Will this warp my lathe bed?

[Dave Bunge]

I have a small (11'x19') shop that's set up well for woodturning. But I'm doing more flat work lately and things are pretty cramped. I'm always looking for more efficient ways to use space. Which brings me to my question.

How susceptible are cast iron surfaces to being permanently warped or distorted if they are subjected to uneven stress?

Here's an idea for locating my chop saw. I clamped a couple of 2x6's to the lathe ways then set the saw on top. Since the center of gravity for the saw, especially with a board on it, is past the edge of the bed, there will be some torque/twist on the ways. Could this cause problems? I don't foresee leaving things set up this way for long periods.

 

[Dave Bunge]

A couple more pictures showing clamping detail. The clamps are 6" Harbor Freight bar clamps. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the center of a piece of oak and stuck the clamp to the bottom of the hole with double sided tape. The wood spans the gap in the bed ways so the clamping pressure goes against both sides.

 

[Dave Landers]

Don't know if this would mess with the lathe or not, but seems like you could relieve your concern with a couple hinges to add some legs in front? Hinges would let the legs fold up under the saw so wouldn't take up any more storage space. And legs would eliminate the torque on the lathe. Just an idea

 

[Brent@TurnRobust]

You're over thinking it. You could lift a car with that lathe bed and not hurt it. Brent

 

[Darryl Fective]

LOL, I'd be curious of the weight difference between your saw and your banjo.

To keep my 4224 from walking around, I drilled a couple holes and used chain to support a shelf between the legs. I've had 880 pounds of sand on it for years with no problems. You've got nothing to worry about. (unless a clamp lets loose and a saw falls on your toes)

 

[Larry Mercier]

You're over thinking it. You could lift a car with that lathe bed and not hurt it. Brent

I love your analogy. Your assessment is extremely valuable because you are the manufacturer of America's best lathe.

 

[Richard Coers]

It's not a problem, but if it really bothers you, build a drop over bench that fits around the lathe bed and puts the load down on the floor.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

How susceptible are cast iron surfaces to being permanently warped or distorted if they are subjected to uneven stress?

Cast iron is brittle, but can be bent, at least a little. I don't know if the load you propose is sufficient to cause problems.
You may find that the cantilevered saw support vibrates some in use, but maybe not enough to be a problem.
I would reconsider the use of those inexpensive F clamps, though. Go with something more secure. I used to use similar light duty clamps at the drill press, but had two fail.

 

[Mike Zip Hamilton]

LOL, I'd be curious of the weight difference between your saw and your banjo.

To keep my 4224 from walking around, I drilled a couple holes and used chain to support a shelf between the legs. I've had 880 pounds of sand on it for years with no problems. You've got nothing to worry about. (unless a clamp lets loose and a saw falls on your toes)


View attachment 57508

Darrly, it is great to see a shop that looks like mine! Some of the shop pictures that we see here look like show rooms. My theory is one can always buy another set screw if you thought you realy needed it.

 

[Dean Center]

You're over thinking it. You could lift a car with that lathe bed and not hurt it. Brent

I just love it when someone who really knows what they're talking about weighs in. Thank you, Brent.

 

[Dave Bunge]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I wasn't worried about the total weight, just the affect of twisting/torque on the ways from having the weight cantilevered over the edge. As Darryl pointed out, a banjo is also extended way beyond the bed and puts some pretty strong torque on it if you're doing heavy chip removal, or, God forbid, get a catch. So I'm not worried about that any more.

I would reconsider the use of those inexpensive F clamps, though. Go with something more secure. I used to use similar light duty clamps at the drill press, but had two fail.

Thanks for the warning. I had 2 extra Oneway clamp blocks, like what you use to hook their coring rig to the lathe, so I switched to using them instead.


Final set up:

 

[robo hippy]

The only thing I can think of that might warp your lathe bed is if the feet are not all four, sitting evenly on the ground. You want your lathe level, front to back, and side to side. Then I back off one foot a little bit so that lathe will wobble as an unbalanced blank is mounted on the lathe. I then adjust that one leg/foot back down until the wobble stops, then maybe one more 1/16 of a turn more since when I tighten up the locking nut, that seems to draw it back up just a tiny bit. If your lathe is set up properly, the cast iron will not warp. The older cast iron would need to be sit for a year or more to 'adjust', and this was common for the old cast iron hand planes. With the newer 'ductile cast iron' hand planes, this is not necessary. I am pretty sure this is correct, and not sure if it is applied to the cast iron lathe beds now days. I have been getting into flat work lately, and this does apply to the newer hand planes.

robo hippy