Author Topic: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure  (Read 6106 times)

Offline Chipswitheverything

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #15 on: August 14, 2017, 01:52:07 PM »
James, I've got a Mitutoyo digital mike which I bought a few years ago at a show, thought I'd modernise a bit.  But though I often take it out of the box and admire it, and it works very well, time and again it stays in the box while I use one of my ordinary traditional mikes, M&W, Starrett and so on.  The reason is, the digital mike just doesn't fit into the hand in the way the older mikes do, so that it is always a two handed operation to check a measurement:  and also, when you are done measuring at the machine, the thing wants a bit more care in putting down among the workshop debris.   So in the end, I just reach for the simple mike that has served me all these years...   Dave

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2017, 05:13:49 PM »
Thanks for the help all.

And the point about lathes being on ships gave me a 'doh' moment.  ;D
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline steamer

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2017, 07:57:48 PM »
Check here.   Lathe for use on a battleship
http://www.lathes.co.uk/leblond/index.html
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
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Offline Vixen

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2017, 08:40:51 PM »
Dave,

When you install a lathe on a ship, some say it's best to align the bed fore and aft, the pitch motion is always less than the roll. However, we did the opposite, If you are working in rough conditions, the lathe operator standing so as to face fore and aft, was less likely to sway into the revolving machinery if the ship rolled unpredictably.  It's your choice, safety or precision.
Another very useful modification is to fit some sort of end stop to prevent the tail stock sliding off the end of the bed if some idiot forgets to lock it tight to the bed. Makes one hell of a noise when it falls onto the steel deck plates in the middle of a stormy night.

Been there

Mike
« Last Edit: August 14, 2017, 09:11:32 PM by Vixen »
It is the journey that matters, not the destination

Sometimes, it can be a long and winding road

Offline Mosey

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #19 on: August 15, 2017, 02:39:05 PM »
Check here.   Lathe for use on a battleship
http://www.lathes.co.uk/leblond/index.html

Perfect for the compact home shop. Economical and where can I order one?
Mosey

Offline Dan Rowe

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #20 on: August 15, 2017, 04:34:48 PM »
Thanks Dave that is a very scary concept wheels on a ships lathe. It not really all that handy to be able to move the lathe on a ship. You still have to plug it into something and even if the wheels had locks they could slide. Now I hope I can forget about that crazy idea.

I ran quite a few ships lathes and even a large LeBlonde and most of them were fore and aft one or two went the other way but every one of them was BOLTED to the deck.

Dan
ShaylocoDan

Offline Vixen

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Re: Levelling the Lathe - an adventure
« Reply #21 on: August 15, 2017, 04:49:42 PM »
Dan,

When I worked for the oil industry out in the North Sea it could get pretty wild at times. The seas were big and our ship was small. We had a Boxford lathe bolted securely to the deck, mounted side to side.
When the weather was too rough for us to ,launch the two man submersible, we stood down and had some free time to ourselves, time to go and make something. Today's Elf and safety people would have a blue fit at the thought of running a lathe in conditions where you could not stand without holding on.  But back then, we were young and invincible; it would never happen to us.

Mike
« Last Edit: August 15, 2017, 04:56:26 PM by Vixen »
It is the journey that matters, not the destination

Sometimes, it can be a long and winding road

 

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