Another CX701

[Cuttings]

Just received the crates with my new CX701 Craftex lathe and stand. So far all I have done is opened the crate to make sure everything is there and there is no visible damage. All Ok so far. The only thing I have noticed is that they packed a manual for a CX706 in the box. I will have to get after Busy Bee to get the correct manual sent out. Now the work begins. I like the metal stand for the storage it provides but they are somewhat on the flimsy side so like I did with the stand under my mill I will be making up some reinforcing plates to go inside the top where the lathe bolts on and where the stand bolts to the floor. I put concrete anchors in the floor, level the whole thing up a little off the floor, then make up a temporary form and pour the area full of expanding grout and bolt the stand back down level on it, then let it go off before mounting the machine on top. This gave a pretty solid mount for my mill and hopefully will do the same for the lathe. But before this all happens I will have to remove the old three in one machine and clean up the area because the new lathe is going into the same location.

[Michael Edwards]

Congrats on the freshie. Until you get your replacement manual, here is an online version...

https://www.busybeetools.com/content/product_manuals/CX701.pdf

[BCRider]

Congrats on the new lathe!

As a result of my experience I'm not a fan of the typical "cookie tin" bases. Adding the plates below and securing the pedestals to the floor will help. But in the end they are still thin sheet metal boxes with doors that further allow them to be even more flexible. Don't be surprised if this leads to chatter at various frequencies from low shudders up to soprano like opera sounds during parting and boring jobs.

My old setup on the stock supplied pedestals had me leaning over a lot and I'd get a stiff back after a long job at the lathe. I'm 6ft 1in and the height that was supplied seemed set up for Munchkins.

At the new place I moved to 12 years ago I tossed the boxes and built some new pedestals. I also set the spindle height at 49" off the mat after checking around for suggestions on the web. This set the spindle at the same height as the hollow where the solar plexus is on my chest just under the little bone that is to be landmarked during CPR. I'd say that's a pretty good landmark for the spindle height. I now do easily more than 90% of all lathe work standing comfortably straight. The odd time for some measurements I have to stretch a little over parts of the machine. It's not running at those times of course. But mostly it's about not getting a stiff and sore back from lots of leaning over just a little.

So see where your own setup lands up and perhaps before you commit to anything try some temporary risers to get a feel for things. You might as well get it right off the bat. And if it turns out that you end up with the need for a good bit of rise I'd say make it from something strong, stiff and heavy so you add some mass and rigidity to the lathe itself. It's a great counter to chatter.

Do you have a way to lift the lathe up onto the base already?

[Tundra Twin Track]

Congrats on your new lathe,just curious if spindle bore measures 1.5” ?

[old mart]

Now's the time to see about the height if needed for comfort.

[Cuttings]

Got it out of the crate today and onto blocks on the shop floor. The first thing I did was take the back off the electrical compartment and check all the connections. All good, nothing moved when given a tug. "BUT" I found a possible cause for some of the failures I have read about. There is a 5mm hole through the sheet metal a little way behind the chuck that goes right into the electrical compartment. This had no bolt in it when received. I see this a disaster in waiting. Sooner or later a small bit of swarf will fly through the hole and land in a critical place on one of the circuit boards. This lathe now has a 5mm bolt in the hole with a self locking nut on the inside just in case it might want to vibrate off and cause it's own problem.

[BCRider]

Good catch!

[RSG]

Agreed, good catch. Get that hole closed up before you make chips! Great little lathe, enjoy!

[Cuttings]

I did download the manual for study while I was considering this purchase. It has 48 pages and I don't think I should have to use up my ink and paper to print one when it was supposed to come with the machine. We will see how I make out with this.
By the way I placed my original order with Busy Bee in New Westminister BC. and shortly after they announced that they were closing that location to move. I thought that would be no problem and they would get moved before my lathe came. A while later I got a call from Busy Bee in Calgary Alberta. They said that all the BC orders had been transferred to them and they were not sure when the BC location would open again. They gave me a really good shipping rate to send it from Alberta so that was OK.
BC Rider I liked you mounting idea but needed the storage space so if need be I can beef up the cabinets more later.
I just measured the spindle bore on the back end. It measures 1.557 so a 1 1/2" round should easily pass through if it is the same size right through. I will check that out a little later.
I have another long to do list today so better go get some breakfast and get on with it.

[BCRider]

Keeping the cabinets is fine. I'm thinking something strong as a riser between the cabinets and the lathe itself. Something like a length of heavy channel iron that both stiffens the lathe bed, adds some more mass (to resist chatter) and also raising the machine to a more comfortable working height.

[Tundra Twin Track]

Glad the bore is what they advertised,a friend got similar size lathe from King Industrial and was advertised as 1-1/2” bore but was slightly smaller.Let us know when you start making chips.

[Cuttings]

Keeping the cabinets is fine. I'm thinking something strong as a riser between the cabinets and the lathe itself. Something like a length of heavy channel iron that both stiffens the lathe bed, adds some more mass (to resist chatter) and also raising the machine to a more comfortable working height.

That is kind of what I had in mind. Maybe put a steel post or two up in the middle and a 1/4" steel plate between the drip tray and the cabinets. Another thought is the make a couple of A frames to go in the middle, bolt to the floor and the steel plate. Also I had the concrete under the walls brought about 2 feet when I had the shop built to make it safer when welding or making a lot of sparks, so I could tie a couple of braces back to the wall also. Lots of options, but first I have to get the old one out and this one in place and level. Things don't happen too quick around here because there are other things that take up some of my time.

[BCRider]

The issue you're going for isn't so much about simply holding the machine off the floor but for how to add some rigidity and mass to the actual lathe. Some 1/4" plate would be better than nothing but pound for pound you'd get more out of a piece of actual structural channel or tube that weighed the same as the piece of plate. Sort of like how a sheet of printer paper isn't very "rigid". But if you roll the same sheet into a tube or fold it into a box shape and tape the seam it is then quite rigid and bend resistant.

Someone in another thread mounted a slightly smaller lathe to a cast concrete slab they made up. The slab was about 3 inches thick. Not sure how wide it was but it was used with a lathe roughly the size of a Southbend SB9 as I recall. They reported a huge improvement in being able to take bigger cuts with no chatter which had been impossible before with a regular wood top bench. Now you might not want to go to the extent of pouring your own concrete slab... But the idea is to lean in that sort of direction to gain the most you can while getting the lathe to a comfy working height.

[Cuttings]

Actually accomplished quite a bit today. Made up a lifting rod, powered up lathe and checked all speeds , directions or rotation etc. All OK. Noticed a little vibration around 1000 RPM similar to what Brian experienced. Probably due to a little unbalance in the three jaw chuck which was on the lathe. I put the cabinet stand together and lifted the machine onto it to check the fit. Looks OK so far. A couple of pictures sitting on the stand - tailstock removed for balance while lifting. Third picture shows the location where the hole into the electrical compartment was. It now has a bolt in it.

[RSG]

for a moment there I thought you were lifting it by the spindle looking at the first pic 😲 😁