Mounting small machine tools?

[Aaron_W]

What Mikey said, the base is more to provide something solid for moving it around and give it better footing on the desktop. They are a little top heavy and have a fairly narrow base, so while unlikely, there is a potential for it to get knocked onto its side which a wider footprint makes much more difficult. I just want to avoid adding another potential source for misalignment.


I didn't think about aluminum, I could see a piece of rectangular tubing working and that wouldn't cost a lot. Not sure what 80/20 refers to though.

 

[kvt]

I also have a Sherline, It is also mounted on the 3/4 MDF with a melamine sheet over it. This allows me to move it around as needed, The 5400 mill is mounted to a piece of 3/4 inch ply, with is cross mounted on two 1x6 that are mounted to a Base that can role around. The back side of the base is also where I store the 4400 lathe, the 4000 is stored on a shelf as I primarily use it for threading. Can clamp it down on the cart with the mill to use it or move it over to the bench. Main thing is to have a base under it that will keep it leveled and not twisted. It also allows for you to move and store it with little problems

 

[mikey]

Not sure what 80/20 refers to though.

80/20 is a company that produces a variety of aluminum extrusions. Look them up on the net and maybe call them to see if they make a piece that is wide enough for your needs. I would think something 4-6" wide would be sufficient.

Or, just use a piece of 3/4 to 1" thick Malamine coated MDF. It will be flat, stable and won't move with humidity if you put a coat of polyurethane on the exposed MDF edges. Works good.

 

[richl]

Isn't cabinet grade plywood stable? More layers of veneer makes them stable as well as strong. So if your local home depot/Lowe's has precut of 2x4 with 5 or more layers that should be fine. It's reasonably cheap and easy to find...
Or I could be completely wrong (I doubt it, I've worked in a few cabinets shops over the years)

Hth
Rich

 

[old toolmaker]

I use a section of 1/2" 6061 aluminum to mount my Unimat DB200 lathe. It is longer and wider than the lathe for stability and good footing. Works good.
I also have a 7 x 16 MicroMark mini lathe mounted on a section of 6061 aluminum 1-1/2" thick x 8" wide as long as the lathe base. It is a heavy piece but really stabilizes the machine. I have used this with no issues whatsoever for 6 years now. I had this piece left over from another job so I put it to good use.

Dick

 

[john.oliver35]

I have some Sherline machines that I love! I started an exercise to see improve rigidity by mounting on stronger substrates. One thing I noticed is that given the way that the ways attach to the base, there is no real torque transferred from the base to the ways. No matter how rigidly you mount the base to a steel or granite block, it won't keep the ways from flexing in the base.

Not trying to say anything bad here - just that the flexibility of the base and the mounting minimize the gains one can realize from mounting the lathe on a rigid surface.

 

[Alan H.]

I can easily find another use for the board it is currently attached to. Mounting it to another board in reverse is a good idea if I was set on keeping it on real wood.

When I got it I wasn't aware just how sensitive these little lathes could be to a board warping. They are quite stoutly built, but of course it takes very little movement to create a problem.

I have no issue replacing the board with a piece of 2x4 or 2x6" synthetic decking. I assumed synthetic wood wasn't subject to changes in weather like real wood, but wanted to make sure I am making a correct assumption.


Thanks

Be cautious with synthetic wood (recycled plastic). First it's rigidity can be less than that of wood and its quite elastic when compared to wood. Its coefficient of thermal expansion is also quite high and if it would be in an area of temperature swings, not the best.

 

[whitmore]

I have a Sherline lathe, but I don't think brand really matters for this question.

I mounted the lathe to a 1/2" oak board to provide a base to it. I haven't had any noticeable issues so far, but really haven't done that much work and everything has been small where issues from the board warping wouldn't be terribly noticeable.

I've since come to realize the potential issues of using wood as a base ...

The usual recommendation with machine tools, is to mount 'em through a steel/iron base to a massive concrete
floor. This is because it damps vibrations (and a wood base, though good for support, is just a reflector
of vibrations in metal, it doesn't really carry the sound energy away). So, a stone slab (or some paving blocks)
and a compliant gasket between (lead sheet? Or, maybe just plaster of paris?) would be
good.

Old tool designs used lots of (relatively soft) cast iron, and new ones get computer analyzed with finite-element
models. So, it'll be different depending on the tool, and its use. Variable speed motor schemes
are a trifle scary, there will be some potential for a VFD to hit a mechanical resonance, and cut
quality can suffer. A single-phase motor mounted on the lathe (instead of belt-coupled) could make
a lot of 120 Hz torque variation, too. It seems counterintuitive, but an oak board could just
become a spring in an oscillating mass/spring system.

BG Micro has the right gizmo for sale, if you want to find and snuff vibrations, though:
<http://www.bgmicro.com/search.aspx?find=seismometer>. I bought one, plan to
wire it up and explore when I also get a round tuit...