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Lots of talk about hockey puck machine mounts...
- Thread starter jmarkwolf
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If you look around at W. W. Grainger, there are some really good deals on machine feet there, hiding between the overpriced ones...
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- Dec 6, 2011
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I am in the "bolt it down" camp. See my method titled "bedding lathe to the floor" (for a lathe). Since your talking about a mill, get recommendation information from a company that make professional milling machines. I would use a solid steel mount system.
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- Feb 13, 2014
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Not living in a place where hockey pucks ar common fare, I can only say what I would do if they we're available here.
Sounds to me like very little cost would be involved, and as time to a hobbyist is insignificant, I would make them and try them. Should they fail to perform start over. Just try to report your findings ,good or bad, on the forum.
Good luck, Dave
Sounds to me like very little cost would be involved, and as time to a hobbyist is insignificant, I would make them and try them. Should they fail to perform start over. Just try to report your findings ,good or bad, on the forum.
Good luck, Dave
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I built steel mounts for my 24" Cincinnati SD Universal Shaper (~7000 lbs). I used 3" square mild steel 5/8" thick with a "knurl" put on the bottom side using a shaper. The knurl keeps it from moving around and they have worked well so far.
Although there is a bucket of hockey pucks over there with the hockey sticks, my lathe is mounted without pucks.
The cement floor surface is fairly smooth but the floor slopes diagonally under the lathe by about 1/4''. There is a soft aluminum disc under the feet to get some grip. There are 8 feet for a 1200 lb. lathe.
But I would use pucks for a heavier machine with fewer feet and a rigid base.
The cement floor surface is fairly smooth but the floor slopes diagonally under the lathe by about 1/4''. There is a soft aluminum disc under the feet to get some grip. There are 8 feet for a 1200 lb. lathe.
But I would use pucks for a heavier machine with fewer feet and a rigid base.
You could put some safety blocks under it if you do try it. Kind of on the same principal as jacking up a car & crawling under it. Never trust your life to a jack of any kind.
That way you sleep good at night & see how well it works.
That way you sleep good at night & see how well it works.
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I also prefer solid, bolted mountings.
My machines are smaller (eg lighter) because I work in a frame building with a wood floor frame. Not the best by a long shot, just what I have. I level the machine with shims and then fasten it down hard with lag screws. Usually over a joist and near a sill. Any vibration that arises is something on the machine out of line somewhere. Or more likely, my poor set-up. Something that, in any case, needs looking in to.
The shims are usually wood and metal, for the appropriate thicknesses. After the machine is bolted down, it is releveled, the shims adjusted, and tightened again. (and again, and again, and again until it's right) And then rechected on an ir-regular basis to see if things have changed. Often the floor moving...
From my industrial background, if a rotating assembly needs shock mounting, I would think something was wrong with the machine. Either by design or an off balance load. e.g., a pump impellor with a worn vane. (In the range of several tens of horsepower usually) A smaller machine will usually have to be touched to feel such an imbalance. The "laying on of hands", so to speak. There is a difference between the grinding of a machine in good shape and the vibration of an error. That is only learned with time and experience.
Sorry to intercede on your topic, but it is a serious comment about newer machines.
My machines are smaller (eg lighter) because I work in a frame building with a wood floor frame. Not the best by a long shot, just what I have. I level the machine with shims and then fasten it down hard with lag screws. Usually over a joist and near a sill. Any vibration that arises is something on the machine out of line somewhere. Or more likely, my poor set-up. Something that, in any case, needs looking in to.
The shims are usually wood and metal, for the appropriate thicknesses. After the machine is bolted down, it is releveled, the shims adjusted, and tightened again. (and again, and again, and again until it's right) And then rechected on an ir-regular basis to see if things have changed. Often the floor moving...
From my industrial background, if a rotating assembly needs shock mounting, I would think something was wrong with the machine. Either by design or an off balance load. e.g., a pump impellor with a worn vane. (In the range of several tens of horsepower usually) A smaller machine will usually have to be touched to feel such an imbalance. The "laying on of hands", so to speak. There is a difference between the grinding of a machine in good shape and the vibration of an error. That is only learned with time and experience.
Sorry to intercede on your topic, but it is a serious comment about newer machines.