# Lathe, and hockey pucks



## Aukai (Feb 3, 2021)

Labor intensive morning, 3 hrs by myself getting the 1340 mostly together, the buyer for the 1228 will be here this afternoon to take that one. I do not know what they want me to do with the hockey pucks. There are 6, 1 1/4" bolts with nuts the foot plates are 1/4" thick. Nut, and bolt the foot plates, and rest the threaded bolt end in the dimple? The chip tray got scuffed in the mounting process, I guess I own it now.


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## Jim F (Feb 3, 2021)

I would say the bolt heads go in the dimples.


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## Aukai (Feb 3, 2021)

I don't think so, the diameter of the hex is bigger than the dimple.


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## Jim F (Feb 3, 2021)

Odd.......


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## DavidR8 (Feb 3, 2021)

The levelers on my surface grinder are 5/8 bolts that rest directly on the concrete. I'd say the threaded end goes in the puck though levelling might chew them up a bit.


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## Aukai (Feb 3, 2021)

I guess I'll have to add some lubricity in there, or get different feet. Scratching my head right now...


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## DavidR8 (Feb 3, 2021)

I wonder if a solid ‘washer’ with a dimple machined into it would make sense. 
That way the threaded end could rest on a solid surface and not dig its way into the material.


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## pdentrem (Feb 3, 2021)

Almost all our equipment sits on those pucks. Thread end into the recess. A little grease may help but not as much as you would think, although a 10K # machine is a touch heavier than a home shop lathe. The recess is important because  without that recess, the bolt will walk off center of a totally flat surface.
Pierre


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## Bamban (Feb 3, 2021)

The same pucks came with the PM1440TV. I replaced them with steel plates. Chucked them up in another lathe and touched off the center with ball end mill and radiused the adjusters.

The garage floor has so much slope that I had to have thicker pucks at the door end. This ensures the adjusters don't have to stick out too far down.

My wife painted them.


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## mikey (Feb 3, 2021)

My Super 11 came with pads similar to those. The  end of the leveling bolts is rounded and fits right into those dimples. A little grease would be a good idea.


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## Shootymacshootface (Feb 4, 2021)

Hockey pucks in Hawaii?

Nice lathe!


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## Aukai (Feb 4, 2021)

Thank you. Mikey there are only Ace hardware bolts in the bag, nothing I would consider leveling bolts. 
Bam, you look to have a cast iron base, mine is 3/16 welded, with 1/4" foot pads.


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## Bamban (Feb 4, 2021)

Aukai said:


> Thank you. Mikey there are only Ace hardware bolts in the bag, nothing I would consider leveling bolts.
> Bam, you look to have a cast iron base, mine is 3/16 welded, with 1/4" foot pads.



The base on the PM1440TV is cast iron, it is the same lathe as the Eisen 1440EV. Matt special ordered it for me. Not on his standard line.


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## Tozguy (Feb 4, 2021)

Aukai said:


> I guess I'll have to add some lubricity in there, or get different feet. Scratching my head right now...


I'm not a fan of rubber feet for a lathe. They deform over time under the weight. A heavy washer should be used between bolt and puck. The bolt should not bear directly on the puck.
Use dry lube if you must, Oil based grease might end up softening the rubber.


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## mikey (Feb 4, 2021)

I'm guessing that those pucks are polyurethane.


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## Tozguy (Feb 4, 2021)

Why would we want rubber (of any kind) between lathe and floor?


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## Aukai (Feb 4, 2021)

My body is sore today, I ain't 25 any more. These hockey pucks are cast iron, I'm going to hit the stores this morning to see if I can find fine thread grade 8 bolts that I can double nut, but keep as short as possible. I would like to be able to lock above, and below the plates after any adjustments.


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## Tozguy (Feb 4, 2021)

Aukai said:


> My body is sore today, I ain't 25 any more.



Well if you were in goal and stopping cast iron hockey pucks then yah I'd be sore too.


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## Bamban (Feb 5, 2021)

Tozguy said:


> I'm not a fan of rubber feet for a lathe. They deform over time under the weight. A heavy washer should be used between bolt and puck. The bolt should not bear directly on the puck.
> Use dry lube if you must, Oil based grease might end up softening the rubber.



Tozguy, I agree..here is what I use on my Taiwanese 1236. Metals Supermarket sliced these 1/4 inches round plates. Same diameter as the hockey pucks.


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## Aukai (Feb 5, 2021)

I'm getting more ideas, I need to call, and see if I was shorted adjusting bolts.


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## erikmannie (Feb 5, 2021)

Are your 1/4” footplates threaded? Have you considered sinking anchor sleeves into your concrete floor? Bolt that sucker down tightly with Grade 8 bolts & shimmed washers.

We only have a limited number of times in our lives where a new machine comes in (8 lifetime for me). 

It is so exciting that you can feel the adrenaline, but it is so much work for machine tools. I have worked as hard as I could (on the weekends only), and a month can pass before I make the first chips. I am sometimes messing with the tooling and details after 2-3 months, & financially flatlined at that point. It is all worthwhile when you are done, though.

Congratulations on your upgraded lathe; I am sure that you will get your money’s worth many times over.


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## Aukai (Feb 5, 2021)

Thank you Eric, the holes in the 1/4" plates are unthreaded, and just under .750 diameter, the dimples in the pucks can fit a 5/8 shaft end. I can put in drop in anchors, but it will take serious consideration for no other moving options going forward, like temporary permanent.


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## Tozguy (Feb 5, 2021)

Just wondering if anybody has a trick for getting even tension on all the feet.
If a lathe is set on a total of 6 or 8 feet, and once the lathe is level and the bed straight, should any attempt be made to even out the pressure on all the feet?


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## Dabbler (Feb 6, 2021)

Hi @Tozguy Nice to see you again.  I have just re-leveled my LeBlond, which also sits on similar 'feet'.  The orange 'pucks' in the first photo are usually cast iron.  LeBlond uses a similar system:  Rounded leveling bolts into a curved recess in the feet. (their levelling bolts are hollow to accommodate concreted in place hold down bolts for some users, and pucks for others)

In answer to your question, it is very nice to get the tension even, but it doesn't happen that way most  of the time. When you 'level' your lathe, or rather 'detwist' it, you tighten the 4 bolts for the bed until you are satisfied. during that time you try to keep the two headstock bolts 'snug'...  It takes a little extra time, but is worth it.  After the bed is straight - regardless of the actual tensions on the feet, take note of the tension on the  two leveling feet near the chuck.

Now chuck a straight ground bar in the chuck and tighten the outboard headstock feet to nearly the same tension.  Indicate the bar from the carriage (not the ways)...  it may require a little work to get the bar within tolerance against the whole length fo the bar, but this is just the first step.

Then do a dogbone test and get all 6 feet dialed in.  I hope this helps.  The tension of the bolts will not be eqyal on all feet.  Check back in a year or so, and the tension will have mostly equalled - After every move it is dialed in, again 3 months later, and again a year after that.


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## bill70j (Feb 6, 2021)

Aukai said:


> I'm getting more ideas, I need to call, and see if I was shorted adjusting bolts.


Agree with others.  I think the six 1-1/4" bolts you got are the leveling bolts.  Here is a photo of the feet under my PM-1440GT.   The supplied bolts thread into the lathe base and the ends of the bolts ride in the dimples of the cast iron feet, and are secured in place with a jam nut.  I had no problems with the bolt ends rubbing against the feet during the leveling process.

I also had to use some CRS plates under two of the feet because of the slope of the concrete.  At first I was concerned about the lathe jumping around, since it's not secured directly to the concrete.  But that has not been a problem.  It has not moved a "scintilla" since I leveled it three years ago.



I


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## Buffalo21 (Feb 6, 2021)

Aukai said:


> I don't think so, the diameter of the hex is bigger than the dimple.


Domed carriage bolts??


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## sdelivery (Feb 6, 2021)

So the threaded end of the "leveling screw" goes into the radius pocket.
One lock nut on the top only.
Anti seize the threads after verifying that the screw turns smoothly.
Set the machine on the pads
Start with screws just tight enough to not let the bed touch the leveling pad.
Rough level the machine
Lightly tighten the lock nuts and watch the affect.
Level the machine again.
Machines are designed to use the concrete as part of the rigidity.
If it were mine new machine and I was 100% sure fo where I wanted it I would glue threaded plates to the floor and  modify the leveling screw to accept the threaded rod from the plate.


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## Aukai (Feb 6, 2021)

Thank you guys for the ideas....


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