How do you bolt down your Lathe?

[Alie Barnes]

I have a Record Lathe and stand and was thinking of screwing it down in the workshop, i found these online and wondered if they are the best thing or if anyone uses anything different?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CNfCjcKlkdkCFVEw0wodiV0CAw

 

[Lazurus]

I used exactly the same things on my Axminster M900 and had no problems, now I have a VB36 I haven't bothered to bolt it down as at 300 kilos is doesn't go far!!

 

[Brandlin]

If your floor is concrete in good condition then anchor bolts are an excellent fixing i've used them often for many different loads and not had a single problem.

You want to avoid drilling through the moisture barrier uder your floor (assuming you have one)

 

[CHJ]

Suitable, Yes, although I would say overkill for most wood lathes.
A decent Plastic plug and some coach screws should be adequate if all you are trying to do is stop it walking due to vibration.

 

[Alie Barnes]

I used exactly the same things on my Axminster M900 and had no problems, now I have a VB36 I haven't bothered to bolt it down as at 300 kilos is doesn't go far!!

Did you put any sort of rubber shim between the foot and concrete? i was thinking of doing this to improve the connection between foot and concrete, i might be over thinking this.

 

[Lazurus]

No but I had got wooden blocks under the feet to give me a comfortable working height, as at over 6` the Axminster was a little low. I don't this the rubber will make any difference, it may even prevent solidly locking the lathe to the floor, do shop around for your fixings though as your link looked expensive to me. Also ensure your frame is rigid otherwise any vibration and flex will just pass to the frame and may cause damage if turning large irregular shapes, another option is a box made on the stand and fill with damp sand.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mine isn't bolted down. It's got 75kgs of sand and the bricks from six night storage heaters in the base.

 

[Bodger7]

I have just used these fixings from Scewfix to bolt my lathe to the floor and they seem to have done the job perfectly. They were also much easier to fit than I expected. Remember not to drill the concrete any deeper than you need to or you might have a job fishing the fixings back up to the length of the bolts. And, yes, I did exactly that on one bolt!
Good luck with it.

 

[Brandlin]

I have just used these fixings from Scewfix to bolt my lathe to the floor and they seem to have done the job perfectly. They were also much easier to fit than I expected. Remember not to drill the concrete any deeper than you need to or you might have a job fishing the fixings back up to the length of the bolts. And, yes, I did exactly that on one bolt!
Good luck with it.

Anchor fixings are designed to be assembled to the thing you are bolting and the anchor pushed into the hole with the bolt already in them. Admittedly that's going to be hard to do in many instances, especially moving and lowering a heavy lathe.

 

[paulm]

I have just used these fixings from Scewfix to bolt my lathe to the floor and they seem to have done the job perfectly. They were also much easier to fit than I expected. Remember not to drill the concrete any deeper than you need to or you might have a job fishing the fixings back up to the length of the bolts. And, yes, I did exactly that on one bolt!
Good luck with it.

Anchor fixings are designed to be assembled to the thing you are bolting and the anchor pushed into the hole with the bolt already in them. Admittedly that's going to be hard to do in many instances, especially moving and lowering a heavy lathe.

I've used anchor type fixings on my large wivamac lathe on a couple of occasions now, the most recent being just a few weeks ago.

As long as you choose the appropriate sized fixings that will drop through the lathe foot/pedestal into the drilled hole from above, then it is very easy indeed. No need to install the anchors first and try and lift the lathe onto them afterwards, that could indeed be tricky !



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[Phil Pascoe]

Or resin in some studs.

 

[Alie Barnes]

i am assuming that it would be better to set up the lathe on the stand and then mark out the spots where to drill, then install, the reason i say this is that the record stand is pretty flimsy in my view and so with the weight on it, its done its moving, if i install it on the bolts and then mount the lathe i think there could be some movement through the stand, i hope that's clear.

That was my plan anyway and install some plywood shelving on it and stick a couple of bags of sand on it for extra weight.

 

[paulm]

I enlarged the holes in the stand so that I could then drill straight through the stand into the concrete floor with the lathe in situ, then popped in the anchor bolts, added a large washer to make up for the enlarged hole, and bolted down. I forget if the record stand would allow for that approach or not?

 

[Brandlin]

Or resin in some studs.

with studs in the floor you have to lift the heavy lathe over them to bolt it down - thats a lot of unnecessary effort.
also i could gaurantee i'd trip over the damn things if i ever moved the lathe

 

[Alie Barnes]

Because of a few logistical issues with the shed i am planning on building i was proposing to not have a floor installed but the powers that be have taken a different tack at a late stage in the day so there will be a floor, so my question is if leave part of the floor exposed and attach lathe directly i will be standing on a higher floor to wood turn which is a pretty poor position, the other option is that i bolt the lathe to blocks of wood attached to the concrete base to raise the height up sufficiently, is this a good idea? i am just thinking about vibration going through a wood block before a solid floor, thoughts or alternatives are welcomed at this stage.

Thanks

 

[Lazurus]

I bolted my first lathe a M900 from Axminster through 2" teak blocks to raise the lathe to a more comfortable height, never caused me any vibrations or movement problems.

 

[Bodger7]

The instructions provided with the Screwfix anchor bolts refer to drilling holes and then cleaning them to remove debris. Instruction 3 is "Insert the shield." and instruction 4 is "Position fixture and insert bolt. Tighten to recommended torque." The diagram shows that the hole through the fixture is similar to the size of the bolt and not the size of the shield. The washer provided with the M10 anchor bolt is 20 mm in diameter and the hole required to be drilled in the masonry/concrete is 16 mm. If the hole in the foot of the lathe is also 16 mm there would only be minimal (2 mm) overhang of the washer. I am not persuaded that large holes should be drilled in the fixture (lathe feet) to accommodate the shield rather than just the bolt.
Instructions found on the internet seem to confirm the Screwfix advice and are as follows:-
"Drop-in Anchors - for use in concrete only
The diameter of a drop-in anchor refers to the inside diameter. ...
Clean the hole of any debris before continuing.
Insert the anchor into the hole. ...
Place the fixture over the drop in anchor and thread the bolt through the fixture and into the drop in anchor."

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Or resin in some studs.

with studs in the floor you have to lift the heavy lathe over them to bolt it down ...

You don't.

 

[Tony_A]

I would use something like a Loxin Masonry Anchor where the nut part locks into the hole drilled in the concrete and any length bolt or threaded bar can be screwed into it. If you want to move the lathe then there is nothing left protruding above the concrete flooring.
Don't tighten the lathe down on the stand until the stand has been tightened down on the floor. If there is any variation in the floor, or stand, it will introduce a winding or twist to the lathe bed. The lathe should be shimmed on the stand when it is tightened down to ensure there is no winding in the bed.
I would be happy with wooden blocks under my lathe. Using the fasteners mentioned above the lathe can be bolted to the floor through the wooden blocks.
Tony

 

[paulm]

The instructions provided with the Screwfix anchor bolts refer to drilling holes and then cleaning them to remove debris. Instruction 3 is "Insert the shield." and instruction 4 is "Position fixture and insert bolt. Tighten to recommended torque." The diagram shows that the hole through the fixture is similar to the size of the bolt and not the size of the shield. The washer provided with the M10 anchor bolt is 20 mm in diameter and the hole required to be drilled in the masonry/concrete is 16 mm. If the hole in the foot of the lathe is also 16 mm there would only be minimal (2 mm) overhang of the washer. I am not persuaded that large holes should be drilled in the fixture (lathe feet) to accommodate the shield rather than just the bolt.
Instructions found on the internet seem to confirm the Screwfix advice and are as follows:-
"Drop-in Anchors - for use in concrete only
The diameter of a drop-in anchor refers to the inside diameter. ...
Clean the hole of any debris before continuing.
Insert the anchor into the hole. ...
Place the fixture over the drop in anchor and thread the bolt through the fixture and into the drop in anchor."

It's not rocket science, keep it simple and accurate and drill straight through the stand at a diameter to take the anchor and bolt, drop it into the hole and if necessary add a larger washer !