Leveling machines

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Derek

Looks to be a good price for a decent machinist level.

Graduated for a sensitivity of around 4 or 5 thou per foot, it varies a little depending on when it was made. Usually has a vee groove in the base which is nice for sitting on tubes. Base is nominally flat so you need a clean surface if its not to rock.

Had both that and the shorter and longer versions at work for rough setting up. Personally I preferred the short, 4 or 5 inch long, version or the longer 12" one. For what I was doing the 8 inch was generally either too long for the space or not really long enough to span things. I've frequently mimbled about getting a short one for personal use but its never quite been that necessary. The adjustability of my clino lets it cover things well enough.

But it depends on what you are doing.

Unless the surface is really good you may well find it necessary to sit it on parallels to clear any umps'n ollows.

Clive

Edited By Clive Foster on 27/07/2021 15:25:44

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Posted by Clive Foster on 27/07/2021 15:24:38:

Derek

Looks to be a good price for a decent machinist level.

Graduated for a sensitivity of around 4 or 5 thou per foot, it varies a little depending on when it was made. Usually has a vee groove in the base which is nice for sitting on tubes. Base is nominally flat so you need a clean surface if its not to rock.

Had both that and the shorter and longer versions at work for rough setting up. Personally I preferred the short, 4 or 5 inch long, version or the longer 12" one. For what I was doing the 8 inch was generally either too long for the space or not really long enough to span things. I've frequently mimbled about getting a short one for personal use but its never quite been that necessary. The adjustability of my clino lets it cover things well enough.

But it depends on what you are doing.

Unless the surface is really good you may well find it necessary to sit it on parallels to clear any umps'n ollows.

Clive

Edited By Clive Foster on 27/07/2021 15:25:44

Thank you Clive I will take a punt

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

If you need a lighter moment, need cheering up have a look at this link or link

H

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Levelling your lathe won't make it more accurate.

It may make it easier to set it up to work its best, but not being completely level won't stop you setting up a lathe.

You might be able to set your lathe perfectly level then find you have to slightly twist the bed to achieve parallel turning.

There is an identical debate around levelling the tripods on which we place equatorial telescope mounts. If the tripod is level each time, it's arguably quicker to set up, but once the mount axis is aligned with the Earth's axis the orientation of the tripod is irrelevant.

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 30/07/2021 12:52:24:

Levelling your lathe won't make it more accurate.

[…]

.

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I repeat what I wrote on 26-July …

:

Basically "levelling" is a technique [involving the use of a level], not a target or an outcome.

… Just like "milling" is the process of using a mill.

MichaelG.

.

Edit: __ Yes, I agree that setting it horizontal may be convenient but is generally unnecessary. 

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 30/07/2021 13:15:49

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

That's right – no accurate turning has ever been carried out onboard ships !!!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

So, do you know when your machines are arriving, Derek?

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Posted by DiogenesII on 03/08/2021 09:42:07:

So, do you know when your machines are arriving, Derek?

Not at the moment waiting for warco to contact me when they arrive in the UK which is fine for me at the moment as still working on getting the garden ready for the new workshop

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The important thing is not that the lathe is level, (It may be an advantage if you use pumped coolant to have it slope towards the drain to tank )

The important thing that the bed is not badly twisted; so that it turns parallel. See Ian Bradley's "The Amateur's Workshop" or his "Myford Series 7 Manual" for the method, and how to adjust / shim the lathe until ,it does turn parallel..

Howard

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

The only thing that matters is whether the lathe turns metal well enough for your purposes. I doubt whether 5% of lathe owners have ever leveled their lathe.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Posted by Howard Lewis on 03/08/2021 19:44:46:

The important thing is not that the lathe is level, (It may be an advantage if you use pumped coolant to have it slope towards the drain to tank )

The important thing that the bed is not badly twisted; so that it turns parallel. See Ian Bradley's "The Amateur's Workshop" or his "Myford Series 7 Manual" for the method, and how to adjust / shim the lathe until ,it does turn parallel..

Howard

This is exactly what I want to do I have done it on one of my wood lathes as for some jobs (Not to the same accuracy as engineering) do need to have things like the tailstock in correct alignment with the head stock.

I have now got a nice small engineers level which came in the original box which will help with some of the setting up of the lathe

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by old mart on 03/08/2021 19:52:52:

The only thing that matters is whether the lathe turns metal well enough for your purposes. I doubt whether 5% of lathe owners have ever leveled their lathe.

As I see it, levelling to the nth degree might well be advantageous for a lathe with long bed and multiple supporting feet along its length, but….

For most hobby lathes, with feet at either end only, it is a waste of time as when ‘levelled’ the lathe may not cut parallel and require shimming under a foot to remove bed twist. Turning parallel is the ultimate test with no real substitute.

Tailstock height adjustment seems irrelevant to me if the lathe is only secured at both ends – it might be correct when close to the spindle, but what would alter it at the end of the bed – unless it has multiple feet (more than two pairs)?

I’m perhaps one of the 5% (or is it 95%?). My lathe was made to be ‘free standing’ – only being bolted down tightly at the headstock end, with the tailstock end just lightly supported by a single bolt, with a spring, at the tail end. Only if the lathe cuts off-parallel are shims, on one side, advised I believe. I levelled the base such that any fluids would drain away, rather than collect at one end/corner.

___

Derek,

That container vessel, which got stuck in the Suez Canal, has just arrived at the UK. Was your lathe on that?🙂

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I guess not, didn't it have problems turning in the Suez Canal?

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Posted by not done it yet on 04/08/2021 08:20:59:

Derek,

That container vessel, which got stuck in the Suez Canal, has just arrived at the UK. Was your lathe on that?🙂

If it was then Warco are better than anyone thought as the knew to order before I contacted them

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

There's a rather worrying implication in this thread that, in order to get your lathe to 'turn parallel', you need to twist or untwist the bed. This is misleading: there's rather more to lathe alignment than possibly twisted beds, isn't there? Headstock alignment for one… Also, many posts seem to conflate alignment with levelling. The erudite Mr Gilligan has cast his pearls in the past, but…

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Posted by John Haine on 04/08/2021 08:30:19:

I guess not, didn't it have problems turning in the Suez Canal?

🙂😁

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by V8Eng on 04/08/2021 11:42:45:

Posted by John Haine on 04/08/2021 08:30:19:

I guess not, didn't it have problems turning in the Suez Canal?

🙂😁

It apparently got its ‘long travel’ a bit out of parallel (with the bank) first and then after that it was ‘facing’ the wrong way, too.🙂

To top it all, wasn’t it ‘out of level’ by several degrees at one stage?

Edited By not done it yet on 04/08/2021 12:10:35

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Posted by Kiwi Bloke on 04/08/2021 09:46:01:

There's a rather worrying implication in this thread that, in order to get your lathe to 'turn parallel', you need to twist or untwist the bed. This is misleading: there's rather more to lathe alignment than possibly twisted beds, isn't there? Headstock alignment for one… Also, many posts seem to conflate alignment with levelling. The erudite Mr Gilligan has cast his pearls in the past, but…

Correct, all machine tools will be 'aligned' once in their working position to achieve satisfactory results. Not sure what conflate means?

Tony

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 04/08/2021 12:59:11:

[…]

Not sure what conflate means?

Tony

conflate

verb

1. combine (two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc.) into one.

.

MichaelG.

.

Ref. __ https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 04/08/2021 16:39:54

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

I must admit I couldn't be bothered to Google it, why not just say 'combine'

Tony

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 04/08/2021 17:06:21:

[…]

why not just say 'combine'

Tony

.

Because the words have subtly different meanings

If you combine two items, it may be possible to separate them

If you conflate them, they become one.

Yes it’s subtle.

MichaelG.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 04/08/2021 17:48:43:

Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 04/08/2021 17:06:21:

[…]

why not just say 'combine'

Tony

.

Because the words have subtly different meanings

If you combine two items, it may be possible to separate them

If you conflate them, they become one.

Yes it’s subtle.

Conflating also implies deliberate misdirection and/or incompetence.

[Anonymous]

Confuse would have been a better word.

Andrew

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 04/08/2021 18:40:14:

Confuse would have been a better word.

Andrew

.

For this context; possibly, Andrew … but I think Kiwi Bloke chose well

It’s interesting to consider the etymology:

 https://www.etymonline.com/word/conflate

https://www.etymonline.com/word/conflate

Which concludes with:

[quote]

"to form by inadvertent combination of two readings of the same words," from 1885.

[/quote]

MichaelG.

 

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 04/08/2021 18:53:40

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