Bolting down lathe

[SteveF]

Hi

are there any tips \ tricks to bolting lathe to bench
do i put centres together ?
how will i know if it is "twisted" at full length if i tighten down wrong?
should i just ensure surface of bench is flat and assume it sits flat and true?

Steve

 

[woodfarmer]

I have no idea about the current ideas with bolting down wood lathes. In the dim and distant past I used to design and repair industrial metal working machine tools. In those days the lathe or other machine would be placed on a flat and level concrete surface, and very carefully levelled using thin metal strips under the feet. Once dead true it would be bolted down. Afterwards the beds would be checked with a true flat cast iron test piece using engineers blue. Then a few test pieces would be made to check all was straight and true.

At the moment my own wood turning lathe is just resting on its rubber feet. I have yet to try swinging anything large and out of balance.

 

[dickm]

In the best of all possible worlds, it might be useful to level up a wood lathe in the same way as a metalworking one, but in practice, it's surely a waste of time? Think of a pole lathe - no shims there!
The key thing is to get it firmly mounted, ideally on the heaviest and solidest stand you can manage. Alignment isn't critical.

 

[SteveF]

bench will definitely be solid
top will be 8" x 8" sycamore

Steve