Checking alignment of the Boxford AUD Lathe

The lathe is fast approaching 40 years old, and has probably spent a great deal of its life being abused by schoolboys in a school metalwork room somewhere, so before I started using it in anger, I wanted to make sure the fundamentals were good, and deal with any problems before they affected the work I produce.

The checks to be performed are :

Headstock spindle runout - complete
Check headstock spindle preloading check
some others .....

Headstock spindle runout

This is easily checked with a dial gauge. Make sure the dial gauge is secured firmly - I used a magnetic base on the cabinet. Set the pointer of the gauge:

level with the centre line of the spindle;
at 90 degrees to the line between the centre of the headstock and the centre of the tailstock; and
parallel to the lathe bed.

Now set the lathe on its slowest speed (backgear engaged) and run the lathe. The movement of the gauge will tell you the runout of the spindle. Do not run at a high speed, as you probably won't be able to see the movement of the dial gauge properly. Alternatively turn the spindle by hand, being careful not to knock the gauge. Safety point : Unplug the machine from the power supply before attempting to turn anything by hand. Also be careful not to trap your finger, or any other part of your anatomy in the moving parts!

The dial gauge hardly moved on my machine - I estimate the runout at 0.001mm !

I repeated the process on morse taper on the inside of the spindle ....

and got the same result. I'm a very happy man at this point!