I mounted the 12" faceplate that came with my import metal lathe and
noticed that it is not even close to running true. My first thought
was to take a facing cut on the face and true it up, but upon further
inspection, I noticed that the flat surface at the back of the mounting
plate (where the cams come out) doesn't sit flat against the head
stock. I pulled the faceplate to ensure it was clean and free of metal
chips and other debri. It still won't sit flat at all. I flipped the
faceplate around and mounted it to a 3 jaw chuck and was able to
determine that this surface is flat and true. What else might be
preventing the cams from pulling the faceplate flat/tight against the
headstock? Is there anything I can do to correct this, or is it easier
to leave it and go ahead and face the front of the plate?

thanks in advance,
Nick

Make sure your cams locking dowels are adjusted right. I would make
sure the cams are in deed fully open, and recheck the dowels and it
should fit snug up against the back of the faceplate to the spindle
nose. Its possible the tapered bore that fits on the spindle nose is
out of wack. Snug up each cam a little at a time and go from one to
the other until they are all snugged up. If its still got a gap call
your machines dealer for a new faceplate..........

On 23 May 2005 18:12:49 -0700, "Nick" wrote:

===I mounted the 12" faceplate that came with my import metal lathe and
===noticed that it is not even close to running true. My first thought
===was to take a facing cut on the face and true it up, but upon further
===inspection, I noticed that the flat surface at the back of the mounting
===plate (where the cams come out) doesn't sit flat against the head
===stock. I pulled the faceplate to ensure it was clean and free of metal
===chips and other debri. It still won't sit flat at all. I flipped the
===faceplate around and mounted it to a 3 jaw chuck and was able to
===determine that this surface is flat and true. What else might be
===preventing the cams from pulling the faceplate flat/tight against the
===headstock? Is there anything I can do to correct this, or is it easier
===to leave it and go ahead and face the front of the plate?
===
===thanks in advance,
===Nick


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

Thanks Roy. I have tried turning each cam lock a tiny bit, working my
way around, but the same side always ends up with a gap. I put either
of my chucks on and they line right up and run flat each time. I think
it is definately the faceplate. Is it possible that one of the cams
sticks out further than the others? I removed all three cams and
cleaned everything up and put them back in and still have the same
problem. If it is not something with the cams needing adjusting, my
only other guess is what you suggested - the taper is not true.

Nick

Nick, if it is an accurate faceplate it shouldn't require any 'cams' to
run true to run truer than +/- 5 mils on your lathe.

If wose than that II'd suggest that you return it as defective to the
seller.

Harry C.

I would return it. When I get a new plate I will true to the lathe, I have
an "A" stamped on my spindle in 1 spot when I true a backing plate or what
ever I stamp "A" on it to line up with the spindle "A". this way when ever I
remount the plate its in the same spot on the spindle. but the amount you
are talking about is not correct with a cam mount.
"Nick" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks Roy. I have tried turning each cam lock a tiny bit, working my
way around, but the same side always ends up with a gap. I put either
of my chucks on and they line right up and run flat each time. I think
it is definately the faceplate. Is it possible that one of the cams
sticks out further than the others? I removed all three cams and
cleaned everything up and put them back in and still have the same
problem. If it is not something with the cams needing adjusting, my
only other guess is what you suggested - the taper is not true.

Nick

Done deal - I will take the faceplate back and ask for a new one.
Putting a straight edge on the front and back, I can see that they
appear to be flat, so my suspicion is that the taper is the issue.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Nick

Don't feel bad. When I bought my Jet GBH1340 a few yewars back Jet
sent me a total of three faceplates until I got one that I considered
within reason to true up. They all fit the spindle of the lathe fine,
but the runout on them was considerable, and I wuold have had to
remove quite a bit of meat off the face to get them true. One had as
much as .139" of an inch runout.........the one I finally managed to
get that I accepted was almost dead true as received and only required
light facing.

I also stamped an area adjacent to the locking cams with a number
stamp, on the spindle nose and the chucks/faceplate which I used to
iindicate that as being the reference point so they could be installed
in the same position each time.

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

On 23 May 2005 18:39:41 -0700, "Nick" wrote:
Thanks Roy. I have tried turning each cam lock a tiny bit, working my
way around, but the same side always ends up with a gap. I put either
of my chucks on and they line right up and run flat each time. I think
it is definately the faceplate. Is it possible that one of the cams
sticks out further than the others? I removed all three cams and
cleaned everything up and put them back in and still have the same
problem. If it is not something with the cams needing adjusting, my
only other guess is what you suggested - the taper is not true.
Nick
===================
enitirely possible, but before sending the faceplate back try
turning the odd retaining screw in a full turn and remounting the
faceplate. Most D style chucks/faceplates have the mounting
studs retained with a small screw which you may have to remove
and replace to adjust the mounting stud. You misht also try
swapping the retaining studs between their holes to see if you
can get them to pull in evenly.

GmcD

It seems to me that the hardest part of making a camlock plate would be the
stud alignment. You might have a problem with the stud location or
parallelism. It should be possible to verify this by removing the studs one
at a time and checking the fit, possibly installing a bolt through the
spindle to pull the plate on. Just a thought.
Don Young
"F. George McDuffee" wrote in message
...
On 23 May 2005 18:39:41 -0700, "Nick" wrote:
Thanks Roy. I have tried turning each cam lock a tiny bit, working my
way around, but the same side always ends up with a gap. I put either
of my chucks on and they line right up and run flat each time. I think
it is definately the faceplate. Is it possible that one of the cams
sticks out further than the others? I removed all three cams and
cleaned everything up and put them back in and still have the same
problem. If it is not something with the cams needing adjusting, my
only other guess is what you suggested - the taper is not true.
Nick
===================
enitirely possible, but before sending the faceplate back try
turning the odd retaining screw in a full turn and remounting the
faceplate. Most D style chucks/faceplates have the mounting
studs retained with a small screw which you may have to remove
and replace to adjust the mounting stud. You misht also try
swapping the retaining studs between their holes to see if you
can get them to pull in evenly.

GmcD

I played around with it for a while last night - moving studs, trying
to tighten different ways, etc. At one point I got the faceplate
pulled fairly tight against the mounting plate, but it still wouldn't
run true. I finally clamped the faceplate to my mill table and ran a
dial indicator across the different surfaces. While all of the
surfaces are flat, they don't appear to be parallel to each other. The
bottom line is that this faceplate is a piece of junk and will need to
be replaced.

Thanks to everyone for your input.

Nick