Lathe setup

[Papa Charlie]

Papa, he used the leveling pads and screws that came with the lathe. Once he had it perfect, he then grounted under it, encapsulating the leveling pads inside the grout. Not his lathe cannot move. Lets hope his floor never moves. I have a buddy that before he got his lathe he cut a hole in his garage floor and put in a 2' thick foundation for the lathe...

--Jerry

Thanks for the reply, I am familiar with grouting large equipment (Industrial 12,000 bhp diesel engines). Regardless of the leveling done before the grouting, I have never seen an installation that didn't still require shims for the final adjustments as you want to ensure that you are dispersing the weight over as much area as possible. The engines were mounted on an isolated reinforced 12 foot thick mounting pad and weighed in at over 200,000 lbs. Temperature was also a huge factor in the final adjustments as the engines could grow significantly from cold to operating temperature. A little different than a lathe.

 

[TrxR]

Im assuming that the lathe being square and true would be more important than being level?

 

[carlsbad]

Im assuming that the lathe being square and true would be more important than being level?

Yes. best way to ensure it is straight and not twisted is to level it everywhere with a precision level.

 

[gunnermhr]

Papa, he used the leveling pads and screws that came with the lathe. Once he had it perfect, he then gounted under it, encapsulating the leveling pads inside the grout. Not his lathe cannot move. Lets hope his floor never moves. I have a buddy that before he got his lathe he cut a hole in his garage floor and put in a 2' thick foundation for the lathe...

--Jerry

The floor might move, I built it 18 years ago. I'd like to think its settled. I loaded it with rebar and that area is 6" think. To date I have no cracks in the floor. Here in central PA we're not real prone to earthquakes, lol. Once it was level, I built forms, then poured the grout in. It encapsulates the base the thickness of the mounting plate

 

[carlsbad]

gunnermhr,
I replied because I noticed what you did and appreciated it as very nice. Let us know if you ever have any problems with it.

My current shop floor is poor and I wouldn't try this but the next shop will have a better floor and I may give it a try.

--Jerry

 

[gunnermhr]

No problem, Carlsbad. I think it was worth the time. I was told grouting a light machine makes it behave like a heavier machine. So far I'm happy with the results

 

[Papa Charlie]

gunnermhr,
I replied because I noticed what you did and appreciated it as very nice. Let us know if you ever have any problems with it.

My current shop floor is poor and I wouldn't try this but the next shop will have a better floor and I may give it a try.

--Jerry

My experience has been with much heavier equipment. I would grout if I was unsure of the floor.
There are many ways to stabilize equipment.