Uh, Oh! How is is going down there?

[Deanofid]

Hi Kel;

Dean, thanks for the explination. I think I need to flatten out my bench a little bit, there seems to be excess flex, and gaps are present when I cinch her down.

Your bench, (any bench) can be a major player in the equation. I don't know how thick your bench is, or how well braced it is, but it's possible that where you have it cut out for the tool chests has made a weak spot and the top of the bench is actually pulling up to try to meet the lathe feet. If that's the case, you may have a hard time getting the head and tail aligned. Sorry Kel. Not trying to put a damper on your fun, really!

The bed on a lathe of this length is fairly rigid, though it will still definitely move when you put some torque on the mounting studs. If the lathe is stiffer than the bench top, it will play the devil with getting the lathe bed to twist the way you want in order to get head and tail how you need them.

I did the bar trick as described in Bob's link on this page. I had about 5 though out over 18 inches in the horizontal, and about 7 thou off in the vertical. I can pull on the top back of the lathe and watch the needle move on the indicator. As is, it seems like it will require much, much more than a few thou of shims, I believe my bench is at fault.
Kel

That way of doing it, 'Rollie's dad's method' is a really good way to get setup. I've used it a few times. It's nice to have a straight forward way to get this chore done. Guy Lautard has a similar method in one of his books. May be the exact same way. I'd have to look it up. Anyway, using that way to get set up will get you in working trim fairly quickly.

Keep having fun! I like your new lathe.

Oh yeah. All that swarf... What a man!

Dean

 

[kcmillin]

Dean, yes my bench is a total pile. I made it before I knew I was going to put a big lath on it. The bolt on the tailstock end actually goes through the tool box, and the bench is resting on the box. The problem is, where the headstock is, the bench is 1/2 to 3/4 above the tail of the lathe.

By playing with the torque of the mounting bolt I was able to get the horizontal to 1 though over 15 inches or so. (Which I believe to be suitable) But the vertical is out by 10 though in the same distance. The head is pointing down towards the tail.

I was thinking about putting a large peice of Max-Lam (engineered lumber) and putting it between the lathe and the bench. This (I hope) should stiffen up the works a little bit. It may not be level, but I hope to achieve alignment within 1 or 2 though over 18 inches. I will most likely never have to turn anything longer than a third of that distance.

Oh yeah. All that swarf... What a man!

Dean

I happy to live in a world where we are not judged by the size of our shop, but by the quantity of our swarf pile. :big: :big:

Kel