Fixing vibration on Taig headstock

Last Updated on November 16, 2014 by nghiaho12

I’ve been using the Taig for a few weeks now and had noticed significant vibration on the headstock. I don’t have access to another Taig to compare to see if it’s normal but it definitely “felt” too much. Last week I finally got around to addressing it.

The first thing I noticed was the pulley on the motor being slightly wonky (not running true). After a call to Taig they sent me a replacement pulley. They were very helpful and knowledgeable and know their stuff. They suggested other factors that I can check to help with the vibration issue.

When the pulley arrived I replaced the old one and re-aligned the belt using a parallel and eye balling. Sadly, this did not fix the problem. Then I remember one suggestion by the guys at Taig. He said where the motor mount aligns to the 1×1 inch steel block might not be perfectly flat and could cause vibration because the pulley would be on a slight angle. Guess what, he’s right! With the spindle running at 10,000RPM or so, I applied some force to the motor with my hand and noticed the vibration varied a lot.

This is the hack that I settled on. Every time I adjust the spindle speed I screw the far back screw tight, while the other one is lightly tightened. Just enough so the motor doesn’t twist. I got curious and hooked up a dial indicator to the headstock. As I tightened the screw I could see the vibration ramp up.

Here are two pics that summarize the problem (I think) and the hack fix.

taig_vibration2

taig_vibration1

Your situation may differ. Play around with the screws and see what happens.For now it seems to do the job. Vibration is at a minimum, I’m happy.