Water leveling?

markba633csi

Mark Silva
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2015
Messages
11,131
Would a level made with a piece of clear tubing be accurate enough to level a lathe? Anyone done it?
Mark
 
I would say no.

A water level is effective when leveling surfaces separated by a large distance as usually, accuracy to +/- 1/8th inch is sufficient. There are too many factors that influence the level, surface tension, possible minute differences in tube diameters, entrained air bubbles which affect the water density.

The less sensitive machinist levels have a sensitivity of around .005"/ft and the more sensitive levels .0005"/ft.
 
I would think at the least it would need an accurately made thin cylindrical float at each end with legible marks and iffy even still- optical issues-
Hey that gives me an idea...I shall return
 
A carpenters level works on exactly the same principle only over a much shorter distance. I suspect that you will have impossible surface tension issues with floats in a vertical tube. The tube or hose approach is as RJ wrote, for long distances that can not be handled with a beam style level.
 
A lathe doesn't need to be incredibly "level". You can do that with a carpenter's level....but the ways must be "twist free". That's were a machinist level is needed. You can get them on eBay. Buy one, use it, sell it ;)

Ken
 
How long is the lathe bed?

If very short, say less then 48" and the bed is robust leveling will be a waste of time and money as you will have to forcibly twist it, it will remain straight at that length. If it is 120" long a level may be a good thing depending on the machine of course.
 
You don't have to use a level at all. One procedure I saw involved a long metal bracket bolted to the cross slide, with a plumb bob supported about 6' up - the actual plumb does not matter, just how much it would change from end to end of the bed. When aligning the bed, a precision level is simply a fast method to get pretty close. Leveling the bed is an easy method to get to a good starting point.

I'd think a water level would be a waste of time. If you don't have a decent level, there are other ways to get to a good starting point.
 
My bed is 55", total length of feet 60-61" (Craftsman 12 x 36) Kind of an "in betweener"
 
I have no idea what a Craftsman lathe is, if it is built like this and the bed casting is heavy you would find it difficult to twist it.

 
Back
Top