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Opinion on pucks or sitting on the floor for EE

CreeCustomGuns

Plastic
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
I am wondering what the general opinion is on what is better - sitting a EE on the floor with one or more corners shimmed to level, or to have the four corners set on feet or pucks to level?

Thank you!
 
I am wondering what the general opinion is on what is better - sitting a EE on the floor with one or more corners shimmed to level, or to have the four corners set on feet or pucks to level?

Thank you!

Doing either to an EE is a very bad idea. The machine is designed to sit on three load bearing points, to avoid twisting the bed. There are two leveling points under the head stock and one at the tail stock end. Use ONLY these to support the machine!
 
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I will be lifting the machine on blocks just for a few hours to clean and repair something, then get it leveled out. Where exactly are those points? I have looked through a copy of a 1950's EE manual and I do not see any information at all on leveling the machine.
 
I will be lifting the machine on blocks just for a few hours to clean and repair something, then get it leveled out. Where exactly are those points? I have looked through a copy of a 1950's EE manual and I do not see any information at all on leveling the machine.

Get you a strong LED flashlight, and perhaps a mirror.

There are cast-in holes, one at each of the three points, cored to 5/8" nominal, and tapered to the usual draft angle. as castings are.

From the underside, each exits central to a larger flat, cast 'pad'. You should be able to locate these at HS end just from the departure from line of the lower edge of the casting.

One opens in the clear, behind the DC Panel, a swing-out on an MG-era 10EE.

The other, same era of 10EE, comes up under the motor mounting plate. I moved that one about an inch or so to allow for bolts projecting upward.

The one at TS end, in the opening, hatch over OFF, looks off-centre, but is correctly placed for the balance of mass and stresses.

I opened all on mine up to a straighter 3/4", used long bolts, head-down, to attach skates, permanently.

A few turns of a few hex nuts, the weight can go onto the skates for movement, ELSE bear onto a steel plate between the 2 axles OF the skate for fixed operating.

"Leveling" to any precision not needed unless preparing to assess for need-of, or actually DO scraping & c.
 
Excellent! I found all three. I have it raised a bit higher now for cleaning, but is there a good rule of thumb on how these machines like to sit, such as directly on concrete or on pucks?
 
Excellent! I found all three. I have it raised a bit higher now for cleaning, but is there a good rule of thumb on how these machines like to sit, such as directly on concrete or on pucks?

So long as those are THE load points, AND NOT perched atop something unstable, why should there be?

It's like a surveyor or photographer or machine-gunner's tripod. Inherently stable if whatever is UNDER it is stable.

My "caveat" is to NOT use undersized store-bought leveling feet where the studs might be a slop-fit, or bend under side-load, then separate from their pad disc.

Virginia is reasonably geologically stable, but I have still had two Earthquakes in recent years. 10EE, three-point kinematic suspension or not, are notoriously TOP HEAVY and "faceplant" prone when being moved, and can go TS over HS teakettle under enough duress as well.

Some folk with less-perfect floors underfoot than I was blessed with build castered carriages or add outriggers to better prevent the start of any such topple.

LOAD should still be on those three points.

It is VERY similar to a large surface plate. Supported on three Bessel points, but.. with extra corner support not quite snugged up so as to catch and stop any tilting from large work loaded off-centre.
 
Mine is sitting on 4" X 5" wood blocks so I don't stoop over to run it.
As others have stated:
As long as you are sitting on the 3 pads only, leveling the critter ain't too fussy.

Another Bill
 
I have big Royal (Sunnex now? ) adjustable mounts sitting on concrete paving stones to get the working height right. There is also enough space to slide a pallet jack underneath if need be.
 
The pucks I have are only 2.5" in diameter. They just do not seem like they have enough foot print. Any recommendations on the size of puck needed to make sure it stays secure?
 
The pucks I have are only 2.5" in diameter. They just do not seem like they have enough foot print. Any recommendations on the size of puck needed to make sure it stays secure?

I am using 3 pucks that size on my Okomoto surface grinder and it weighs half the Monarch EE.

I use a wood block that project an inch or so (front and back) on the headstock end and another on the TS that sticks out an inch or so. This works well when moving the machine with a backhoe boom. Just 2 large blocks to mess with. Messing with pucks you may find that unless they are bolted in place, it can be a job to get them located where you want them. It is even worse if you start to put a stack of spacers to raise the machine up.

Remember that if you don't have an MG machine, the lathes are a bit top heavy. There are a few tales of woe on this forum about flipping them over unexpectedly.

Bill
 
A lot of us use Vlier mounts for our 10EE. More than strong enough, makes the height somewhat adjustable and you can level the lathe.
 
Thank you for the suggestions on mounts. The floor that the lathe is sitting on slopes quite a bit. Looks like I will have over 1/2" of shimming to do on the TS end to get it level. Those feel look somewhat small in diameter, is it enough foot print for the lathe to sit on steadily?
 
Thank you for the suggestions on mounts. The floor that the lathe is sitting on slopes quite a bit. Looks like I will have over 1/2" of shimming to do on the TS end to get it level. Those feel look somewhat small in diameter, is it enough foot print for the lathe to sit on steadily?

TS end could be on a golf ball. Longest leg of the "tee", and along a centreline, mass-distribution-wise.

It is stability of the shorter "crossbar" of the Tee - formed at the HS end - that matters most on a 10EE.
 
A lot of people like them taller. I prefer the clutch lever up on the headstock to the elsr lever low on the bed. I am 6'5" and hate reaching down that far. Your mileage may vary.
 
What do you use to raise your 10EEs?

Cal

All of mine are on the floor- but I have the high clutch lever on all - even on the elsr ac vector coversion lever collet closer basket case. Its a bit touchy having both... but I got it to work in the conversion. I don't like hoky legs on something that goes 4000 rpm..... if I was to do it I would take some steel 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 lift the machine up, bolt them soundly to the bottom of the base casting- doing reliefs as required to get solid contact...but it would be a LOT of work to do it right. It was easier to raise the clutch lever.
 








 
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