Levelling A Lathe

i levled mine left to right first and did back to frount after then checked the left to right axis again .

I would be tempted to use only 4 of the feet to level it then crank the other two in when its level, I havnt balnced one with 6 feet though :)

Stuart
 
I remember asking my uncle{Mentor} about leveling the lathe.He was a navy trained machinist and he told me level don't mean spit the only thing that matters is if the ways are straight and true and the head stock and the tail stock square to the ways and true to each other.
He went on to tell me about making parts under way in ten foot seas. It was so rough he tied himself to his machine.
So I say if it's square to the curve of the earth and the above parameters are met go with it.
P.S. If your still going to level it to a .001" I would use fine thread bolts on those feet.
***********Just Saying********************************G**************************************************
 
I can agree with grumpygator - if the headstock and tailstock are aligned and there's no twist in the bed, you're golden.

Of course, the easiest way to assure that is to use a level to check those parameters against each other for parallelism and perpendicularity, using the center of gravity of the earth as a reference point.

Many of our home shops are repurposed garages that have a built in slope to the floor for drainage so getting a machine level is easier than getting it parallel to the (possibly non-flat) floor surface.

Just sayin -

Stu
 
I had my lathe on my houseboat for almost 20 years, a level is pretty much useless there, in fact, I didn't even own a level until I bought a place on land. Even if you could get it level today, by tomorrow everything would change. The whole house structure is in constant motion. All you can do is square it up the best you can, and make parts. I never had any problems making accurate parts. I used to make an aluminum part that was 3.625 x 20 inches, it would hold better than 0.0005 in 20 inches consistently.
 
Hi all, thanks to all that have replied.

Firstly I know that having a lathe exactly level is not the primary objective. Removing twist from the bed is the ultimate aim.
Despite this getting the lathe close to level at both the headstock and tailstock means that there is minimal twist in the bed and when a double collar test cut is done the corrections that will have to be made will be small.

The other problem that really worries me is that when I have the lathe adjusted using the outer 4 feet, how do I adjust the inner pair of feet on the Headstock end such that the load on each leg is even and the headstock itself in not under any twisting torque. My only thought is to lower the legs a small amount and then raise them again using a torque wrench bringing them all to the same torque.
Ron
 
Get rid of the huckey pucks first. I tried that route with my Heavy 10. I was chasing my tail around trying to wonder why I'd get it level and then it'd change days later. You're better off either epoxying fine-threaded rod into your floor and dropping the cabinet onto them or use 0.5" thick metal squares under each leveling bolt with a rounded indent in the squares so the bolts won't walk off the squares.
 
Like I said earlier. You don't want to try to level the tail stock & head at the same time. You will just keep throwing the other side out. If you level the head stock only keeping the tail end caught up while your doing it then you can work on taking the twist or of the bed at the end. If you don't your going to have the head way to high trying to correct for the sage from all the extra weight of the head stock.
 
Adjusting head stock feet: Level lathe using jack screws nearest tailstock. After level. put a piece of larger Dia. (1.5 or larger in the chuck) sticking out 12 to 14 inches). Place an indicator in the vertical plain, tighten the other head stock feet by feel or torque. If the indicator moves more than a couple tenths, too tight Play with this before the you finish leveling the machine to get the idea. If the bar was trued in the chuck it should be parallel to the ways
 
Hi Bob
Thanks for your suggestion as to how to adjust the head stock feet. Using a bar in the chuck and indicator to measure tilt of the actual head stock end is great except that I cant turn the bar parallel until the lathe is actually level and fully adjusted. Seems like a chicken and egg situation if I read the situation correctly.
Ron
 
I don't type well. You just put the bar in the chuck and align it with out power. The bar will be close enough to check with to double check what you are doing. The bar is just another piece of information .
 
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