Thread: Ice hockey puck machine feet (supplier)

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing the info. I'm in need of about a dozen feet. I have bought several machines and I'm yet to make feet for them. It's been one of those "I'll get around to it" type of jobs. My mill and lathe both have feet made from BMS and some 16mm all thread turned and welded to suite. I'm wondering how well hockey pucks would compare?

How do you plan on attaching the all thread (or similar) and the adjustment nuts? I'm keen to use your idea and your source of cheap pucks but need to work out how to do it. I assume they are made from some type of resin?

Edit: ignore my last question, I just did a google images search! Seems a very easy way of making machine feet!

Simon

FWIW I don't think a compliant material like these hockey pucks would make a good foot for machines like lathes, milling machines, etc that rely on rigidity to the floor to maintain accuracy. Particularly with a lathe, where even slight variations can be seen in the accuracy of the product.

They are made of a very tough and rigid rubber.

I'm going to use coach bolts. My shed floor is terribly uneven, so I'm thinking if turning a cup in the top, which the bolt head will sit in. This will allow some angulation.

Yes I'm aware of what they're made of, I'm keen on the game and watch it when I can. The pucks are somewhat compliant, and on some machines that is a negative. Typically something like aluminium or a right plastic makes a better "foot" as it deforms to the surface and then largely stays put. When I first started using a precision level I was shocked out how much things move that I'd always considered quite rigid. Likewise it's quite surprising how little movement is required in a lathe bed for it to turn a taper. I moved my 260 to fit the DRO and just finished re-levelling it* yesterday. It doesn't take much movement I assure you, and a Hercus is hardly a toolroom lathe! I had it turning within a couple of 0.001 mm in about 250 mm, but it's fiddly. The last thing you want is something compliant under the feet. A precision level reveals all!

* in fact "level" is a misnomer as that lathe deliberately slopes back to help the coolant drain, but it's "level" in terms if being in the same plane.

Originally Posted by Pete F

I don't think a compliant material like these hockey pucks would make a good foot for machines like lathes, milling machines, etc that rely on rigidity to the floor to maintain accuracy. Particularly with a lathe, where even slight variations can be seen in the accuracy of the product.

I have a couple of machines on this sort of foot (mine are anti-vibration mounts designed for this purpose) and they are useful for leveling but the important thing is the rigidity of the machine. Under my mill I have a sub frame that the mill bolts to and the mounts are attached to. It is probably under size being made of 150x100 RHS but it allows the mill to be bolted down to a rigid plane surface and the mounts likewise. If people wanted to use this sort of mount I would suggest making up a really rigid frame that the machine can mount to and have the mounts attached to that. These sheet metal stands will not help, especially if the mounts are directly mounted to that. Too much flex.

Michael

They may be suited to my mill. I don't have such a flimsy stand as Michael , but considering the weight of the mill it is quite rigid and has 8 adjustable feet. 4 directly under the mill which has vertical supports at the edge of the mill footprint with feet at the bottom of these supports and another 4 feet just to support the outer edges of the stand which is about 1400mm long.

Dean

This is the stand I'm building for my TM20LV benchtop mill. It's my first ever welding project but going ok.
Made from 50x50x3. 1400 wide. Should be a bit better than the stock noodle.

There will be six feet.

Looking good!

Hi Pete & Michael, wrt the feet, I'm thinking they should be sufficient for my hercus T&C grinder, the shaper and the soon to be operating SG. I do realise that of the 3 machines mentioned, the SG is probably the most "fussy" with it's feet but considering the base, or stand is 700x700x1000 of 1/2 CI, it's not going to flex even if the feet comply with the floor? Cheers Simon

With a CI base like that you should be alright although you still need to make sure you get approximate even loading on the feet. From memory I used a torque wrench on my mine (adjust 3 feet to be level and then lower the 4th so that all the bolt torques are equalish).

Michael

Hi Michael, a torque wrench eh? I had thought of that with my lathe. It has 8 feet on 2 stands and I try to get them roughly even weight on each of the 4, but I usually just nip them until I feel they are "reasonably" even. There's no way I could get a socket in there anyway so I may be stuck with my usual guesswork... unless I find a torque (shifting) spanner! Simon

Yes it definitely will depend on the type of machine and how much it's likely to be affected. Some of my machines for example are on mobile bases (T&C grinder for example) and I can't imagine it affecting the machine to any measurable degree. However it was more the point than anything.

Hi Pete. A valid point at that. It doesnt take much of anything to loose the fine level adjustment on a lathe. For most work its of little consequence but every now and again you nay want to turn something long and parallel and thats when you realise that your lathe is no longer as level as it was when you last adjusted it.

Simon

Sorry I was on my way from work and needed to submit that post before finishing what I intended to write.

Yes indeed, it's mainly long and thin machine tools that will be affected (think lathes) and something on a tall but small footprint probably won't care as much if the earth moves beneath it. But having compliant feet is never really a good idea unless there's a good reason for it.

When end I first got my precision level I was quite surprised at how much things were moving around me, and the point of my post was because not everyone owns a precision level, and I think many may not realise how much things are moving until they get caught out (as I have been). You'd think that a solid welded stand would be like a rock, but I've seen them move a heck of a lot, and I'm not talking about using some fancy measuring instrument that is of theoretical interest only. On something like a lathe, the machinist level is a very real indicator of what the machine is doing, and will definitely be seen in the final accuracy. What may seem like a good idea at the time is probably a little pointless if it's affecting the accuracy.