Riser blocks

[Chris MurphyParticipant @chrismurphy94983]

Hi all,

I want to get some sort of stand for my lathe, and buy a drip tray too.

the question is do you have to have riser blocks or are there some sort of alternatives.

thanks

chris m…..

[Chris MurphyParticipant @chrismurphy94983]

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

That does depend a lot on the design of lathe. They allow two things:

– With blocks fitted with the appropriate screws, ready "levelling" of the lathe (i.e. accurate mounting so the bed is not strained).

– Clearance around the machine for removing swarf and if you use flood-coolant, facilitating draining.

Some lathes are or were designed to bolt directly to the chip-tray and stand, but these have machined pads for the lathe's feet, and an accurately-made stand.

What does your lathe's handbook say about it?

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

You dont need the genuine Myford riser blocks. But its nice to have at least some thick walled square tube or channel about 2" high to give easier access to the carriage handwheel and halfnut lever etc. You can use shims for " levelling " instead of screws. Just run bolts right through the blocks and bench.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Doh.Double post. Thats my riser blocks above from 2" square thick walled tube.

Edited By Hopper on 31/05/2022 10:03:17

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Also depends on the height of your stand and how tall you are, you may find riser blocks put the lathe too high or you need larger than standard to get it upto a comfortable height..

[egaParticipant @ega]

In his Workholding in the Lathe (WPS15) Tubal Cain showed a design for combined riser/jacking alignment screws for a timber bench; the same idea could be adapted for a steel one:

In my version for use with a bench made of steel tube I have made part A much thicker and threaded H to receive the holding down bolt:

TC's book is worth getting for his detailed treatment of lathe alignment. He also goes into some detail about bench construction; his first floor workshop decided him to use a timber bench.

Edited By ega on 31/05/2022 10:18:16

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Anyone wishing to read more about Tubal Cain's impressive country workshop that he set up on his retirement (actually it was upstairs because his vintage Rolls Royce car was underneath!) can do so in Model Engineer volume 137 from 1971- issues 3425, 3426 & 3427

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

If using an alternative stand to the exact model to be mounted, sometimes the lathe may need raising to allow the change wheel cover to be opened. My lathe and stand combination was like that.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

You certainly don't need to buy the Myford riser blocks but getting the lathe up in the air a bit is quite useful to aid cleaning and preventing knuckles hitting the drip/swarf tray. This is a picture of my now long gone ML7.

The tray under it is an old steel shelf from an office cupboard. The riser blocks are a couple of bits of 2" x 1" BMS bar. The blocks serve to prevent the wooden bench moving too much with a similar chunk under the bench to sandwich the top clamped together with a couple of 0.5" studs, top block threaded for stud and lower one drilled clearance. The top was drilled and tapped at the mounting holes centre for a bolt. Lathe was 'levelled' by using shims under the feet as needed. Worked well for many years.

John

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Something along the lines of Tubal Cain's method (Does not have to be absolutely identical ) will do the job.

In the past I have used studding and nuts to provide a means of adjusting to level and remove twist.

My present lathe, larger than the ML7, sits on 1/2 UNF setscrews and nuts.

The idea of using the door from a steel cupboard is a good one. It saves a lot of sheet metal cutting and bending.

(That is what sits under my Mill/Drill )

Howard

[egaParticipant @ega]

Posted by Nick Clarke 3 on 31/05/2022 11:27:06:

Anyone wishing to read more about Tubal Cain's impressive country workshop that he set up on his retirement (actually it was upstairs because his vintage Rolls Royce car was underneath!) can do so in Model Engineer volume 137 from 1971- issues 3425, 3426 & 3427

Thanks for giving the reference. I didn't know about the Roller!

I wonder if he ever met his American YouTube namesake and, if so, how the two strong characters got on.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

The Atlas 12 x 24 which we have been getting ready to sell at the museum has been raised about 40mm with a solid aluminium block at the headstock end to allow the fitting of adjustable screws at the tailstock end for "leveling". Rod ran some tests and found that the lathe was true even without the tailstock end being tightened up. So "leveling" should be easy. I posted this photo some time back when the subject was last brought up. The principal is like ega's photo in this thread.

A very good reason for riser blocks is to get the working height comfortable for older backs.

 

 

Edited By old mart on 31/05/2022 17:39:06

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