Bolt it down dilemma...

[Janderso]

I would start with the simplest possible causes and work my way up the chain

Now that is good advice. Could be used for a variety of issues in life.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

For what its' worth, the original OEM stand for a Craftsman 12 inch machine such as mine was configured as a "bench" mounted lathe. The Atlas version may well have been heavier. I've never seen one. . . The C'man version had cast steel legs with a wide span fore and aft, and spanned with a good 2X8 wooden beam. It was better wood than "construction lumber", even in its' day.(early '50s) I don't know if such wood is available today (I doubt it) but could be cobbled together from Oak or Maple. There was no "sway bracing", no diagonals. Just a shelf about 8 inches above the floor, another 2X8. The only resistance to longitudinal movement was several 3/8 carriage bolts. Since several bed lengths were available, it was likely the cheapest to manufacture. The castings I had did have an Atlas casting numbers. The same stand (legs) were sold with the Atlas milling machine and shaper. So I figure that Atlas had a similar stand on their lathe.

Being the overbearing rigidity nut that I am, even my 3/8 bench mount drill press has a stronger frame then the OEM C'man lathe stand. A couple of 2X6 channel irons, back to back, may have been better than the box tube I used. But the box tube was at hand and the channel would have cost $$$. Which, at the time, I didn't have. I did provide for sway bracing. Merely straps, bolted on under slight tension in an "X" configuration. Not the best maybe, but again, what I had at the time.

There was no consideration with the OEM stands, nor on my homebrew stand, for rollers/wheels. Being able to move a lathe would have some advantages, I'm sure. Especially in tight quarters. But at a loss of some accuracy and stability. Having been to sea for several years, I am well aware of how things move when the ship moves. And a ship does move, despite what one would think of a steel frame and hull. In a wooden building ashore, I didn't see any advantage to bolting my lathe to the floor. But the wide span of the feet, much wider than the OEM stand, are shimmed to almost level. I would advise at least that much, that the machine could be lifted as one piece and stay true to the frame. Or, to rephrase, the stand remaining true to the lathe. The truth of the lathe itself is what really matters.

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[jwmay]

I'm working on getting some used c channel. I think that Jpmac has given me pretty much exactly what I was fishing for. Same machine, same tool box. I hate reinventing wheels! Thanks to all for your thoughts and ideas!

 

[cross thread]

 

[wa5cab]

Correction to part of my comment about how the ShopSmith system actually works. The lifting mechanism lowers the castors, lifting the adjustable leveling feet clear of the deck or floor. If you use this general method, of course, the lathe or mill must be lowered in the exact same spot in order for it to still be level. Which restricts you to always operating it in the exact same location. That may or may not be a problem. Otherwise, each time that you move it, you will have to spend the time to go through the leveling procedure. But it would still be quicker (although no more effective) than using the adjustment feature to lift the castors clear of the floor.

 

[jwmay]

I've waffled back and forth on this for a few days now. For now, it's sitting on Maple 3x4's with leveling feet. So, the safety aspect is covered. But it's not what I want. It's just what's handy at the moment.

 

[wa5cab]

FWIW, the two legs and two boards were sold as an option. The only factory drawing of the stand that we have is of Atlas 10-442 for the top board originally dated in 1935 and revised in 1946. There were originally four lengths made, each 3" longer than the nominal bed length (of 36", 42", 48" and 54". The material called for on the drawing is just "Soft Clear Wood". I would guess that at the time, that could have meant Maple. The other two dimensions are 9" and 1-5/8". So a 2 x 10 S4S. The motor was not mounted to the board but sat on a motor mounting bracket that was mount on the rear of the countershaft bracket.. The lathe and board were attached to the legs by the same four bolts. The shelf board was probably the same except that the four mounting bolt holes must have been in slightly different locations. Otherwise, the shelf would have been called out on the top board drawing. There is a PDF of the top board drawing in the Atlas Lathe Drawings folder in Downloads.