MT3 Tailstock Spindle Issue

[LX Kid]

I find that my MT3 spindle, in the tailstock, is very short. Without measuring, it seems there is only about an inch and half of travel. When boring I have to move the whole tailstock back or it will push the boring head out of the spindle. This means I have to move the spindle backwards and re-tighten the head in the spindle and move it forward into position for the next cut. Should I cut off some of the boring heads MT3 tail? Ar there any longer spindles that can be purchased? Thanks

[smallblock]

The early Shoptasks only had 1.5" travel on the tailstock. Be careful about cutting off the ends of your tooling, because they need to be long enough to bottom out and self eject when retracting the barrel. The later models had a much longer travel- about 7", but they have a completely different casting.
A quick solution is to drill a hole through the base of the tailstock and tap a corresponding hole in the main carriage. Then you can run a long bolt through the tailstock base and thread it into the carriage. Then you just use the X axis feed to move the carriage and entire tailstock at one time- this will give you all the travel you need and it can also be done under power feed.

[LX Kid]

A quick solution is to drill a hole through the base of the tailstock and tap a corresponding hole in the main carriage. Then you can run a long bolt through the tailstock base and thread it into the carriage. Then you just use the X axis feed to move the carriage and entire tailstock at one time- this will give you all the travel you need and it can also be done under power feed.

That sounds like a good idea to me! The carriage would just drag the tailstock along with it. Thanks for the tip "Smallblock!"