Lathe Levelling

K

KONSTANTINOS

Registered
Registered
Joined
Jan 30, 2015
Messages
5
Hello All,
I have a MYFORD ML7 lathe which I am going to install on a newly fabricated (quite sturdy) cabinet.
I have the following questions:
1. In order to be able to move the cabinet around in the workshop I have installed castors on all four legs of the cabinet. Is there any long or short term problem in the operation of the lathe if it is resting on the castors (with the inherent unavoidable wobbling due to the castors)?
2. In order to get the lathe level on the cabinet top surface, I have installed four level adjusting screws under the lathe bed soleplates. This means that the entire weight of the lathe is born by the four heads of the adjusting screws which have a bearing surface of approximately 4 cm2 each. Is this configuration satisfactory or is there a better way to go around this issue.
Any suggestions welcome.
 
Its not the essence of actually leveling the machine but actually using the level to verify that all parts of the machine are in the same relative axis/plane with zero offset/twist. Some people prefer a small actual level pitch to control fluids or direct them to returns.
 
The main thing is to support the lathe with the weight equally distributed on all of the lathe bed sole plates. I had a machine tool manufacturer tell me that they weren't as concerned about level as they were about how we lagged our machines to the floor. The concern being distorting the base and putting a twist in it.
 
As it has been stated in the past, lathes on ships are not level most times. You are just looking for the ends of the lathe to be the same, so that there is no twist from HS to TS. After that, the two collar test is your final arbitrator and adjust from there.
Pierre
 
1. Every lathe manufacturer I've ever seen recommends that the cabinet be solidly grounded, if not anchored, to the floor. This is ideal but not always practical. My Emco lathe is on a cabinet, too, and it rests on leveling screws and pads but I also have a a detachable dolly that slides under the headstock end and retractable casters on the lighter tailstock end so I can move it at need. They sell retractable leveling screws that can be attached to your cabinet so you can level the cabinet and unload the casters when the lathe is in use, then retract them to lower the cabinet onto the casters when desired. That is the way I would go.

2. Having leveling bolts under each end of the lathe is a good thing. The only thing I would add is a locking bolt to secure the lathe to the cabinet once the lathe is level so it does not move; if it moves, there goes your leveling.

I used two levels to level my 11" lathe - a little 6" Starrett 98 to get me close and a Kinex Master Precision Level to get the final level. I found that leveling from the cross slide table is the best platform to set the levels on as it avoids any defects on the ways that can confound you. I first leveled the cabinet in the longitudinal axis and across the ways. Yes, I know this is not supposed to matter (ships and so on) but it makes leveling the actual lathe a lot easier and is recommended by the maker of my lathe. Once the cabinet itself was level, I leveled the lathe using the two bolts at the headstock end and the front bolt at the tailstock end to level the lathe in both axes. Then I locked the lathe down to the cabinet with the bolts provided for this purpose and finalized the leveling because locking it down moves the level a little. Once the lathe was level I did a 2-collar test to bring the lathe into perfect alignment with the rear bolt at the tailstock end and I was done. This all took about 3 hours but it was worth the effort.

Now here's the cool part. About a week ago I had to move the lathe to gain access to a fuse panel and I thought I would have to re-level everything. Once I got the lathe back into position I leveled the cabinet again and found that it took one microscopic tweak on the rear tailstock leveling bolt to bring my lathe back into level. This took all of 5 minutes for the whole thing. This is anecdotal to be sure but it makes me less leery about moving my lathe now.

Good luck!
 
jererp said:
The main thing is to support the lathe with the weight equally distributed on all of the lathe bed sole plates. I had a machine tool manufacturer tell me that they weren't as concerned about level as they were about how we lagged our machines to the floor. The concern being distorting the base and putting a twist in it.
Click to expand...

My old Sphere cum Atlas 10 F lathe is set on a castored steel frame that has 4 " hard nylon 250 kg wheels on it, two at the same end are lockable ones and under each of the stands legs where it sits on the frame there is a hard white rubber block 4 x 4 x 1 2 thick that I can just about make a mark on using my thumb nail .
When I asked the navy torpedoes chief engineer who sold me the lathe (retired aged 72 & down sizing ) if I should bolt it down to the concrete garage floor he said " That's how my father set it up back in 1946 , so long as the floor is rigid and reasonably flat the rubber pads will distribute the weight on the legs without any form of distortion on the bed " .

.So I've not bothered making machine feet to support the frame it sits on...so far it seems to be working out well .
I've used a metre long straight edge & a 1 thou feeler blade to check the trueness of the bed faces several times and so far have not found any noticeable deviations that may need addressing.
 
I put a mobile base on my bandsaw years ago. I wish I could remember who made it, there is no longer a label on it if there ever was one
It works like the one pictured below.
117128-img.jpg (courtesy Google images)
The back wheels do not touch the ground under normal use. When the hand cart is levered under the front end, it tips the saw back onto the rear wheels.
The system works really well, the saw is big enough that I can walk through the blade, so it probably weighs 2 or 3 times what your lathe weighs, and stands over 6 tall. I keep the saw close to the wall for day to day use, I can pull it out a foot or so to clear my mortising machine for ripping very long boards, or wheel it out of the way so I can sweep behind it.
It won't cross rough terrain, but it hobbles over the expansion grooves in my concrete floor well enough.
Since you built the cabinet, you might want to consider retrofitting a system like this in. This way your tool will sit firmly on the floor when in use, but can be moved out of the way easily at need. You could even just replace the casters under the head stock with legs.

-Josh
 
After being disabled I put everything on wheels. I'm building a table now for a mill drill I bought in January . It's still in its shipping crate, between repairs on mowers and small engines I work on the table , I decided to put out riggers so I could move the mill and still level it fairly quickly. I'm putting bullseyes on each corner of the table on the mill . Move in place crank down levelers and mill. I don't foresee any problems , so close to being done , last couple items are the sides and the door , oh and I'm putting a carbide tool grinder on the back of the table on its own shelf. Make use of all space available. Just to say it works machines like we use up to I'd say 13" lathe could be wheeled and still be leveled to use .
 
Can you put up any pictures of your trollied gear Silver bullet ?
I've wheelized everything in my garage because of a second disability taking over. The only thing that's not on wheels is the five foot long high 2 " thick wooden bench top , which sits across an ancient ex USAF aircraft wheeled five drawer tool trolly and a set of decorators steel adjustable height trestles .

I'm thinking of making this top into a 10 mm thick sheet of steel so a novel wheeled base with drawers under the work top could work out well . It may also free up space over my portable generator & that is something Id like to ponder on for a while .
The drill press currently sits on the wooden work top , but I should be able to make a wheeled frame to enclose my small suitcase sized wheeled generator box and sit the drill press on top of the new high level frame atop another 10 mm steel work top .
 
mmprestine said:
Its not the essence of actually leveling the machine but actually using the level to verify that all parts of the machine are in the same relative axis/plane with zero offset/twist. Some people prefer a small actual level pitch to control fluids or direct them to returns.
Click to expand...
THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONCE
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top