Lathe Leveling feet

[benmychree]

Casters are not a good idea for most lathes, move it a fraction, and it is no longer level or aligned.

 

[jareese]

Only pic I currently have of it but I can take some more if you’d like…when I built my welding table I capped the bottom of the legs but I drilled a hole in the cap and welded a nut to the inside of the cap then welded the cap into place…I then welded a bolt to a set of casters that I’d been tripping over in my shop for far too long…yea the casters are overkill and I need to do something with the flanges for appearances but I can level my table by threading the bolt in or out…total cost was a bit of my time cause I had everything on hand…if I needed a whole bunch of extra length I’d put a piece of all thread into it…granted I know I’m talking about a table and your talking about a lathe on a table (at least that’s what I got from it) but you level the top and the lathe is automatically level…

Little more than a table - almost 2700#
Thanks though! If it were lighter, I'd be interested in doing just that.

 

[1Bender]

Little more than a table - almost 2700#
Thanks though! If it were lighter, I'd be interested in doing just that.

Must be a rather large lathe then…may I ask as to why you want to put one that big on wheels? (This coming from a guy that has everything in his shop on wheels mind you…) is it so you can move it to get it out of the way? If it don’t have to be on wheels you can get scrap steel plate and crib it up…

 

[mksj]

As a general rule you want to use solid feet and not rubber/elastomer type (despite them have the have the weight rating), they will also have some settling and movement. Best is solid metal feet. A number of people have raised their lathes by either making a steel base or using some 2x4 rectangular box steel bolted to the existing holes and then adding some feet just outboard the lathe. You can weld in some threaded rod for the feet to thread in, just run the thread with a tap after welding. Similar to the picture in the first posting #19 below.

New ACRA 1440C lathe with Mark Jacobs VFD

Thats a expensive VFD. I guess its like other things in that you have to pay for quality.

www.hobby-machinist.com

Anyone raise their lathe a few inches?

My lathe is still sitting on 4"X8" wood blocks. I haven't yet set it down onto the concrete floor or done any precision leveling on it. Need to tho. After using it that way for a couple of months I really like the height it is set at and am loathe to lower it to the floor. I am 6'1" and have...

www.hobby-machinist.com

What size leveling feet

2500lb mill that I'm raising with 6 x 6 .250 wall box tubing. I know weight ratings, but what about foot diameter?

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[pontiac428]

The performance you'll get from any type of caster on a 14” lathe is akin to the performance you'll get when towing a semi trailer with a Volkswagen. It just isn't done. Anything as hard to move as a lathe and mill is best served by staying put. Besides, casters wobble and shift.

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[WobblyHand]

Even the leveling casters wobble and shift. You need a solid footing for your lathe. No rubber. Use steel feet. Having wheels on the lathe is ok, (to move it) but when in place, don't have it rest on the wheels.

 

[jareese]

Must be a rather large lathe then…may I ask as to why you want to put one that big on wheels? (This coming from a guy that has everything in his shop on wheels mind you…) is it so you can move it to get it out of the way? If it don’t have to be on wheels you can get scrap steel plate and crib it up…

Never said I did.
I purchased some leveling casters from Amazon to try, both for more height and leveling only. Didn’t work.

 

[1Bender]

Never said I did.
I purchased some leveling casters from Amazon to try, both for more height and leveling only. Didn’t work.

Gotcha…I thought maybe your shop was like mine and it was a constant game of tetris making everything fit

 

[talvare]

Good to hear that the casters didn't work out. Using casters on a machine as top heavy as a lathe and on a rough floor, is a disaster looking for a place to happen. Very good chance of that machine ending up on it's side.

Ted

 

[jareese]

Ok. A lot of you seem to be missing my point as you’re focusing on the word “caster”
My goal was ease of leveling the machine, not moving it. I had thought of using them to move it less than 2 feet in the beginning, but found that I could use some machine lifts from a friend and used them instead.

My interest lies in finding a way to level my machine. Not talk about casters.

Thanks for getting back on topic.

Adding to original post as well.