Level lathe set up

[Joseph Noci 1Participant @josephnoci1]

Duncan, any Pink-Floyd? Deep-Purple?? Wishbone-Ash????

Joe

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

No, I never even pretended to like that sort of stuff. One of these days I'll get them out and list them and you'll all agree what a sad old so-and-so I've always been!

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by duncan webster on 23/08/2017 23:44:10:

No, I never even pretended to like that sort of stuff. One of these days I'll get them out and list them and you'll all agree what a sad old so-and-so I've always been!

"He does eat daffodils, you know."

Neil

[Bob GitshamParticipant @bobgitsham90361]

I'm fairly certain that by level they actually mean that the bed is flat and straight, without any twist, also that the centerline of the head stock is parallell to the flat staright bed, inboth the horizontal and vertical plane.The tail stock should also be on the same centerline. I spent most of my adult working life as a Marine Engineer

Without exception the shi[ps I worked on all had a lathe in the engineroom workshop. Some also had other machines as well. The sizes varied from about 9 inch to about 14 inch swing with beds from about 3 ft to 6 ft longt, mainly depending on the size of the work that was anticipated.

These machines were usually bolted to a substantial steel sub frame that was made to be quite square. the sub frame as then resiliently mounted to the ships frame, so that as the ship flexed the lathe on its sub frame remained quite rigid, square and straight.

I always found tthat it was possible to do quite accurate and detailed work on those machines, except in extremely rough weather.

I can only recall one case where the lathe was pretty useless while the ship was at sea and in that case the above procedure had not been followed.

[Jon CameronParticipant @joncameron26580]

I'm reading this topic with interest as I too have to "level" the lathe. On my ML4 it wont show as much issue of twist due to the feet been under the chuck portion, and close to the centre of balance.

I will still be levelling front to back, and also side to side, and diagonally using a test bar that I'll machine from good grade steel.

I think why the lathes have to be level in a shop probably goes to setting up workpieces. If you are sure that your bed is level in all planes then you can set up pieces with a an inclinometer (or how ever it's spelt) knowing that you don't have to waste time calculating the angle of the bed and removing that from your final angle you are measuring.

For an example I have seen before a level used across a 4 jaw to level a piece for drilling holes at a certain PCD. For four holes it's easy. 8 holes you need to work out a 45 degree angle, 6 holes can be done with a 3 jaw in the same principle. I guess it's all to do with time saving in a workshop. It's quicker to measure one than 6 planes to achieve a level.

That's my theory anyhow

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

A good turntable and valve amplifier sound excellent! It is the cheap rubbish equipment that get LPs a bad name. From the same studio recordings, I can hear things in the music on LP that are absent from the CD and it isn't the hiss and pop either! Very few people are/were prepared to pay for top quality kit in valve and LP days. A top class system is amazingly good, even compared to modern high end audio.

I am not a fan of any particular type of sound reproduction equipment, I have most of them and use them all, even tape cassettes sound good through a top class deck, such as a Nakamichi.

Andrew.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 29/08/2017 10:44:21:

A good turntable and valve amplifier sound excellent!

Yes, I remember the first time I heard a Quad system with those electrostatic speakers. However I think my present cheapish digital system with a pair of Rogers speakers does sound as good or better. It's the speakers that make the difference.

Russell

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

No quibble about Quad electrostatics. Mine are still running after 50 years and only one overhaul!

Andrew.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 29/08/2017 10:44:21:

I can hear things in the music on LP that are absent from the CD and it isn't the hiss and pop either! drew.

I remember hearing a DJ enthuse how he could hear the wood fire crackling in the background of one Neil Young's songs on CD – perfectly audible on my vinyl pressing.

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

There was a brief period when music was available on LP, CD and cassette, I purchased quite a few performances on all three media. Note these were from the same master tapes. Comparing the three different media on top class equipment was a blinding revelation. I had expected that the order of merit would be CD, cassette and at the bottom of the heap, LP. In fact the LP came top by a long way and then the cassette, which was really very good, the much hyped CD was in fact the worst, being very constricted in both range and detail. Not something that I had expected to hear.

I chose performances from several different record companies and the results were all the same. I suppose the moral is, don't believe the hype, use your own judgement.

Andrew.

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