Adjusting The Tailstock Gib.

    The tailstock gib is adjusted with two tapered screws in the base of the bottom casting.  The screw locations are: one on the headstock end and one on the opposite side.  Figure 1 shows one of these screws.  It is at the bottom next to the the back bedway.  These two screws are tightened (turned clockwise) or loosened (turned counterclockwise) to adjust the drag.

Figure 1

Tailstock Modifications

I. Setover Screw Pad

    I have not yet made any major changes to the tailstock, but I have made a minor one.  The screws used to adjust the tailstock setover have quite sharp edges around the screwdriver slot.  After cutting myself while trying to manipulate the clamp nut, I decided to pad this area.  This was done by installing a rubber cap used to block car vacuum nipples during troubleshooting.  They come in a pack with several sizes of caps for a couple of dollars per pack.  I simply selected one that was a snug, but not hard to remove fit, and slipped it over the end of the screw.  This is the orange cover on the screw shown in Figure 1.

II. Tailstock Clamp Nut

    To help protect the new paint job and provide a little less drag on the wrench when adjusting the clamp I used two washers under the clamp nut.  The washers slide on each other better than a single one would on the painted surface.  Thus the bottom washer stays in place, protecting the paint below from being torn up, and providing slightly less friction during adjustment.

III. Tailstock Dial

    I plan, in the future, to add a dial similar to the one I built for the cross-slide to the tailstock feed handle.  The 1/16 inch increment hash marks on the tailstock ram barrel are useful for gross measurements only.

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