Twisting Lathe Bed Using Cabinet Bolts
 

I have a Sheldon 13x40 cabinet mounted lathe. It weighs in around
1200lbs. It has a large cast iron cabinet that the variable speed drive
sets in and a smaller cabinet at the tailstock end. Each cabinet has
four adjusting bolts in each corner to level the lathe.

I backed off all but the 4 outside adjusting bolts of each cabinet and
then used my Starrett 199 level to level the bed. I got the bed level
and then used the Southbend 2 collar method to check the alignment.

The test bar showed .0036 difference between each collar. The tailstock
collar was bigger than the headstock collar. The collars are 6" apart
and the overall length of the bar is about 8".

The ways of the lathe are in good shape.

My question is which bolts do I need to adjust to get the lathe to cut
straight? Should I make all adjustments from the headstock end or the
tailstock end to get the taper out?

Thanks, Steve

Steve, The manual for a Warner Swayse turret lathe has the procedure
for aligning the axis of the headstock with the axis of the tailstock
(or turret) using the four bolts under the headstock end of the bed.
You wouldn't think that there would be any flex in a bed that hefty but
there is.
Paul