Mill leveled

Jul 22, 2007 5 Replies

Updated pictures here



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I welded those feet that I made, onto the mill's movable base. While one stud became hard to turn, none became stuck. It was the first one that I welded. After some thinking, I realized that the decision to weld along the whole length of the bar, was wrong. I welded the rest, with four 1" long welds, along where the nuts are attached (most rigid areas). Remaining ones were not stuck at all.



Then I used a 12" Starrett precision level to level the mill. The level turned out to be very sensitive. After about 45 minutes, if not more, I finally got the mill leveled. It was a "step forward, two steps back" kind of procedure. But finally it worked.



At the end of leveling, I realized that the mill was only standing on three legs, with the fourth not touching the ground. Very embarrassing. I then slid a piece of paper inderneath that leg, and gently lowered that leg to the point where the paper just became firmly stuck underneath it.



I verified that the mill remained true.



i

Iggy

It look's good, but I was surprised to see the end of the adjustment screws directly on the concrete rather than on some kind of steel pad.

I would worry that with just the end of the allthread resting on the concrete and nothing to "spread the load" vibration during operation will crush the concrete and you wil constantly be re-leveling. It looks like there was some spalling just from the initial leveling, That may have been part of the reason it took 45 minutes to level.

Carl Boyd

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No pad? No...I didnt look at the pictures.

Pad is 100% necessary! 1/4" may not be thick enough as it may over time turn into a bowl. 3/8" minimum strongly recommended, with a shallow depression for the levelers to rest in.

Gunner

Gunner, i will definitely put it on pads when I find something suitable. I appreciate your word of wisdom.

i

Just stuck some 3/8" plate under the levelers..they really dont need to be more than 3"x3". Some misc. scrap would be hunky.

Gunner

Actually you should put something between the pad and the floor to ensure that the pad bears evenly. The big boys usually grout the mounting pads in and we once used a felt like material that went between the floor and the pad but probably a thin sheet of rubber would work.

Bruce in Bangkok (brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

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