# Ordered A 1340gt, How To Support It Temporarily?



## Alan H. (Nov 18, 2016)

Thanks to this forum and all the great info here, I was nudged over the line to get my PM1340GT on order.  I ordered it this morning and it is shipping today.  I have my tracking number already!  

The lathe will arrive without the stand since they are out of the stands at the moment.  The stand should arrive in about three weeks.    So in the meantime I will be working on the VFD install and I'll want to get the machine up off the floor for ease of access to the electrical for the conversion.  

So I am looking for ideas of how you might have similarly supported it temporarily.  Of course there are all kinds of ideas running through my mind but I am hoping for some experience by others to consider.


----------



## marcusp323 (Nov 18, 2016)

Seems to me the shipping pallet was very large & quite sturdy. Shouldn't be too difficult to support if you have a way of raising the whole thing (like a gantry crane). 
I only had my cherry picker, & so I needed to remove it from the shipping pallet to move it around. With no base the footprint of the lathe is very narrow, may not be a good idea to place it too far off the ground without some sort of lateral support. They can tip very easily (ask me how I know )
Mark


----------



## Dan_S (Nov 18, 2016)

Honestly, for something of that size and weight I would not trust the shipping crate for anything other than sitting on the ground, as that's all its really designed for. The only thing that I think I would be comfortable being under/around would be some kind of welded steel tubing base. Depending on the gauge of tubing used, I'd probably add in diagonals to prevent any kind of racking issues.


----------



## Cobra (Nov 18, 2016)

I'm with Dan.  Other than yelling at it to get a job and support itself, any work would be done with it sitting on the shipping pallet.


----------



## mksj (Nov 18, 2016)

Just as easy to work on the electrical conversion on the floor, there is nothing you cannot get two whether it is on the stand vs. the floor. More a function of where you want to mount the VFD. Obviously if you want to put it in the headstock cabinet, you will need to wait. Depending on how you want to do it, you can at least get started on ordering the parts, tach, etc. I wouldn't want to go through all the effort of rigging it and getting it off the pallet temporarily, only to have to repeat it in a few weeks. Maybe ask for the cast iron stands, not sure on their ETA.

A few thing to do if you get the standard cabinet, at a minimum, people have drilled/tapped the headstock cabinet for 4 mounting feet in the corners. Otherwise you may get some flex just using the stock two mounting holes. It will also be less wobbly when you are putting everything together. When you get ready to put the lathe on the stand, make sure to use some sealant around the bolt holes. Be sure to  remove the chuck and lock down the tailstock (you can move the carriage to improve the balance) and add strapping to either end to the hoist hook so you can adjust the machine tilt, I would use the main hoist support strap through two of lathe bed holes as opposed to around the outside of the bed. I subsequently got a Jergens center pull hoist D ring that mounts through the bed.


----------



## Falcody (Nov 18, 2016)

If you were closer to Arkansas, I have a metal desk that would be ideal to mount a lathe on.


----------



## carlquib (Nov 18, 2016)

Do you have access to any heavy duty steel saw horses? I think the lathe only weighs 1000 pounds so if you can find horses rated for more than that you should be good. Did you get the heavy cast base?

Hello, my name is Brian and I'm a toolaholic


----------



## Alan H. (Nov 18, 2016)

Brian, 
I ordered the regular cabinet not the cast one.   No, I do not have any heavy duty saw horses but thought this might be the reason to buy some.   

I like your signature and can relate to it.


----------



## Alan H. (Nov 18, 2016)

mksj said:


> Just as easy to work on the electrical conversion on the floor, there is nothing you cannot get two whether it is on the stand vs. the floor. More a function of where you want to mount the VFD. Obviously if you want to put it in the headstock cabinet, you will need to wait. Depending on how you want to do it, you can at least get started on ordering the parts, tach, etc. I wouldn't want to go through all the effort of rigging it and getting it off the pallet temporarily, only to have to repeat it in a few weeks. Maybe ask for the cast iron stands, not sure on their ETA.
> 
> A few thing to do if you get the standard cabinet, at a minimum, people have drilled/tapped the headstock cabinet for 4 mounting feet in the corners. Otherwise you may get some flex just using the stock two mounting holes. It will also be less wobbly when you are putting everything together. When you get ready to put the lathe on the stand, make sure to use some sealant around the bolt holes. Be sure to  remove the chuck and lock down the tailstock (you can move the carriage to improve the balance) and add strapping to either end to the hoist hook so you can adjust the machine tilt, I would use the main hoist support strap through two of lathe bed holes as opposed to around the outside of the bed. I subsequently got a Jergens center pull hoist D ring that mounts through the bed.



Thanks for the tips Mark, they are helpful.   

I will put the VFD in a separate wall mounted cabinet.   So yes, I want to begin gathering stuff up and doing what makes sense in advance of the new 

I am told the next batch of stands will have 4 feet in the headstock cabinets and they are made of thicker material than in the past.


----------



## mksj (Nov 19, 2016)

H&A said:


> I am told the next batch of stands will have 4 feet in the headstock cabinets and they are made of thicker material than in the past.


Super, thanks for the update.  I think that will be a significant improvement. One thing I must say about QMT/Matt, is they are able to make spec changes in their machines to make them better, this is rarely seen in this industry.

It is a very nice machine. Quite a few of us have converted this lathe to use VFDs, makes for a real sweet machine at this price level. If you need some guidance on parts let us know. I can also provide you with WJ200 program parameters. Probably need to give some thought on how you want to wire your control system. You can do a simple conversion that keeps the contactors and converts them over to relays to operate the VFD inputs, replace the control board with a single relay system, or a full multi relay control system. You will want electronic braking, so you will need a 300-500W 50 ohm braking resistor for the VFD. It often takes several weeks to get all the parts and then start wiring everything up. Having the VFD in a separate cabinet gives you a lot more flexibility. It can be mounted either behind the lathe on on the side of either cabinet. Minimum cabinet size is probably 12 x 12 x 8" deep. A 500W resistor may need a 14" tall cabinet. Cabinets either need some form of passive ventilation or a fan unless it is bigger.
Mark


----------



## tmarks11 (Nov 19, 2016)

I wouldn't mess around with any temporary support structure. 1200# of cast iron can be dangerous.  

It is only a couple of weeks, just wait.

In the meantime, you can mount the components onto a backplate, cut the holes in your control cabinet (pro-tip: a green-lee type knock-out punch does a much better job of cutting the holes than a hole saw, you can pick one up from Harbor Freight or eBay), re-wire the from-panel controls as needed for the VFD control.


----------



## Alan H. (Nov 19, 2016)

Mark, 
Thanks for the offer to help.  Yes, I'll gladly take the documentation!  

I have sent you a PM.


----------



## Randy_m (Nov 19, 2016)

Just an FYI, you don't need a braking resistor.  You may be surprised without it I have a 14x40 and I can decelerate a 4.5 x 3 plus the mass of the chuck/ gear train and motor from 1400 rpm to 0 in about 2 seconds. You can play with your deceleration  rate and set it where you work most frequently. Worst case scenario is it faults out and coasts to a stop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Alan H. (Nov 19, 2016)

Randy,
Thanks and that is a good tip.

I think you do want one if you go with the addition of a carriage proximity switch/stop.  Mark's youtube shows how slick one works with the threading process. 





My son put a braking resistor with the addition of a VFD on a milling machine to help stop it vs. using the manual brake and it works very well.


----------



## Alan H. (Nov 27, 2016)

Thanks for all the advice on this thread.  The lathe arrived and I got it moved into the shop (subject of another thread).   After getting this machine in hand, I feel it would be unwise to unattach it from the pallet unless you had a new support built to bolt it to and to hold it.  So I have left it attached to pallet (bottom of the crate) that it came on and it is stable.  I have no fear of overturn with it still bolted to the pallet.

I raised it up a bit this morning so I can proceed to get it cleaned up and begin working on the electrical without laying on the floor to do it.    I will also put some extra support under it when I am working on it.  I have two floor jacks that I will use. 

It is also now ready for the stand when it shows up.   It being up off the floor lets me slip the carriage of the engine hoist under the pallet, unbolt the pallet and then put the lathe on the stand.  I have found the engine hoist quite valuable in past few days.


----------

