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tejaswood

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Lathe Vibration
Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 9:35am

Had sort of an interesting thing happen to me the other night that I thought would be of interest to some. About 5 years ago I started out with the Jet 1236 and about two years ago moved up to the Powermatic 3520a. The other night I had to go over to another guys shop to teach him how to do some small turnings. (This is the guy that got Junior's lathe). Anyway I chucked a very small piece of wood on it and started to turn away. I was amazed at how much vibration there was on the lathe. I stopped and made sure everything was tightned up and such (helped a little). But I soon realized the difference in my 800lb Powermatic and the Jet. I recommend to the guy to put some sand bags on the lathe to reduce the vibration. He also has a wood floor to which he said he would bolt it down. Anyway this got me to thinking about the difficulties some experience while turning and how important it is to have your lathe secure and vibration free as possible. I was amazed at how difficulte it was to turn a small piece of wood on that lathe. Anyway just thought I would share and see what other experiences you might have had.

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MIKE Durham WR Addict Offline having too much fun turning Posts: 564 North Chesterfield, Virginia Virginia USA Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #1 - Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 10:12am That is why i bolt down my 1236 Jet, to the work bench, fixed 95% of that problem.
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Rick in Lincoln WR Addict Offline keep on turnin' Posts: 605 Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #2 - Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 10:54am 140 lbs of sand bags on a shelf under my Jet 1642 has done me good so far. May need more later, but not yet.
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JimQuarles WR Addict WR Patron Offline WR Rocks, BIG Time! Posts: 13,194 Glendale, AZ Arizona USA Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #3 - Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 12:20pm I have my Midi bolted to a 200+ pound piece of GluLam. 8) One thing I have heard, is to only bolt down the headstock end of the lathe, and leave the other end free, but weighted down. JimQ
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Jeff Matter Senior Member Offline I got a new lathe for my wife!! Good trade eh? Posts: 475 Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #4 - Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 3:21pm Bolted down the Jet 1442 to slab and never a problem on anything under 10" er so at 400 RPM (25 pound outa balance pieces that is) Anything bigger or heavier will start to shake (The whole house!).....Thats when the wife walks out and says " O.K. ....thats enuff!!...............turn it off!!..
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junior Ex Member	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #5 - Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 4:41pm i had that thing bolted to the floor in my shop. I also had it on a riser of about 8 inches. It helped my back ALOT!! i turned with it on the stand alone for the first month i think it was. then i put it on the risers, and the difference was immediate.
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Larry Charlot WR Addict Offline Professional Sawdust Maker Posts: 1,443 Yakima, Washington Washington USA Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #6 - Jun 22^nd, 2006 at 6:48pm jet 1442 and 300lbs of sand, still get vibration on the biguns Larry
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BigRay

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Re: Lathe Vibration
Reply #7 - Jun 24^th, 2006 at 9:53am

cubic inch for inch concrete does a much better job at dampening vibration than sand, not to mention cheaper if you are buying it buy the bag. The best thing you can do for a lathe (or most any other powertool) is buld a cheap OSB box and start filling it with concrete. It is best to do them a little at a time so as not to over stress the box. having a cubic yardof quickrete burst out and run all over your shop doesn't make for a pleasant day.

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Ned A from South GA WR Addict Offline Formerly Nappen who said...Sleep is for wimps Posts: 1,584 Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #8 - Jun 25^th, 2006 at 4:45am I had that lathe, same problem, there is also a tendence for the gears to develop wobble, which will translate to the spindel. If you pull off the head stock cover, then rotate by hand you can see if there is wobble in any of the parts.
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Philip Peak WR Addict Offline Posts: 3,431 Southeastern Indiana Indiana USA Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #9 - Jun 25^th, 2006 at 5:44am Hey Big Ray I got a question concerning your last post. It may sound stupid but when you say concrete are you referrring to poured wet concrete or the dry powdery mix?
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Rev. Doug Miller WR Addict Offline Working flat so I can support my addiction. Posts: 9,601 Hardinsburg, KY Kentucky USA Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #10 - Jun 25^th, 2006 at 7:24am I'm looking forward to reading Ray's answer, but I believe that would be dry. 8)
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Kevin Denny Senior Member Offline Posts: 261 Gender:	Re: Lathe Vibration Reply #11 - Jun 27^th, 2006 at 4:36pm Have a 1236 with concrete bags (dry)-not bolted at the moment. Don't have a real problem with vibration but also am very careful to not to put heavily unbalanced pieces on this lathe.
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