO THE Drill Chuck!!  I have a nice scuff on my face shield because of exactly what you were doing.


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## Carl Fisher (Nov 16, 2011)

Curly said:


> juteck said:
> 
> 
> > Tighten the tailstock spindle lock so the tailstock spindle shaft doesn't spin in the tailstock; and,
> ...



These 2 beat me to it.  The fact that the entire quill is spinning means your lock has backed out too far and is not engaged in the slot.


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## NewLondon88 (Nov 16, 2011)

D'OH!  I didn't even see the quill moving the first time. I was watching
the live center spinning.
Yeah.. the turning quill is a giveaway


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## flyitfast (Nov 16, 2011)

The reason the MT2 does not seat when the spindle is all the way in is because it is supposed to be that way. It is made to self eject what ever taper device is in the tail stock when you crank the spindle all the way in. It must be out far enough for the taper to fully seat and hold.
When you are drilling and back the drill/chuck out and move the tail stock forward, don't back it all the way out.
+1 on wearing a glove to steady the drill chuck.
Use a starter bit (Harbor freight) and predrill a starting hole.  It will reduce wandering of the drill bit.
Be sure to clear the hole every quarter to half inch. It will keep the blank cooler and prevent splitting.
Keep the tailstock tightened down.


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## arcwick08 (Nov 17, 2011)

Maybe I'm out of date, but I'd never, never wear fabric gloves near any spinning power tool... I agree with the consensus here, quill retracted too far, or wrong MT size.


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## graham murfin (Nov 17, 2011)

Hi
firstly u should start with short drill, the previous poster is right your 2 mt holder should be knocked in, the tailstock should never spin, the inner sleeve has come away.Could be fully unscrewing and coming off its thread - should have a stop.
Always use worm pattern drills as the cuttings never jam.
graham


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## monophoto (Nov 17, 2011)

r-ice said:


> okay that makes more sense that I should be holding on to the drill.  I thought you just started to turn the handle and let the drill bit eat away at the wood.
> 
> Thanks!



The Jacobs chuck fits into the taper in the tail stock, and there is  probably a second taper between the Jacobs chuck shaft and the chuck  itself.  The blank is held in a scroll chuck that threads onto the headstock.  When the lathe is turning, the blank will turn (there is no point between the blank and the headstock where slippage can occur).  Therefore, slippage must occur somewhere in the tailstock area, and the two Morse tapers are the likely candidates.  Not good for the tapers.

So the answer is simple - hold the Jacobs chuck in your left hand as you crank the tail stock in and out of the blank with your right hand.


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## Justin_F (Nov 18, 2011)

Agree totally with jutek. Would add that using a centredrill to start the hole, particularly with larger holes results in a great result everytime.
Jus


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## Pens By Scott (Nov 18, 2011)

not sure that this hasn't been mentioned, but what type of drill chuck are you using?  When I watched the video, when you crank your tail stock, your drill chuck turned with every crank.  With my set up, when I turn the tail stock crank the chuck advances, but does not turn.

Not sure if this matters at all though...


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## Carl Fisher (Nov 18, 2011)

That's because the quill lock is not engaged far enough.

This particular issue has nothing to do with the taper or seating or anything but the quill being allowed to turn freely in the tail stock.  Run the quill out far enough to find the groove.  Then line that up with the cam lock on the back side of the tail stock and advance the lock until it engages into the grove.  Then just back out a 1/4 turn until the quill moves freely in and out of the tail stock without spinning.


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## biednick (Nov 18, 2011)

I dont have enough time to read all the post right now, so this might have been said, but on your tail stock ram there should be a grove on 1 side and a little screw on a lever to lock the ram in place. Line up the grove with where the bolt is and tighten it a little.


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## r-ice (Nov 19, 2011)

thanks for all the help.


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