Wood not turning

[Shopnewbie]

This is probably an extremely basic problem, but I have never used a ShopSmith before to turn wood. I got a used ShopSmith and followed all the instructions to check all the parts and make sure everything is turning and that all the belts are working. I cleaned everything. I positioned a piece of wood between two centers. When I turn the machine on, everything appears to be rotating correctly, but then, the wood will stop turning. The spur drive is turning and seems to be notched into the wood well, but after the machine has been on only a little while, it gets unnotched. The spur drive will just turn against the wood, carving a divot into it.

The headstocks seems to be totally tight and locked. The quill is tight and locked. I'm wondering if there are any other components that might not be totally tight that I should check. Can you think of any?

Thank you for the help!

[IdahoEd]

Shopnewbie;

Per Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone, the spurs need to be embedded into the wood at least 1/16 of an inch. It sounds like the spurs might not be embedded deeply enough, or perhaps if the stock is soft wood it is not able to retain the spurs.

Here is a quick paraphrase of the instructions for mounting a piece to the lathe as given in the Lathe chapter of PTWFE: Dimple the center of both ends of the stock with a drill or awl, making a hole about 1/8 inch diameter and about 1/2 inch deep. Use a hand saw or the bandsaw to cut 1/8 inch deep diagonal (corner to corner) kerfs on the drive end of the stock . Then, using a rubber or rawhide (not metal) mallet, drive the spurs into the saw kerfs. When the workpiece is mounted, advance the quill to engage the centers and then holding the pressure on the quill, lock it down.

PTWFE recommends cutting the diagonal kerfs in hardwood, but my experience is that it is good to do this in softwoods as well. It only takes a moment and really helps to keep the spur drive engaged.

[HopefulSSer]

about 1/2 inch deep

Hmm. That seems excessive to me. I'd think 1/4" would be plenty. Otherwise spot on