Leveling Mounts

[RMO]

I was wondering how important leveling mounts are for a lathe and mill.  I have a 1340 geared head chinese lathe that is on a factory stand on contrete and a mill drill that is on a table, but niether one have any type of leveling mounts.  The lathe works great, the mill has some vibration as it gets up to speed and at certain RPM.  I have an opportunity to get mounts for $5 each  (Royal #1 mounts used) and thought I would check with the experts before my purchase.  The lathe needs 6 and the mill would use 4.  Any thoughts or advice?

I really don't want to drill into the concrete as I have in floor heating and with my luck would put a hole in one of the pipes in the floor

Mike O

[Bogstandard]

Mike,

Lathes are really the critical machines to level, but you can level almost any machine, even the lowly offhand grinder, it all helps to keep machines running correctly and to reduce wear, more so for a mill on that score, as you move the table side to side whilst not being at least roughly leveled will cause unnecessary wear to the slideways.

My mill is levelled using just shims under the four corners.

With a lathe, what you should aim for is both leveling and getting the twist out of the bed. The removing of twist being the critical part. No need to fix to the floor if your lathe has enough weight so that it doesn't jump around. I have mine set up on 6x16mm bolts and nuts to give me my adjustments, and has been spot on for the last four years.

I personally wouldn't recommend setting a lathe up on flexible mounts, as no matter how rigid the lathe bed is, it will still try to flex a little if not settled down onto something solid.


John

[V 45]

Hello John,
  I knew about bigger lathes need to be leveled and have all the twist out of them. Now what about the small 7X type mini lathes, do they need to be rigid mounted to something as well ? I just ask since that is what I have now just sitting on my table on the rubber feet it came with. I have another lathe waiting (12x24) to be set up and it will be mounted and leveled to the floor.
Thanx again,
  Dave

[steamer]

It's always better to anchor a machine down.   but As John has stated....don't distort it.    The EASIEST way to make sure it's not distorted is to level the lathe/mill.   There are other ways to do it...but that is the most straight forward.

Dave

[Bogstandard]

Dave,

Having worked on a few of these mini lathes, getting them adjusted and machined correctly, I have always told the owners to take off the rubber feet under the drip tray, and mount the lathe onto a piece of thick counter top wood, using shims under the four mounting points to get the machine without any twist in the bed. On a small machine like this, getting it level isn't as important as getting the lathe bed without twist.

If you still want to retain the rubber feet for quietness, then mount them under the baseboard.


John

[steamer]

I know what your saying John....just the easiest way to take twist out, is to level the lathe bed....if it's level all around, and not grotesquely worn....you will have taken out the the twist...

Dave

[RMO]

Thanks John,  the lathe is definitely heavy enough that it does not move.  I have only cut mild steel aluminum and brass on it so far and have never had a problem with vibration or any kind of movement.  I just got a level and was thinking to level it when I saw these leveling mounts.  They do have a flexible foot on them as shown in the link below.

http://datasheets.globalspec.com/ps/1440/RoyalProducts/056CFFF8-F882-48F7-B7A5-3A719DA4F4E7


I plan to get some for the mill, but is this the kind of "flexible" mount that you were warning against for the lathe? 

Mike O

[Bogstandard]

Mike,

Because they are flexible, they would tend to allow the machine to take up whatever shape it wants to be, whereas with a solid foot, with a heavy enough machine, once leveled and/or the twist in the bed is taken out, there is nowhere else it can go other than to stay where it is.

I can only state what I have seen and done in my years of machine installation in industry, where we always used a solid foot mount, from small table top machines to 60 foot long multi stage machines. I suppose there is a use for flexible feet in certain situations, but I have never come across them except for mounting things like a compressor (my own), just to keep the noise down.

John

[RMO]

John,

Thanks for the advice. I don't think it will be too difficult to pick up some bolts and "make" my own as you mentioned you did. I will still pick up some of the mounts for other projects. The compressor is rather loud....

[Maryak]

I suppose there is a use for flexible feet in certain situations

Sure is..........try a ships workshop. The state of the odd machine tool fitted is never the same two days in a row. For the hobby work we do, I read these discussions, sometimes with amusement, sometimes with bemusement.

That said, it's a hobby: and whatever floats your boat and gives you enjoyment are the things to do. 

Best Regards
Bob

[Dan Rowe]

.......try a ships workshop. The state of the odd machine tool fitted is never the same two days in a row.

Bob,
All the ships lathes I have used were rigid bolted to the steel deck. I can only assume they were leveled when built on the blocks. I am always a little amused when levels are mentioned as they only work on a non-moving platform.

Dan

[steamer]

Yup......agree...here's an example....

http://www.lathes.co.uk/graves/index.html

Doesn't get any simpler than that I think......

Dave