I have a 6x18 Atlas that I purchased from a friend. I've started using it to make a model steam engine and was having trouble making accurate parts with the 3 jaw chuck. I bought a dial indicator and found that the chucked parts were wobbling about .013" (not a typo). I thought maybe the chuck jaws were warn so I took the chuck off and put the indicator on the spindle and saw the same runnout. What are reasonable runnounts for a hobby lathe? Under .003"?
Now I may be completely off in how I am measuring, but if not, what are the ways of fixing this problem? Is it mounted incorrectly (see picture below), is the bearing shot? (When I chuck parts in the 4 jaw, I can get the indicator so that the part is under .005" so I think I'm using the indicator correctly).
I've switched to using the 4 jaw chuck and have been getting better results since it seems that I can actually center parts. I've been reading the Sheldon Lathe manual (from Lindsybks) and "Machining Fundamentals" but they don't have much to say on maintenance and repairs.