Hi All,
Over the past month i have been busy trying to set up my latest acquisition, a Myford ML7. ;D
It is in really good condition and came with a few attachments and bits and bobs.
I was given an old steel bookshelf from work that i cut the top off to get it to a reasonable height.
I left all of the bracing and supports in the bookshelf for extra strength.
Added a top of hardwood that was sandwiched between two 1mm steel sheets.
All looks good and i thought it would do the job admirably.
BOY, was i mistaken...
It seems that the "hardwood" is not that hard after all...
After levelling and shimming using a machinists level i go to bolt it down securely to the top.
This is done slowly while checking the level to make sure it stays in the same place all the time.
The when i use my MT2 test bar to test the vertical and horizontal alignment it is out by quite a bit.
I am wondering what to do to try and get rid of this problem.
I know a lot of people use wooden benches and have no issues.
So i am thinking of buying a pretty hefty size metal sheet to use for the top.
Something really sturdy to bolt the lathe onto that will not deform or deflect under stress.
Any ideas on what thickness to use? I would also like to stay in a reasonable price range....
I do not have the equipment to drill through very thick steel and i need to be able to carry and lift it by myself.
I have attached some pictures of the unit i built as it may help to bring in some more ideas.
Any help or ideas on what i can do to improve the situation would be greatly appreciated.
This is my first large lathe, the one before this was a long bed Sherline so it was not that big of an issue.
Thanks,
Andrew
Over the past month i have been busy trying to set up my latest acquisition, a Myford ML7. ;D
It is in really good condition and came with a few attachments and bits and bobs.
I was given an old steel bookshelf from work that i cut the top off to get it to a reasonable height.
I left all of the bracing and supports in the bookshelf for extra strength.
Added a top of hardwood that was sandwiched between two 1mm steel sheets.
All looks good and i thought it would do the job admirably.
BOY, was i mistaken...
It seems that the "hardwood" is not that hard after all...
After levelling and shimming using a machinists level i go to bolt it down securely to the top.
This is done slowly while checking the level to make sure it stays in the same place all the time.
The when i use my MT2 test bar to test the vertical and horizontal alignment it is out by quite a bit.
I am wondering what to do to try and get rid of this problem.
I know a lot of people use wooden benches and have no issues.
So i am thinking of buying a pretty hefty size metal sheet to use for the top.
Something really sturdy to bolt the lathe onto that will not deform or deflect under stress.
Any ideas on what thickness to use? I would also like to stay in a reasonable price range....
I do not have the equipment to drill through very thick steel and i need to be able to carry and lift it by myself.
I have attached some pictures of the unit i built as it may help to bring in some more ideas.
Any help or ideas on what i can do to improve the situation would be greatly appreciated.
This is my first large lathe, the one before this was a long bed Sherline so it was not that big of an issue.
Thanks,
Andrew
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