Shim the bed where it attaches to the stand. I had teh same problem with my lathe.
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Leveling feet on the lathe itself? Ideas?
- Thread starter Pcmaker
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2015
- Messages
- 429
I used a 48" carpenter's level for the top and SHAR's 8" precision level for the bed. Their level costs about $65.
What makes you believe that such a small machine needs a good deal of mucking about with leveling?
I would suspect that such a short stout casting would not be effected by its own weight and gravity, if the bed was 100" long with the same cross section that would present a different problem.
A humorous anecdote.
I have an aquaintence that owns a local corner bar, he bought a new regulation sized coin operated pool table.
He asked me to check how level it was after installation by the dealer because I have one of those "high dollar" Starrett machinists levels.
This I refused to do knowing full well that this way madness lies.
I did however have one of the local residential contractors place a 48" level on it and adjust it to 0.
I had three 200+ lb pool players stand at one corner and the bubble ran right off of the scale.
I explained to the owner that you can not maintain a level playing field on a wooden floor in a climate with 80Deg F temperature changes and a bunch of fat guys walking around.
I would suspect that such a short stout casting would not be effected by its own weight and gravity, if the bed was 100" long with the same cross section that would present a different problem.
A humorous anecdote.
I have an aquaintence that owns a local corner bar, he bought a new regulation sized coin operated pool table.
He asked me to check how level it was after installation by the dealer because I have one of those "high dollar" Starrett machinists levels.
This I refused to do knowing full well that this way madness lies.
I did however have one of the local residential contractors place a 48" level on it and adjust it to 0.
I had three 200+ lb pool players stand at one corner and the bubble ran right off of the scale.
I explained to the owner that you can not maintain a level playing field on a wooden floor in a climate with 80Deg F temperature changes and a bunch of fat guys walking around.
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2015
- Messages
- 429
If I were you, I would do everything possible to get the new lathe set up correctly, to include precise leveling. Otherwise, there is yet one more variable to question when things go wrong to the 0.0005". Just my opinion. I went through it with my 10".
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- Joined
- Nov 13, 2018
- Messages
- 83
To the point.
Level your Lathe. Don't worry so much about your bench.
and Yes, leaning on a machine, can change dimensions. It is the degree at which you worry, that is the question.
Have fun!
Level your Lathe. Don't worry so much about your bench.
and Yes, leaning on a machine, can change dimensions. It is the degree at which you worry, that is the question.
Have fun!
Your Grizzly im sure just needed leveling and then use the cutting barbell method. The PM will have the same problem if you dont get it setup. I used 2 machinist levels to do mine. I have a starrett level, it think is .001 accurate then I have a grizzly level that is .0005 accurate. Used the starrett first to get it close then used the grizzly to get it more accurate, seemed easier that way with getting it close first then finishing it. The Grizzly was about 65.00 also , the starrett was more. After done with the level do the barbell cutting test and finish adjusting from there, you will get it this time. It takes time to do this but needs done.
Yes I raised and leveled my stand by jacking the carriage bolt. A couple things to do is face off the bolt for a flat bearing surface and use the hole to keep the bolt centred when cranking. I used a .187 hole and turned the carriage down to fit. The pucks are three inches in diameter. Used a two inch pocket by .100" deep with a .200" thick 316 washer in the pocket with the hole in it. , and also a 2 inch by .100" boss on the bottom to increase ground pressure since the machine is around 700 lbs. It s done well for me and i think the rubber adds it s own dampening effect.
The pucks machine real easy however it can bite you if you get greedy as it will flex then dig in. Chucking, it also squishes so you have to consider this in your cuts as you can t clamp it too tight as it gets out of shape but really it s like butter to cut just pay attention and give the rubber some respect machining it so it doesn t ruin your day.
The pucks machine real easy however it can bite you if you get greedy as it will flex then dig in. Chucking, it also squishes so you have to consider this in your cuts as you can t clamp it too tight as it gets out of shape but really it s like butter to cut just pay attention and give the rubber some respect machining it so it doesn t ruin your day.
I run some nice lathes, however most are at least 20 years old and will turn a taper if you are not careful, the CNC machines are easy you simply program the taper out, the manuals take a bit more work when turning a 70" length with the tail stock. This is not generally an effect of leveling but the effect of wear over decades of 40 hour per week use and abuse.
Every time that I run a long part on this lathe it takes several hours to adjust the tail stock to as little taper as possible, it will do +- .002" over 6' if you are careful.
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