Mill foundation support

A Johnson bar will do it. They have about 50:1 leverage.

BobH

Reply to
BobH
Loading thread data ...

I set up my Bridgeport so that, finally, casters are in the air and the mill is supported, on all four corners, by pieces of 2x4s. I wonder if this would be considered adequate or is the foundation stressed a bit too much. Maybe I should add more extra pieces on the sides or some such. Any ideas from the more knowledgeable netizens.

I am reluctant to just lower the mill to the floor, getting it off the floor in the future will be very challenging.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14147

Half inch steel plates . For that matter , make one that matches the footprint outline (make it like a band an inch or two wide) with a spot or two on each side that's notched out so you can get a pry under the base . Or a toe jack ... Hmmm , make that base plate in sections so you can get it out after you lift the machine .

Reply to
Snag

Set it on the floor. that's how it was designed to run. get yourself a crow bar, it only takes a minute to raise back up.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Actually a crow bar does not work on it. Too heavy.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14147

I have a Johnson bar, I do not think that it is 50:1.

Anyway, is it important that this mill be level?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14147

I've had my somewhat lighter Bridgeport on a normal home basement slab for

20+ years. I actually have it on rubber leveling feet, so it is supported by only 4 3" diameter pads.

I also have my 3500 Lb. Sheldon lathe just sitting on its own leveling feet, which are little more than bolts sitting on the floor. Again, no problem.

Most of these bases have some relieved area between the corners, for getting a pry bar under it.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Each of my machines in my shop are supported fully or in part by 4x4s or

2x4s

Doesnt hurt a thing.

It does however mean that there are now hidey holes for stuff to bounce into until the swarf builds up and closes off the gaps.

Gunner

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

Reply to
Gunner Asch

It does if the crow bar is 6' long and is 1.5" in diameter

Those jacks I showed you the links too work even better.

Gunner who moves machinery regularly for clients

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

Reply to
Gunner Asch

I have a bar about 6 feet long and 1" dia, becoming about 1.5 square for a foot or so on one end and then terminating in a tapered bend.

That bar lifts my B'Port with surprisingly little effort. The millwrights at a place I worked used bars exactly like this one to lift machinery exactly like a B'Port.

I stick- welded up a side-reinforced Z hook that fits into the recessed areas on the base of the mill, with a small bottle jack pushing up on the top leg of the Z. That works even better than the bar because one man can easily and safely lift the mill several inches, easily enough to get caster dollies in place.

You should be able to make something like this in an hour or two.

Reply to
Don Foreman

This is what I have

Reply to
Ignoramus14147

May I hazard to guess, your Bridgeport is 2,200 lbs. As was my old trusty one.

My Bridgeport Interact 2 is 5,500 lbs (if I believe some online sources, which I now do), is much taller, wider and thicker built.

Well, I made something that worked well, a couple of steel bars welded together that I insert into pieces that hold casters. Now I can lift every corner effortlessly with a harbor freight 4 ton jack (which is really more like 2 ton, but does the job).

Reply to
Ignoramus14147
[ ... ]

If you are using flood coolant -- yes -- especially side to side. Otherwise, the coolant will get deeper than the trough on one side or the other and spill.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Reply to
Steve Lusardi

The mill should not rock. And having it "level" allows you to use a bubble level at a later date for doing some setups...but no....other than to keep the coolant in the tank...it doesnt HAVE to be level.

Just make sure it doesnt rock

Gunner

I am the Sword of my Family and the Shield of my Nation. If sent, I will crush everything you have built, burn everything you love, and kill every one of you. (Hebrew quote)

Reply to
Gunner Asch

The correct tool is a "pry bar", about 6 feet long, or longer, say the same length as you'd use to move a loaded freight car.

Cheers,

John D. Slocomb (jdslocombatgmail)

Reply to
J. D. Slocomb

I can't comment on your Bridgeport but everywhere I've worked the machinery was bolted in place with leveling bolts working against a steel foot plate and hold-down bolts to keep it in place. Machinery that generated large reciprocating forces - Planer, Shaper, Surface Grinder, etc. had in addition, stops to ensure that it didn't move. Large machinery was leveled and then grouted in place.

If you are debating about the quality of the foundation just put a precision level (at least 0.001" per foot, or finer) on the table. Run the table all the way to the end, read the level, and then all the way in the other and read the level again.. Then check the level in the other direction. Then check it again after running it for a week or so.

I can't argue whether this is absolutely necessary but I have seen machinery that developed a permanently warped base and the only reason I can think of was that it had been sitting out of line for some time.

Cheers,

John D. Slocomb (jdslocombatgmail)

Reply to
J. D. Slocomb

I have coolant drains on both sides, so I cannot see how this is an issue.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus32604

It does not rock any more. I have a G code that is intended to provide maximum accelerations and to shake the mill, it seems pretty stable now.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus32604

Measure it. Is the handle 50x the length of the lifting tongue on the other side of the fulcrum point? Let us curious types know.

You'll be running coolant. You tell us. ;)

-- Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.