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- Jul 20, 2016
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- 43
How often should you level a worn 13" by 40" Southbend lathe. I leveled it once in 10 years.Thanks
How often should you level a worn 13" by 40" Southbend lathe. I leveled it once in 10 years.Thanks
Yes to the testing. But that can show other problems, too.
For me, it would depend on the floor. These lathes were used in factory buildings with (strong!) wood floors, and wood moves constantly with changes in load, temperature, and humidity. Mine sits in 6” of concrete, but it would be wrong to assume that is so stable that losing or gaining a few thou at a leg is impossible.
But when going through the lathe, checking headstock and cross-slide alignment is the entry fee to correcting taper by releveling. But the lathe has to be level before checking headstock alignment. Once I’m confident in those other adjustments, then occasional level checks seem to me enough to keep it tuned.
But don’t expect alignment or leveling to overcome a wear dip in the near-side way.
Rick “looking for differences in lathe up and down the bed, not just at the legs or under the chuck” Denney