How important is levelness of the table for lathes?

[tjb]

P.S.: Another solution - perhaps easier - would be to make the back more rigid by facing it with a solid piece of plywood (half-inch or three quarter). That would accomplish the same objective of not allowing distortion. Might have some aesthetic appeal as well.

Regards,
Terry

 

[Downunder Bob]

Looks much better, that extra leg in the front center makes a world of difference, but I have to agree with Terry above it definitely need some diagonals across the back and on the ends.

I would also put steel plates under the feet of the machines so that the jacking bolts have a solid surface to press on. I would also screw the plate to the top ply and put a hold down bolt through each plate, when you adjust the machines you can have them bolted down as well as the jacking bolts to make it all very rigid.

 

[Pcmaker]

I have a pm25mv milland pm1127 lathe. Should I bolt them both to the table? The table isn't perfectly flat or even.

 

[tjb]

I have a pm25mv milland pm1127 lathe. Should I bolt them both to the table? The table isn't perfectly flat or even.

Yes. If the table's not flat or even, you'll almost certainly need to shim the machines to achieve stability. If the machines are shimmed, the best way to keep the machines stationary is by though-bolts. I suggest re-reading RJSakowski's post above. He's offered great suggestions on the optimal method for mounting machines to wood benches.

Regards,
Terry

 

[WarrenP]

Also would depend on if you think you have enough room to work on your projects without either the lathe or mill getting in the way.. especially if you have a longer piece coming off the mill the lathe might be in the way.

 

[Pcmaker]

The wood I used to make this workbench is so twisted, I can't get it level. I'll have to level the lathe itself, shim it somehow and bolt it to the table. Should I put adjustable leveling feet on the lathe itself?

 

[ttabbal]

The wood I used to make this workbench is so twisted, I can't get it level. I'll have to level the lathe itself, shim it somehow and bolt it to the table. Should I put adjustable leveling feet on the lathe itself?

That's what I did, adjustable levelers at the corners. The thread I posted earlier has some pics of them, pretty basic setup.

 

[Downunder Bob]

The wood I used to make this workbench is so twisted, I can't get it level. I'll have to level the lathe itself, shim it somehow and bolt it to the table. Should I put adjustable leveling feet on the lathe itself?

From what you have said about this table, I really think you need to take the table itself out of the equation. Sure you can still use the table, but you need to make a sub frame to secure the lathe too, and then the sub frame can be secured to the table.

I would make the subframe out of not less than 50 mm 2" square heavy wall tubing, not less than 3mm 1/8" wall thickness, weld the subframe up to fit the lathe mounting points make it a square and rigid as you can. bolt the subframe to the table top shimming where necessary don't force the frame to conform to the table, but rather force the table to conform to the frame. I would probably only bolt the subframe to the table at 3 points, 2 of them under the headstock , and the other one under the tailstock area, this will allow the table to move quite a bit with the weather with out unduly influencing the frame and lathe. The lathe can then be securely fitted to the frame with a combination of hold down bolts and jacking screws, making it as near to perfectly square as you can.

 

[Tozguy]

Pcmaker, just wondering how much swing in temperature and humidity you are expecting throughout the year. Do you have climate control in the shop?

 

[Tozguy]

Using a wood bench, you may want to consider leaving you machine mounting hardware fairly loose. Tight enough to prevent the machines from moving but not enough to create stress in the castings, causing twisting of the machine base.

An uneven table top is no more of a problem than a common uneven floor. I would bolt the headstock down solid but leave the tailstock end free enough to slip under stress. The lathe itself is built solid so the tail end is better to slip if the table shifts than to have any table warp transferred to the lathe. There have been many a three point lathe stand just sitting on the floor with only one foot at the tail end.

I would bolt the mill down solid to the table with shims to level it.

The wood I used to make this workbench is so twisted, I can't get it level. I'll have to level the lathe itself, shim it somehow and bolt it to the table. Should I put adjustable leveling feet on the lathe itself?

Unless there are wide swings in temp and humidity, the wood bench should stabilize over a year or two. After all there is some pretty fancy wood furniture that stabilizes well (think pianos) if conditions permit.

I would wait and see how your table actually works before fixing it. Also, you might eventually find other reasons to modify or improve your set up later on.