Just bought a new Precision Matthews 13X40. Got it in my shop and
ready to set it up. Because I'm 6' tall and a suffer with a bad back I
find that I am more comfortable when my chuck is at 50-51" center
height. To get the PM up this high leaves a nearly 4.5" gap between
the floor and the bottom of the stand. It is on 6 feet now with 5/8"
bolts but the whole thing flexes too much for my taste. I looking for
suggestions on how to meet my height needs and have a stable machine.
My thoughts a
-set the cabinets on 4"X0.25" square tubing or I beam and shim between
the tubing and the stand
-turn spacers to fit over the bolts to add more diameter and support
-Replace the feet with 5/8" jack-bolts bolts and level the machine as
close as I can and pour grout around them for the footprint of the
cabinets
-make my own feet from say 3" or 4" round stock at the height needed
and shim as needed

What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!

On Jul 12, 6:40 am, Gerry wrote:
What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!

Gerry,
I'd make some forms from 2x6 and pour in concrete. A lot more stable
than other suggestions, and cheap. If you are concerned about
stuffness, you could put some rebar into the existing floor, but a bit
of acrylic addmix might get a good enough bond, if the floor is not
too grimed up.

Dave

Pitch the stand and make a new one. I think any scheme to raise the
installed height with the original will be pretty unstable.
Heres mine:
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...retired_files/
See stand.txt and the accociated jpgas.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:40:54 -0700 (PDT), Gerry
wrote:

Just bought a new Precision Matthews 13X40. Got it in my shop and
ready to set it up. Because I'm 6' tall and a suffer with a bad back I
find that I am more comfortable when my chuck is at 50-51" center
height. To get the PM up this high leaves a nearly 4.5" gap between
the floor and the bottom of the stand. It is on 6 feet now with 5/8"
bolts but the whole thing flexes too much for my taste. I looking for
suggestions on how to meet my height needs and have a stable machine.
My thoughts a
-set the cabinets on 4"X0.25" square tubing or I beam and shim between
the tubing and the stand
-turn spacers to fit over the bolts to add more diameter and support
-Replace the feet with 5/8" jack-bolts bolts and level the machine as
close as I can and pour grout around them for the footprint of the
cabinets
-make my own feet from say 3" or 4" round stock at the height needed
and shim as needed

What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
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"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

Adding a full frame 4" tube or 4" beam base will add the height you want
plus some additional rigidity. Sticking it up on any version of
individual riser blocks/jack bolts is going to make it pretty wobbly.

Someone else mentioned a full new stand, a nice way to go but a lot of
work. If you go this route, add 2" square by 3/8" or 1/2" plates where
the lathe mounts go. The new stand will always be slightly warped from
the welding, mounting pads are much easier to grind down to get a
perfect fit.

Gerry wrote:
Just bought a new Precision Matthews 13X40. Got it in my shop and
ready to set it up. Because I'm 6' tall and a suffer with a bad back I
find that I am more comfortable when my chuck is at 50-51" center
height. To get the PM up this high leaves a nearly 4.5" gap between
the floor and the bottom of the stand. It is on 6 feet now with 5/8"
bolts but the whole thing flexes too much for my taste. I looking for
suggestions on how to meet my height needs and have a stable machine.
My thoughts a
-set the cabinets on 4"X0.25" square tubing or I beam and shim between
the tubing and the stand
-turn spacers to fit over the bolts to add more diameter and support
-Replace the feet with 5/8" jack-bolts bolts and level the machine as
close as I can and pour grout around them for the footprint of the
cabinets
-make my own feet from say 3" or 4" round stock at the height needed
and shim as needed

What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:22:49 -0700 (PDT), Mechanical Magic
wrote:

On Jul 12, 6:40 am, Gerry wrote:
What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!

Gerry,
I'd make some forms from 2x6 and pour in concrete. A lot more stable
than other suggestions, and cheap. If you are concerned about
stuffness, you could put some rebar into the existing floor, but a bit
of acrylic addmix might get a good enough bond, if the floor is not
too grimed up.

Dave

Greetings Gerry,
What Dave said. Pour some concrete risers. I have done this for two
lathes. A 13x40 and a 15x48. First I figured out how much I wanted to
raise the lathe. Then I made up two wood forms, one for the headstock
end and the other foe the tailstock end. The risers are about 16" by
20" by 6" tall. I wrapped the forms with some thin plastic painting
tarp so that they wouldn't stick to the floor. With the forms in the
exact place where they would be when the lathe is installed I poured
the concrete and placed 1/2 inch thick steel discs in the concrete for
pads for the lathe leveling feet. After the concrete had set for about
a week I put the lathe on the risers and removed the forms. Both of
the lathes I've done this with have not needed to be re-leveled
because the risers are not wobbly or less rigid than if they had been
placed directly on the concrete floor. The only drawback to risers is
that the foot brake is raised too. I guess I could lower the brakes
but it's not too much trouble to raise my foot another 6 inches.
Eric

On Jul 12, 6:30 pm, wrote:
On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:22:49 -0700 (PDT), Mechanical Magic

wrote:
On Jul 12, 6:40 am, Gerry wrote:
What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!

Gerry,
I'd make some forms from 2x6 and pour in concrete. A lot more stable
than other suggestions, and cheap. If you are concerned about
stuffness, you could put some rebar into the existing floor, but a bit
of acrylic addmix might get a good enough bond, if the floor is not
too grimed up.

Dave

Greetings Gerry,
What Dave said. Pour some concrete risers. I have done this for two
lathes. A 13x40 and a 15x48. First I figured out how much I wanted to
raise the lathe. Then I made up two wood forms, one for the headstock
end and the other foe the tailstock end. The risers are about 16" by
20" by 6" tall. I wrapped the forms with some thin plastic painting
tarp so that they wouldn't stick to the floor. With the forms in the
exact place where they would be when the lathe is installed I poured
the concrete and placed 1/2 inch thick steel discs in the concrete for
pads for the lathe leveling feet. After the concrete had set for about
a week I put the lathe on the risers and removed the forms. Both of
the lathes I've done this with have not needed to be re-leveled
because the risers are not wobbly or less rigid than if they had been
placed directly on the concrete floor. The only drawback to risers is
that the foot brake is raised too. I guess I could lower the brakes
but it's not too much trouble to raise my foot another 6 inches.
Eric

That's pretty much what I have in mind. I think I will remove the feet
that on on the machine now and replace with 5/8" studs to hold the
lathe up and level. Then form an area under each cabinet and fill with
sand and cement up to the bottom of the cabinet. My only concern is if
I ever need to move the lathe I will have to bust the cement to be
able to get a floor jack under it to lift, unless I leave a area open
big enough to get my floorjack under the cabinet. Knowing that cement
shrinks as it cures, is that a big enough reason not to use cement? Do
I need to pout a cement base then top off with a purpose made epoxy
grout? We're only talking about 1500# BTW, I need to do the same thing
with my mill/drill as well. It would also be a candidate for a new
base made from tube or angle. Sheet metal machine bases suck unless
you have them grouted in place, and maybe even then.

On Jul 12, 5:48 pm, Gerry wrote:
On Jul 12, 6:30 pm, wrote:
I think I will remove the feet
that on on the machine now and replace with 5/8" studs to hold the
lathe up and level. Then form an area under each cabinet and fill with
sand and cement up to the bottom of the cabinet. My only concern is if
I ever need to move the lathe I will have to bust the cement to be
able to get a floor jack under it to lift, unless I leave a area open
big enough to get my floorjack under the cabinet. Knowing that cement
shrinks as it cures, is that a big enough reason not to use cement? Do
I need to pout a cement base then top off with a purpose made epoxy
grout? We're only talking about 1500# BTW, I need to do the same thing
with my mill/drill as well. It would also be a candidate for a new
base made from tube or angle. Sheet metal machine bases suck unless
you have them grouted in place, and maybe even then.

Gerry,
I think it's time to get a folding shop crane.
Moving a lathe with a floor jack is not something I would do.

I think grout is fine for rigid bases, like a mill or drill press.
But I prefer shims under a new lathe, easier to true up the bed, if
needed.
Cast Iron can do some strange things over time, and you have no idea
how long the castings were aged.

Dave

"Mechanical Magic" wrote in message
...
On Jul 12, 5:48 pm, Gerry wrote:
On Jul 12, 6:30 pm, wrote:
I think I will remove the feet
that on on the machine now and replace with 5/8" studs to hold the
lathe up and level. Then form an area under each cabinet and fill with
sand and cement up to the bottom of the cabinet. My only concern is if
I ever need to move the lathe I will have to bust the cement to be
able to get a floor jack under it to lift, unless I leave a area open
big enough to get my floorjack under the cabinet. Knowing that cement
shrinks as it cures, is that a big enough reason not to use cement? Do
I need to pout a cement base then top off with a purpose made epoxy
grout? We're only talking about 1500# BTW, I need to do the same thing
with my mill/drill as well. It would also be a candidate for a new
base made from tube or angle. Sheet metal machine bases suck unless
you have them grouted in place, and maybe even then.

Gerry,
I think it's time to get a folding shop crane.
Moving a lathe with a floor jack is not something I would do.

I think grout is fine for rigid bases, like a mill or drill press.
But I prefer shims under a new lathe, easier to true up the bed, if
needed.
Cast Iron can do some strange things over time, and you have no idea
how long the castings were aged.

Dave

There are non-shrinking grouts used in structural applications.

Stu

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:22:49 -0700 (PDT), Mechanical Magic
wrote:

On Jul 12, 6:40 am, Gerry wrote:
What would y'all suggest? Thanks in advance!

Gerry,
I'd make some forms from 2x6 and pour in concrete. A lot more stable
than other suggestions, and cheap. If you are concerned about
stuffness, you could put some rebar into the existing floor, but a bit
of acrylic addmix might get a good enough bond, if the floor is not
too grimed up.

Dave


Indeed And at a later date can simply be demolished and have floor
back to normal

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:24:04 -0500, RoyJ
wrote:

Adding a full frame 4" tube or 4" beam base will add the height you want
plus some additional rigidity. Sticking it up on any version of
individual riser blocks/jack bolts is going to make it pretty wobbly.


The one issue with putting a lathe up on a metal frame work is that
sooner or later, you are goint to hit a resonate frequency and that
sucker is going to start singing, and it May show up in surface
finish.

Unless you fill the tubes with concrete, which is what the major mini
lathe (industrial sized 5C machines) usuallly do..fill the engineered
frames with concrete or concrete/plastic mixtures


Gunner

"Gerry,
I think it's time to get a folding shop crane.
Moving a lathe with a floor jack is not something I would do."

Was not moving it with a floor jack. I was lifting it enough to
install casters on the base. This allows me to move it around the room
to it's new location, and set in place with casters removed and
replaced with feet. I'm not happy with the stability of the feet,
which brought me to the original question. Long distance movine was
with a pallet made from 2X12 and a pallet jack and fork lift. An
interesting job to get it off my trailer, assembled and into my shop!