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.

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.