machinist's level

Tim Oltersdorf

Tim Oltersdorf

Active member
I want to check the leveling on my lathe. I have been looking at the starret machinist's levels on e-bay. I have a 14 x 40 inch lathe. What degree of accuracy and length level do you recommend? Thanks Tim
 
#199

Tim,

You should get the Starrett #199 master precision level which reads to .0005" per foot.
It's a very touchy level...you'll have to let it stabilize to the temperature of the room, and handle it with a chamois cloth.

It would be better to have two for both sides of the bed, but it's not necessary.

You'll also need an accurate set of 1-2-3 blocks to get the level above the inverted V-ways.
 
what he said,,,
12" to get across the ways( weighs ??)....1x2x3 blocks to get above the vee's
and yes .0005 per 12"
do things in little steps run the lathe then check again

mike in co
 
Tim Oltersdorf said:
I want to check the leveling on my lathe. I have been looking at the starret machinist's levels on e-bay. I have a 14 x 40 inch lathe. What degree of accuracy and length level do you recommend? Thanks Tim
Click to expand...

You're a tooth dentist and don't have a Starret level?? Pooh!!!

Actually Tim, just get the twist out by leveling just ahead of the spindle nose and at the right end of the bed. Left/right level is only somewhat important and mostly then for coolant return if you have a coolant sump.
 
Jerry, Actually I am a radiologist. If the rumor got out that I was a dentist people would be coming up to me and showing me their teeth. Most people don't carry their x-rays around with them. Most do carry around their teeth. Some like Arnold Jewell do so in their pocket. Tim
 
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Greg Walley said:
You should get the Starrett #199 master precision level which reads to .0005" per foot.
It would be better to have two for both sides of the bed, but it's not necessary.
Click to expand...
Well they all but give those babies away don't they...
 
Tim, I would not mean to disagree with my fellow Craftsmen, but for your purposes, the 199 series is a tad overkill.

We use the 12 inch 98 series Starrets, have several, they are plenty accurate enough for your little lathe. In all honesty, the little 6 inch 98 will do just fine.

The 98 series are not cheap, but Pawn Shops are a good source for used ones. They are easilly adjusted, and as long as the glass isn't broke, it will work........jackie
 
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Actusally, on a small engine lathe a properly used, a level like this will work. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00939861000P?prdNo=20&blockNo=20&blockType=G20
(actusally; a kind-of, sort-of thing)

On a small lathe, doing gun barrel work, perfect level is not required. Bed twist will effect diameter control somewhat over a long surface but the longest surface you will be turning is not over 1-1/2". Besides, if you precisely level to 0.0005"/foot, it will have moved out of that envelope in a few days or worst weeks.

On a level, it is important to do an end-for-end test of your level and if the end-for-end is not the same make sure you place the same end on the same place each time. (mark one end of the level and make sure it has the same orientation for each measurement.)
 
i would follow jackie's advice.....
i got a great deal on my 12".....but would much rather have the money and gone with a shorter one.

mike in co
 
Tim,
Check you PM's.
Best,
Dan Batko

"Where are we going and why am I in this basket?"
 
RWO said:
Leveling a lathe is just a starting point for getting it tuned up. It is more important to put the bed in the same degree of twist that it was in when it was ground at the factory and that isn't necessarily level on both ends. This document explains how to get the spindle alinged with the bed without a level. http://igor.chudov.com/manuals/Rollies-Dads-Method-of-Lathe-Alignment.pdf

RWO
Click to expand...

I have been in several lathe builders (American, Leblond, Monarch. Cincinnati_Milacron, Giddings & Lewis and a few others, (back when the US did stuff like that) and several rebuilders. I have never seen or even heard of a situation where the way-grinder was set up to grind a bed out of level. Someone is pulling your leg!!

Before the days of hardened-ground ways hand scraping after the lathe was set was how bedways were finished.
 
What Jerry said. Most Starrett Levels are adjustable. If it does not appear to be calibrated, you can adjust it to where it reads exactly the same on any flat surface when you tirn it 180 degrees.

The 199 and 98 models are very sensitive.

On our long bed lathes, (up to 40 foot), we use a Starrett Transit to shoot them in lengthwise, and the 98 series level to get the twist out.......jackie
 
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Tim Oltersdorf said:
Jerry, Actually I am a radiologist. If the rumor got out that I was a dentist people would be coming up to me and showing me their teeth. Most people don't carry their x-rays around with them. Most do carry around their teeth. Some like Arnold Jewell do so in their pocket. Tim
Click to expand...

X-rays can be emailed, however, a machinst level cannot...that said, there may be a level app for the I-phone by now.

Ben
 
I check mine too often I guess, I say that because I never have to adjust it anymore. Pure luck I'm sure.
Mine is around 2500 lbs and has 6 jack screws. I picked up a Russian level from Enco, seems to work.

Tim, this reminds me of a something I read about a Doctor, possibly here?. He told everybody he was a brain surgeon.
Everybody has something they could ask a family Doctor about but nobody has a brain question.
 
Bnhpr said:
X-rays can be emailed, however, a machinst level cannot...that said, there may be a level app for the I-phone by now.

Ben
Click to expand...

I have to try this, yes there are apps for levels. I wonder if I could calibrate my phone to my level?
 
Tim Oltersdorf said:
I want to check the leveling on my lathe. I have been looking at the starret machinist's levels on e-bay. I have a 14 x 40 inch lathe. What degree of accuracy and length level do you recommend? Thanks Tim
Click to expand...

look for the .0005" in a foot level.
gary
 
JerrySharrett said:
I have been in several lathe builders (American, Leblond, Monarch. Cincinnati_Milacron, Giddings & Lewis and a few others, (back when the US did stuff like that) and several rebuilders. I have never seen or even heard of a situation where the way-grinder was set up to grind a bed out of level. Someone is pulling your leg!!

Before the days of hardened-ground ways hand scraping after the lathe was set was how bedways were finished.
Click to expand...

actually the correct way to cut the ways on a lathe in from a raw casting starts with a proper alignmentment on the plainer bed. If the bed is replained, you always start from the headstock and bring everything in from there (Usually with the headstock removed by the way). Now you can set a level on 1x2x3 blocks on the ways, but the results won't be all that great. You always level off the compound. This method takes all the error built up in the slides out of the equation. When I do a small hand lathe, I remove the chuck and tail stock to gain the most working room. I like to level the machine to about .001" total travel and sideways. Then I will go back and tweek it in strait with the chuck reinstalled with a good gauge bar. The tail stock is the very last thing I look at, and to me is the least important thing to worry about.

By the way when I scrape a lathe bed, I shoot for .0003" total error. Then scrape the slide at about .00025". For a compound error of about .00075"
gary
 
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This will get you closer than probably 99% of all the lathes out there not in an ISO shop...


http://www.bostitch.com/default.asp...BER=43-709&SDesc=Bostitch®+Torpedo+Level


bostitchlevel.jpg
 
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