Mahlon,
Jan is correct and you may need to shim the tailstock in order to raise it. When you check this sort of thing the best way is to put a dial indicator in the lahe chuck and rotate it around a cylinder in the tailstock. This will also tell you the thickness of shim stock to raise the tailstock or the amount of metal that needs to be machined off of the bottom of the tailstock. Since the tailstock is too high check for any debries under the tailstock base that may be raising it up. The good news is the type of dial indicator you need is on sale at Enco.
david
William
