I used 3/4" steel square pads under my 19" lathe with a drill point depression in the middle to center up the leveling screws and used tarpaper underneath them to conform to irregularities in the floor and to resist creeping under vibration.
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Anyone raise their lathe a few inches?
- Thread starter Ultradog MN
- Start date
For my CK, I used 2x2 square tube under the headstock in a square frame that has an extension off the back. I put the jib crane on that extension, so the weight of the lathe helps keeps that from moving. I welded 2x2x2.25 HRS square stock to that frame with divots turned into them to keep everything lined up. Under the tailstock, I parted off some 3" hot rolled round stock, about 2.25 inches each, to make 4 hockey pucks for the tail stock end, again with divots turned in the center. I used some fairly long leveling bolts to add about another 1.5".
You can sort of see it here.
You can sort of see it here.
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At six foot three, I faced the same problem. Once on a "store boughten" base from China and once on a benchtop machine where I had to (have) built my own stand. The small Chinese machine was actually expected to be six inches too low. I built a sub-base for it fairly early on, just raising the entire cabinet. First by raising a section of the floor, later welding up a base riser.
The other machine, a Craftsman 12x36, was mounted to a piece of 4 inch box tubing over the homemade chip pan. Then the base was built "over" tall under that.
I concede that either machine is much lighter than what you're dealing with. But the job(s) done with consideration for their weight. Chinese built machines are simply too low for tall Americans. Just a "fact of life" that must be dealt with.
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The other machine, a Craftsman 12x36, was mounted to a piece of 4 inch box tubing over the homemade chip pan. Then the base was built "over" tall under that.
I concede that either machine is much lighter than what you're dealing with. But the job(s) done with consideration for their weight. Chinese built machines are simply too low for tall Americans. Just a "fact of life" that must be dealt with.
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I should qualify my post above; when I first got that lathe, I set it on top of two pieces of 4" channel iron, welded together flange to flange, the bottom piece longer than the span of the legs with holes drilled in the overhanging part for bolting to the floor, and the upper pieces cut to the width of the legs with holes to bolt the legs to, this raised the lathe about 3", but I would be standing on duck boards made of old flooring about 5/8 thick, so that raised the floor about 1 1/4", so the lathe was about 1 3/4" higher than when sitting directly on the floor, this was a comfortable working height for me at 5'-9 1/2". Since then, I retired and brought the machine home, as the buyer of my shop did not want it. Somewhere along the line of years, I discovered that I shrunk in height a couple of inches! I use a piece of conveyor belt on the floor in front of the lathe, and what with removing the previously added channel iron, the height is about right for me.
6 leveling feet on the 2500 pound Takisawa, sitting on 1" steel plates on 3 lengths of 4x4 on a slab. It's not moved any amount visible on a 12" machinist level in however many years I've had it.
It's still a bit too low, but not so low that I want to fuss with it again.
It's still a bit too low, but not so low that I want to fuss with it again.
I guess I'm lazy, I had a Clausing-Atlas 6 by 20 lathe on a bench, It was really too low. I replaced the Atlas with a PM 10-30, put it on 2x6's on top to the bench. the center of the spindle is at 49 1/4 inches above the floor. Geeze, that's high, but I'm used to it, no bending over to see waht the tool is doing. (I used to be 5-11, but maturity has shortened my spine so now I'm 5-7, and yes I can see over the backsplash. ) Threading is bit funny, I'm used to threading with my hands at waist height, now they're just below shoulder height.
This is my solution for my incoming 1340GT.
This will give me 4" plus what the leveling feet do.
The material is what I had on hand, 1x2x1/8 steel tubing.
The difference in the way the two top long pieces look compared to the others is a matter of what fit in the blasting cabinet and what got the angle grinder for cleanup before welding.
It's since been painted and I will drill mounting holes when the cabinets arrive with the lathe.
I'm trying to find out how long the studs are on the included leveling feet from PM to see if they will reach all the way through the 1" tubing that is on the bottom layer. I made the bottom of the base 19" wide front to back (the cabinets are 15" wide) to give the base a larger footprint, figured it couldn't hurt and I had the material.
Rodneyk, who just received his 1340GT, was kind enough to get me the measurements I needed so I could build this while I wait for the lathe.
This will give me 4" plus what the leveling feet do.
The material is what I had on hand, 1x2x1/8 steel tubing.
The difference in the way the two top long pieces look compared to the others is a matter of what fit in the blasting cabinet and what got the angle grinder for cleanup before welding.
It's since been painted and I will drill mounting holes when the cabinets arrive with the lathe.
I'm trying to find out how long the studs are on the included leveling feet from PM to see if they will reach all the way through the 1" tubing that is on the bottom layer. I made the bottom of the base 19" wide front to back (the cabinets are 15" wide) to give the base a larger footprint, figured it couldn't hurt and I had the material.
Rodneyk, who just received his 1340GT, was kind enough to get me the measurements I needed so I could build this while I wait for the lathe.
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