Gallery, Projects and General > How do I??
Leveling Denford lathe - has no levelling screws?
RussellT:
Is it possible that the rubber washers were intended to do the job - just squash as required? Having said that I think that would be a lousy idea.
I'm not sure I understand about the number of mounting feet. Surely a single mount at the tailstock end would mean that you can't adjust for twist anyway.
If you can I think the first thing to try would be bolting it down solidly at the headstock end and see how it sits at the tailstock - can you get a feeler gauge in? Can you raise a corner of the cabinet and does that make a difference?
Russell
loply:
That's exactly what the washers are - they're made by 'SPAT' according to the text imprinted on them, Googling for that reveals they're usually used for roofing.
My thinking is that only one corner really needs a leveling screw - 3 points will always make a flat plane, so just one corner should need adjusting in theory (like putting a beer mat under the one wobbly corner of a table). Just need to find which one it is.
For what it's worth though I think I'm just going to make 4 - I'm going to drill & tap the chip pan M16 and make some hollow M16 widgets through which I can bolt the thing. Then by screwing the M16 thing up or down I'm jacking the lathe up or down from the chip pan. This is what is per the drawings/manuals for the lathe.
I would assume the leveling screws have simply been lost but the fact that the chip pan isn't threaded seems to preclude that, I guess for whatever reason they just stopped fitting these at the factory. Seems surprising but also seems the only possibility.
Thanks,
Rich
Manxmodder:
Loply, my previous reading of issues concerning bed twist/head misalignment causing tapers is that bed twist itself would need to be quite pronounced to produce significant loss of paralellness.
If as you say the headstock has been previously removed then I would suspect the problem more likely to be head alignment on the bedways rather than bed twist.
That being said you are definitely going the right route in wanting to fit levelling screws....OZ.
PS: If you've checked across the bed at several points from the headstock with a precision level how much twist variance are you seeing?
Also worth considering what maybe an easy solution of just using shim stock between the feet and the base to effect a level when everything is tightened up.
DavidA:
This is straight from the manual for my Viceroy 12 speed Synchro.
Bench Model (without tray or cabinet).
The machine should be bolted down on a rigid level bench. Care must be taken not to over tighten the bolts and distort lathe bed.
After installation the machine must be accurately levelled with a precision level at the headstock and tail stock ends of the machine bed.
Cabinet model.
The machine can be free standing on a level solid surface. If the machine is bolted down care must be taken not to over tighten the foundation bolts. The same levelling procedure must be undertaken as described for the bench model.
Note, no mention of any levelling screws. So it seems that you have to use shims at the holding down screws to get the bed level.
Dave.
Alan Haisley:
Before going further, please check the bed for twist. With the three mounting points, you can level the bed front to back at the headstock and left to right on both rails. You can't correct for bed twist though. It seems much more likely that the headstock is skewed to cause your taper. If that's the case and you try twisting the bed to correct the taper things will just go from bad to worse.
Alan
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