Rollie's Dads Method Problem

I got a 12" machinist level and started the lathe set up from scratch. Checked the ways and they were not in the same plane. I tried adjusting the lathe stand feet but that did not work. The stand was too rigid and I would end up with one of the feet sitting above the floor and little to no change in the level readings. So I used paper shims between the bottom of the lathe feet and the drip tray until I got the same bubble location on both ways. Then I rotated the headstock, using the adjustment set screws and the RDM method of checking for the centerline of spindle rotation, until I got the same average readings at both ends of the test rod. This took about 5 tries. Then I mounted a test piece between centers and checked the tailstock alignment by turning the same cross slide setting on both ends. The TS end was 0.004" smaller than the HS end. So a little bit of adjusting to the TS and after 2 trials I got the same diameter at both ends.

I think I've finally got this set up right but it might change after sitting overnight. I should have done this a long time ago.

Now back to playing ..... I mean making essential tools.
 
Oh, rest assured, it will change. You should recheck it in a few days, and then monthly until it settles in. About the only way around much movement is to actually anchor the machine to the concrete and put everything in tension, and even then it will change due to temperature through the seasons. Just not much.
 
Tony Wells said:
Oh, rest assured, it will change. You should recheck it in a few days, and then monthly until it settles in. About the only way around much movement is to actually anchor the machine to the concrete and put everything in tension, and even then it will change due to temperature through the seasons. Just not much.
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Thanks Tony, unfortunately the way I usually do things is to just use something until I discover it's not working right, then I look for the cause of the problem. Maybe this time I will be proactive and check the alignment before it gets out of wack. :rolleyes:
 
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