Twisting Lathe Bed Using Cabinet Bolts

I have a Sheldon 13x40 cabinet mounted lathe. It weighs in around

1200lbs. It has a large cast iron cabinet that the variable speed drive sets in and a smaller cabinet at the tailstock end. Each cabinet has four adjusting bolts in each corner to level the lathe.

I backed off all but the 4 outside adjusting bolts of each cabinet and then used my Starrett 199 level to level the bed. I got the bed level and then used the Southbend 2 collar method to check the alignment.

The test bar showed .0036 difference between each collar. The tailstock collar was bigger than the headstock collar. The collars are 6" apart and the overall length of the bar is about 8".

The ways of the lathe are in good shape.

My question is which bolts do I need to adjust to get the lathe to cut straight? Should I make all adjustments from the headstock end or the tailstock end to get the taper out?

Thanks, Steve

Reply to
Sierevello
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Steve, The manual for a Warner Swayse turret lathe has the procedure for aligning the axis of the headstock with the axis of the tailstock (or turret) using the four bolts under the headstock end of the bed. You wouldn't think that there would be any flex in a bed that hefty but there is. Paul

Reply to
hagenpault

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