Thread: Lathe foundations in new shed

The manual for my lathe quotes 400 mm foundation. It weighs 1500 kg and is cast iron to the floor. I guess I am preaching to the converted, but I would think that unless you are looking at a machine similar to mine I think you are wasting your time. Unless you have rigid cast iron for the base the flex will all be in the stand. Are you like me in that you have no experience with lathes on steel stands previously? My only experience is with a mates lathe many years ago. It was a baby tho. He was thinking about building a heavy base and filling it with concrete.
My opinion only.

Maybe think to the future anyway!

Dean

Just an idea, but what about casting the base from concrete as well?

Jordan

Originally Posted by nadroj

Just an idea, but what about casting the base from concrete as well?

Jordan

That is a very good idea indeed. Big grin here.

Dean

Originally Posted by nadroj

Just an idea, but what about casting the base from concrete as well? Jordan

I like that idea very much. I hate to bend down for accessing the sheet metal pedestal boxes that the lathe sits on, so why not.
I take it would be more rigid as an integral part of the floor slab rather than sitting on top of it.?

I recall reading that they made whole lathes out of concrete in the munitions manufacturing in one of the wars.
It some thing I will look into.
Thanks

Unless it is physically bolted to the concrete very little will be achieved...

All my gear sits on concrete 125mm thick...

Originally Posted by .RC.

Unless it is physically bolted to the concrete very little will be achieved...

All my gear sits on concrete 125mm thick...

To be clear, I am thinking of dicing the steel boxes that act as stands and replacing those with solid pedestals at each end.
I am thinking on making the slab section and pedestal as one pour of concrete, if possible.Its something I need to run past the concretor.

Grahame

What type of lathe are we talking about here, from the description of the sheet metal pedestals I would say it is a light duty lathe so little would be gained from extra foundations etc.

Sorry!
its a 12 x 36 generic asian import weighs about 400 Kgs ( from grizzly specs roughly the same lathe G4003-916 lbs)

Although a single pour sounds ideal to get maximum rigidity, I think it could be complex and expensive to achieve.
You'd want to be certain of the position too, as moving it would be pretty much out of the question afterwards.
I'm not sure it would gain much anyway. You would still get a lot of desirable weight that the lathe could be bolted to.

Jordan

It's probably a minor consideration but if you go to to sell it, a quality HD steel stand adds value to the machine whereas a concrete plinth adds nothing to the resale.

I don't think a concrete base is worth it for this weight of lathe.

Build a better stand using RHS, heavy channel etc, yes. Preferably triangulated with a 3 point base mounting. It's good enough for Monarch & Colchester for their toolroom lathes.

Monolithic concrete base pour, I wouldn't do it. Too much hassle when not if you want to rearrange the shop.

All my machines sit on a 100mm thick slab with F72 reinforcing mesh in it. The substrate is heavily compacted - we could drive a fully loaded dump truck on it and barely show wheel marks, we used a vibrating ride-on roller. Heaviest machine I currently have is a bit less than 3 tonnes, no problems.

PDW

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Sorry!
its a 12 x 36 generic asian import weighs about 400 Kgs ( from grizzly specs roughly the same lathe G4003-916 lbs)

I've had a generic 600kg 14 x 40 (Hafco POS) in the same spot on a 100mm slab for the last 7 years. I check for the ways for true every now and then, I might have to move a corner up or down by a couple of thou but that's about it.

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

To be clear, I am thinking of dicing the steel boxes that act as stands and replacing those with solid pedestals at each end.
I am thinking on making the slab section and pedestal as one pour of concrete, if possible.Its something I need to run past the concretor.

Grahame

becareful Grahame.
if you do like you said then how do you level the lathe ?

Peter

Artful Bodger in NZ had a concrete base custom made for his lathe. It was hollow, like a U shape.
He posted it on HSM so try a search there. He joined here but I haven't seen him post in ages.
You see square channel concrete castings used in culverts; maybe one of those could be cut down?