Leveling a Milling Machine?

I just moved, and am setting up my home shop again. I know it's important to level a lathe, and I spent quite a while with a precision level fussing over the placement of my Emco Maier Super 11. Fortunately, it has leveling screws, so it just requires a wrench & some patience to get it dead nuts.

My Clausing milling machine doesn't have leveling screws on the feet, and I'm just shimming it. This is a good bit more tedious, and requires at least two people; one to tilt the machine & another to slip the shims in & out. I've got it reasonably level (a thousandth or two in 10") and I'm assuming that is plenty good enough. I was just wondering if there is mystical reason why a mill really needs to be particularly level, or is it only necessary to make sure taps & drills bits don't roll off the table too fast?

Thanks!

Doug White

Reply to
Doug White
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Doug sez: I was just wondering if there is mystical reason why a mill really needs to

AFAIK that's about the only reason. Consider the table isn't part of the machine frame like it is on the bed of lathe. Maybe Harold can offer some other reasons. One thing, though, be aware that an extremely heavy load on the table can possibly cause the mill to tip over if not secured at the bottom.

Bob Swinney

Reply to
Bob Swinney

On 12 Jan 2004 05:44:16 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@draper.com (Doug White) brought forth from the murky depths:

So the oil in the gearboxes covers the gearing properly. And so the coolant doesn't spill off. ;)

There is a good project for you. make a leveling wedge.

Take a piece of 2"x1/4" CRS about 10" long and form it thusly

==== // x ========

Grind a taper on the top of the left side foot down to 1/8".

Drill a 1/2" hole at X and weld a 3/8-24 nut on the bottom.

Now round off the end of a 4" long 3/8-24 bolt, lube it with anti-seize, and run it down from the top. Adjust with a 1/4" or 3/8" ratchet/socket.

Slide it under a machine near the leg you wish to shim and run the bolt down until you can move the shim where it needs to be.

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Reply to
Larry Jaques

AFAIK it's to aid setting up with a spirit level. Of course, you can use a dial gauge for much the same job most of the time. This thread was discussed a while ago. The important thing with lathes is to ensure that the machine is held down and cannot flex. Level is less important. As one contributor said, they use lathes on ships at sea don't they?

John

Reply to
John Manders

This thread was discussed a while ago. The important thing with lathes is to ensure that the machine is held down and cannot flex. Level is less important. As one contributor said, they use lathes on ships at sea don't they?

Toolroom lathes like to be level transversally, but not necessarily axially.

None should ever be lagged down to the floor. Ever.

It is acceptable to install cleats to the floor (of a ship, say) to prevent lateral movement of the machine (in case of high seas, say).

(These machines use three-point suspensions, anyway, so twisting the bed is damn near impossible).

Use of Vlier levelers is highly recommended. I use 2,000 pound capacity ones on my 10EEs, for a total capacity of 6,000 pounds (on a 3,500 pound machine).

To avoid rusting out the pads over time, glue some lead sheathing to the base of the pad before setting the machine down.

Recheck the level in two weeks.

Reply to
Peter H.

For a mill, the leveling is more to make the coolant go in the right direction when it is used. Other than that, getting a mill to where a bubble level says it is good should be quite good enough. A mill sitting at a 5 deg. angle in some direction just isn't a good thing as it may tip over as much as anything else.

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Reply to
Bob May

Why is that?

Jim

Reply to
Jim Wilson

I presume the presumption is that the floor can and will move with temperature, etc., while the lathe bed won't... dat's my guess.

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Jim Wils> Peter H. wrote...

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Reply to
BEAR

FWIW, my Clausing mill did have holes drilled through the feet and I drilled them out and threaded them (1/2 13TPI IIRC) for leveling feet.

My mill is near a side wall in a garage and there's considerable slope to the floor for drainage. Leveling feet were definitely worth the the effort..

Reply to
Doug Smith

It isn't just coolant, it's LUBRICATION. - GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

snipped-for-privacy@draper.com (Doug White) wrote in news:7ed17d18.0401120544.b18be1 @posting.google.com:

Probably more important than perfectly level is the same load on all the pads. Believe it or not, the casting WILL flex. On lathes with more than

3 feet, level is very important to keep twist out of the ways. You probably wouldn't see it on smaller/lighter machines, but it can make a HUGE difference in the performance of mid to larger machines.
Reply to
Anthony

I can see a mill needing to be level or within the level range of a half decent bubble level, only for proper coolant evacuation and perhaps lub in any gear boxes.

As to a lathe I still do not see a real reasono to be absolutely dead nuts level on it either, just as long as all feet are firmly seated on the floor and its not twisted or wobbly its really not necessary to make it absolutely level either. My lathe is on a couple of deg downward angle towards the headstock and slightly up in the front, only to get better flow of my coolant back into the drain area.

Reasonable is fine wobble free and fully supported is the main items for me.

Of course this is only my way of looking at it.

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Reply to
Roy

I just can't see a lathe twisting if its more than 3 feet or 10 feet as long as its firmly seated on the floor and assuming its not twisted to begin with, it really would not matter if it was mounted on a 45 deg angle. Visit my website:

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Reply to
Roy

It's also been said that they don't do precision work at sea.

Tony

Reply to
Tony

I can see them making quick repairs in emergency or war time conditions, and parts made and used that would normally be rejected , but for the most part accuracy at sea why would it be any different at sea than on shore? Most machinists I know would make a part to its exact spec no matter where it was. I really fail to see what being at sea has to do with accuracy. Why have a lathe when you can use a grinder or file to make it round if accuracy does not count. Visit my website:

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Reply to
Roy

Lots of goofy-assed things 'have been said'. Watch the TV news lately?

Now, *that* having been said, you'll have to define precision in this context. I've made many a fine part on a lathe on a ship while sailing in rough seas. I don't believe the sea state had any affect on the work. Although, I might have lost a few pounds..

Reply to
Doug Smith

Small fixed angles out of level should not make much difference as long as the Lathe was properly trammed. Even a moving frame of reference, like a ship. should not make much of a problem with SMALL angles out of level.

But a 45 degree angle would cause noticeable distortions from asymmetrical loading. This can be seen with a suitably configured dial indicator by just pressing your hand on any significant part of a lathe. The things are really quite flexible! At such an angle, the headstock, carriage, tailstock, etc. would not all cause the SAME loading, and so would twist the bed. Worse, the amount of distortion would change as the carriage and tailstock were moved. All sorts of other things would distort a bit as well. Lubrication would likely also be upset.

Dan Mitchell ==========

Roy wrote:

Reply to
Daniel A. Mitchell

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