12x36 lathe is back ordered now?

Everything about moving my lathe was pretty dicey.
1st off I did it all my myself. I had to go about 15 miles with it in the back of a '98 Ford Ranger with old tires. It squatted a lot but it did the job.
Then when I got to my shop, the slab stops at the doorway and with the lathe in my truck, it's way too far to reach with my hoist.
I had to back up and hit the brakes to get the lathe to slide back in the bed. I did that until the lathe stuck out past the tailgate a few inches.
I made some tracks for the hoist wheels out of some 6" channel that went under the truck. Even after all that, it still wasn't perfect.
The back of the lathe is positioned a couple feet from a wall and the spindle end is also a couple feet from a wall. Soooo,
I couldn't hang it on my hoist like they show in the manual. Also, the hoist legs had to go between the pedestals which means I wasn't able to install the foot brake. With the hoist legs straddling the pedestal, I couldn't center the lathe over the pan. I had to set it down about 6" off center on some wood blocks, then re position the hoist and get it from another angle.
What a night!
I finally got it installed,wired in and leveled and did my 1st cut last night. :)
The drive belt cover makes a lot of noise but everything else is really nice.
OH, for the guys that are on the fence about getting the DRO?
DO IT!
My lord, that it so cool!
see ya later.
Jim
 
HBilly1022 said:
Post some pics of your new lathe. We LOVE pics.
Click to expand...
pics will come after I get things situated better. Right now my shop looks like a 5lb bucket with 10lbs of stuff! in it. :)
Besides, it's just the same PM1236 that everyone has already seen. (the DRO is the coolest part)
I need to re organize and condense things. I do have a current project that is in my way too.
My son and I are making a pair of motorized drift trikes and i need to get them finished up and hopefully sold so I can move on to the next project.
 
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I have that same Harbor Freight "shop hoist" shown in the PM manuals and it will pick it okay from the heavy end. If you come in from the tail stock its a tight fit and you have to use all of the boom extension. Still not a bad deal, a bit too lightly built, but its cheap.

I decided to put my PM1236 on risers with the PM leveling feet. With the cast stands its a bit too heavy for that HF shop hoist, so I used another slightly bigger home made engine hoist and doubled things up so I could lift it straight up and level. I have my carriage handle at 38" off the floor now, its much better on my back.

The PM leveling feet don't work that well on a sloping floor. But, maybe its my floor that's the problem. I think they will just barely work for me, I added a few thick shims on one stand. I only have one spot I can put the lathe, of course the floor slopes bad there. They are nice and sturdy, very stable since the foot's top is the bearing surface. After a couple days they are holding things level. I guess you could use them with double nuts and washers, I put them on like the online diagram.
 
I was thinking about putting mine on risers too but it's because the leveling feet are so close together. I think the machine would be a lot more stable with them farther apart.
My slab is broken into about 4 pieces that all slope downward at the outside. It's so bad I has to use 4 pieces of 1/4" plywood under the motor end of my machine. Not my 1st choice but it's what I had available. Hopefully I'll have my new building before it becomes a problem.
 
My floor is bad enough for me to be thinking about pouring a leveling pad. But, if my leveling feet don't settle much I'll get away with my current metal shims. I could place some thick fender washers between my risers and the stand too.

I raised my lathe a full 6", it feels good to my 6'-4" tall body. I have a kinda short 32" inseam and with my usual wellington style redwing boots on I can stand up straight most of the time. I used some thick steel I had laying around, its a fat 4" tube made from shelf angle plus the leveling feet. I'll probably try putting a thick rubber mat in front of the machine too.
 
The end (of my wait) is nigh! My lathe should be shipping next week!

If anyone's looking, 1127s are in stock on the website... :)
 
I made my 1st useful part today!
I'm making a powered drift trike and needed to make my own handlebars. My pipe is smaller in the center than the originals so I made a bushing on the lathe. I bored it to about .006" larger than my handle bars so they would fit inside easily.
Then I turned the outside so that it fit in the goosneck clamp. Then I knurled the OD for a better grip. Cut it in half so it could be slipped into place. It works perfectly.
I've never knurled before and it's not pretty but it works.
Jim

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