How to align turret on LC40 lathe?

[SRT Mike]

I've been putting this off long enough - I have a part that requires some small and somewhat deep holes drilled in it, and there's no way I can do it with the turret out of alignment.

I found a procedure online how to do it on a Mori, and I know in theory what I am trying to accomplish. Here's the how-to for the Mori

http://www.ehow.com/how_2263039_seik...ng-center.html

On the LC40, I removed the numbered plate in the center, then removed the 3 socket head cap screws, expecting to see a few bolts, but there was just the end of a shaft behind it. There is a ring of bolts around the tool number plate, but when I move them, they seem to be sitting on rubber bushings and just turn (with some resistance), but turning them doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Outside of this, there are 5 or 6 large socket head cap screws between this ring of bolts and the outside of the turret.

I have been told there are taper pins that one can use to get the turret "close" to aligned, but I cannot see for the life of me where these pins would go? I thought it would be under the tool number plate, but no luck.

The last thing I want to do is mess this up, so can anyone tell me the correct procecure to align the turret on an LC40?

Thanks!

[theokumaguy]

This will depend on the vintage of your LC40. For all of them, you want to get the inclination aligned first, which is to say make the front edge of the turret face read 0 as you indicate in the Z axis direction. Then you will adjust the parallelism (reading in a tool slot in the X direction). If you have an Operation and Maintenance manual with your machine, there should be a section on how to perform both alignments as well as the headstock alignment. The X direction can be tough, because the older ones required you to remove the turret face (the big piece that holds all the tools) from the turret casting. Then you could access the curvic coupling, adjust your alignment, reinstall the face, and check. If this is the style you have, you will save a ton of time getting the taper pins so you can break the bolts loose, insert the pins, tighten the bolts, remove the pins, and reinstall instead of taking the thing off a dozen times to adjust and guess.