Uh, Oh! How is is going down there?

[Omnimill]

Very nice looking Lathe Kel, good luck with the move! Post some more pictures when it's in place and set up.

Vic.

 

[Foozer]

I just purchased a 1 ton chain hoist and am getting the anchor ready in the ceiling.

Kel

Worked in a ship yard many years ago as a rigger. Rule!! if it falls let it fall! Instinct is to try and catch things. Repair damaged lathe, inconvenient, replace missing fingers, you get the idea. A few bucks and a call to the piano movers works for me now-a-days.

Robert

 

[kcmillin]

Well, I did it. Me and a buddy got her down the stairs and onto the bench with very little trouble.

Here are some pics, As you can see, the stairway is more of a hole, which actually made this easier, because we could lower it straight down.

This is inside the attic. A half inch eye bolt through a 2x8 across 4 rafters.

And the eye hook and chain.

here she is just hangin out.

at the bottom.

and on the bench.

Thanks for all your help guys.

Kel

 

[Deanofid]

It's a beautiful sight, Kel. I'll bet you're happy!
I would be!

Dean

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Very cool Kel.
Congratulations.

 

[kcmillin]

Thanks Dean and Zee.

Yes I am very excited.

I guess you could say there has been a huge weight taken off my shoulders.:big: :big:

Now its time to get that darn 4-jaw off there and get to millin'

Kel

 

[Deanofid]

Get to millin', Millin? Maybe with that lathe you can do some turnin' too!



Dean

 

[kcmillin]

Get to millin', Millin? Maybe with that lathe you can do some turnin' too!



Dean

Dean, Millin is a term I use to describe my hobby to those around me. If I need to make anything, no matter which tool I use, I say "I'LL MILL ONE UP".

My motto is "Chillin' and Millin'" When I'm not millin' I'm chillin, and when I'm not chillin' I'm millin'.

Like That.

Kel

 

[Blogwitch]

Kel,

Was it as ring puckering as you though it would be, or did it go smooth as silk?

We all tend to worry about doing jobs like that, and as I said in my previous post, once you had it all done, you found most of your worries were unfounded.

Now just get the twist out of the bed by spending a little time setting and levelling, and the machine should give you years of trouble free service.


John

 

[kcmillin]

John, yes it did go pretty smooth. The hardest part was the first step, and preventing it from swinging out of control, and that went much better than expected. Once I had the motor off it was much more manageable. It only took two people to get it up on the bench.

I have yet to purchase a machinists level to get her perfect.

How important is it that the lathe is absolutley level? Wont it work the same if it is a little off. Or is there more to it than I realize?

Kel

 

[Maryak]

I have yet to purchase a machinists level to get her perfect.

Kel,

Save yourself quite a few bucks. Try Rollie's Dad's Method - http://people.ne.mediaone.net/wasser/NEMES/RDMLatheAlignment.html

Hope this helps

Best Regards
Bob

 

[kcmillin]

Bob, I cant get the link to work. I just get an error message. I would love to see the alternative to a machinists level.

Kel

 

[Blogwitch]

Kel,

Getting the lathe level head to tailstock is desireable, but not super critical.

Getting the lathe level crossways, the same all along the bed is crucial to having an accurate machine. That is what I was on about when I mentioned getting the twist out of the bed. Even large industrial machines can have a twist on their bed, so mass really doesn't come into it.

The easy way to imagine the problem would be to put a centre in your spindle, and one in your tailstock, and see if they touch on their tips perfectly. Difficult to do as the tailstock is at the opposite end, but it would show the problem.

An engineers level would always be preferred, but if you only have a small home bubble level, anything is better than nothing, as long as you don't go turning it around when going along the bed, and try to mark it so that it sits in the same position across the bed in relation to the ways, it should give you a reasonable starting point, then when you do get to beg, borrow or steal a proper engineers level, to get it exact, you will find it very close.

I do recommend people buy a proper engineers level, I got a couple of mine second hand off eBay for a fraction of the cost of a new one, and they can be used for other things, not just for bed levelling.

John

 

[Maryak]

Kel,

Sorry neither can I ;D

Try this www.neme-s.org/Rollie's_Dad's_Method.pdf

Best Regards
Bob

 

[kcmillin]

Thanks Bob, that one did it.

John, by "twist" is that like the Wright Brothers airplane wing, or more like a banana?
This lath only has two mounting bolts, how would I shim say the right front up, or the left rear up with only two screws, would I try to shim one half of the mounting plate? Im not sure how tight to make it, I dont want to break my casting.

Kel

 

[cidrontmg]

Kel,

Sorry neither can I ;D

Try this www.neme-s.org/Rollie's_Dad's_Method.pdf

Best Regards
Bob

This is an excellent method. Also theoretically correct. Thanks, Maryak!
:bow:

 

[New_Guy]

and on the bench.

Kel

is that swarft piled up at the end of that bench

 

[Deanofid]

My motto is "Chillin' and Millin'" When I'm not millin' I'm chillin, and when I'm not chillin' I'm millin'.
Like That.

Sounds good to me, Kel!

The twist John is talking about like the Wright Bros. type you mentioned. Like when you wring a rag.
Banana would be a bend.

Really, the lathe doesn't care about being level, as in square to the world. You can mount it to the wall and as
long as the bed is not twisted, it will cut straight. Getting it square to the world makes setup on some
things a lot easier, though, and if your bench and lathe are level, you're usually halfway there.

The twist in the bed usually involves just a few thousandths of shimming on diagonal corners of the lathe feet.
Even with only two mounting holes, you will still be able to get things true by shimming under just the corners.
When you cinch the fastener down, it will be able to move the bed in a
twisting motion.

Dean

 

[kcmillin]

New Guy, Yes, that is some swarf, about 3 years worth of the stuff. I should really get rid of it, should't I.

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.
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

 

[Dan Rowe]

Try this www.neme-s.org/Rollie's_Dad's_Method.pdf

Bob,
Many thanks for posting that. Finally a method for Marine Engineers, I did a lot of lathe work on the ships and I really like having a method that does not involve a level. It seams to me that the tailstock alignment could be checked the same way.
Dan