Field expedient leveling feet

[wierdscience]

Recently I needed some leveling feet and couldn't find what I wanted in the right thread size. I also didn't want to go through the whole process of making the usual two piece, socket and ball affair. So I went looking for some ready made swivel pads and found these-

https://www.mcmaster.com/8955A16/

Not bad for $10/each, then I just turned up some 3" round x 1" long mild steel slugs for a slip fit. Locitited them in and added some long 3/4-10 setscrews for studs. Side benefit is if the top of the stud is accessible, then a standard Allen wrench can be used to adjust them without having to lay on the floor.

[npalen]

Very nice!

[BCRider]

That IS pretty slick!

I've done feet for my machines but have never bothered to make them with swivel style pads like you've done.

[boslab]

Very clever, like that a lot
mark

[A.K. Boomer]

Oh WOW, I think you just left the competition in the dust - with anti-corrosion factors to boot. good damn work dude...

[RB211]

Nice work. Is it cost effective? Depends on if you have the stock laying around. For $20 you can buy a purpose made leveling pad with hard rubber bottom and built in leveling adjustment. I only mention this because you spent $10 for each swivel, and for $20 you can have a purpose made pad with no work on your part required or additional material.

[mikey553]

Recently I needed some leveling feet and couldn't find what I wanted in the right thread size. I also didn't want to go through the whole process of making the usual two piece, socket and ball affair. So I went looking for some ready made swivel pads and found these-

https://www.mcmaster.com/8955A16/

Not bad for $10/each, then I just turned up some 3" round x 1" long mild steel slugs for a slip fit. Locitited them in and added some long 3/4-10 setscrews for studs. Side benefit is if the top of the stud is accessible, then a standard Allen wrench can be used to adjust them without having to lay on the floor.

Good find! So how your design is supposed to work? I guess you have to add 2 nuts - one for adjusting the height and another for locking. Am I right?

Years ago I made a similar set of leveling feet for my lathe (it takes 8 of them). I just used 5/8" hex head screws with slightly modified head with 2 nuts and set the screws upside down on round steel pads. Lucky for me I found these pads among scraped parts at my former employer. For adjustment I have to hold the screw head and rotate the adjusting nut, then lock the top nut.

In the coming months I am planning to spread the feet at my lathe further apart to make the machine more stable. It would be the time to examine my design and see how it performed for the last 20 years.

[mikey553]

Nice work. Is it cost effective? Depends on if you have the stock laying around. For $20 you can buy a purpose made leveling pad with hard rubber bottom and built in leveling adjustment. I only mention this because you spent $10 for each swivel, and for $20 you can have a purpose made pad with no work on your part required or additional material.

The OP design is swiveling plus it has a much bigger thread. $20 leveling feet look good except they are Chinese. Have you actually seen them and looked at internals? I wonder if the supplied stud has a machined face to contact with a steel pusher plate. Most likely it is not machined and not good for fine adjustment.

The rubber appears to be thin, but it is still rubber. In case of a lathe we need to have a fine, stable adjustment, which would remain the same for years. I have never tried rubber under the feet and I am a little skeptical to the idea that it would not change long term.

[wierdscience]

Nice work. Is it cost effective? Depends on if you have the stock laying around. For $20 you can buy a purpose made leveling pad with hard rubber bottom and built in leveling adjustment. I only mention this because you spent $10 for each swivel, and for $20 you can have a purpose made pad with no work on your part required or additional material.

Those are fine, but they are only rated for 1,000lbs each and I don't like the rubber for my application. Cost isn't really the issue here, it's the flexibility to build whatever size you need to fit the application.

[wierdscience]

Good find! So how your design is supposed to work? I guess you have to add 2 nuts - one for adjusting the height and another for locking. Am I right?

Years ago I made a similar set of leveling feet for my lathe (it takes 8 of them). I just used 5/8" hex head screws with slightly modified head with 2 nuts and set the screws upside down on round steel pads. Lucky for me I found these pads among scraped parts at my former employer. For adjustment I have to hold the screw head and rotate the adjusting nut, then lock the top nut.

In the coming months I am planning to spread the feet at my lathe further apart to make the machine more stable. It would be the time to examine my design and see how it performed for the last 20 years.

I could have just as easily cut some 3"x1/4 flat bar into 3" lengths and simply welded the pads down to that for feet, but I though this looked better and it only took 20 minutes of lathe work to machine the recesses.

I this case, the machine already has threaded holes in the feet, so I'm going to thread them in from the bottom, run them up and use a thin jamb nut to lock them on top. Part of the reason I made these this way, is so the adjustment and locking can all be done just by bending over and tweaking a wrench, no need to lay on the floor. I find the older I get, the further the ground is getting away and the force of gravity seems to be increasing In the coming months I have a lathe and a mill to level and I am already planning on threading the base holes and doing the same.

[wierdscience]

That IS pretty slick!

I've done feet for my machines but have never bothered to make them with swivel style pads like you've done.

I'm liking them so far, on the machine in question, all the adjustment and locking can be done standing up. Which makes using a precision level easier when not having to jump up and down off the floor 200 times

[mikey553]

I could have just as easily cut some 3"x1/4 flat bar into 3" lengths and simply welded the pads down to that for feet, but I though this looked better and it only took 20 minutes of lathe work to machine the recesses.

I this case, the machine already has threaded holes in the feet, so I'm going to thread them in from the bottom, run them up and use a thin jamb nut to lock them on top. Part of the reason I made these this way, is so the adjustment and locking can all be done just by bending over and tweaking a wrench, no need to lay on the floor. I find the older I get, the further the ground is getting away and the force of gravity seems to be increasing In the coming months I have a lathe and a mill to level and I am already planning on threading the base holes and doing the same.

Got it. It never occurred to me that some machines have threaded holes in the their feet. My lathe has just straight through holes.

It is too late now and I am changing the design anyway. It will use 2 x 2 x 1/4 angles under machine stands to spread the feet further apart. The existing leveling feet will be reused. The fun part is how you would adjust them, there are 8 of them. I do not remember how I did that 20 years ago, probably not correctly. Will try to do a better job this time.

[BCRider]

I'm liking them so far, on the machine in question, all the adjustment and locking can be done standing up. Which makes using a precision level easier when not having to jump up and down off the floor 200 times

....I find the older I get, the further the ground is getting away and the force of gravity seems to be increasing

Added the last line from your earlier post and I'm nodding in total agreement.

And I totally read you loud and clear on the distance and changing effects of gravity ! ! ! ! ! !

[Tundra Twin Track]

I'm liking them so far, on the machine in question, all the adjustment and locking can be done standing up. Which makes using a precision level easier when not having to jump up and down off the floor 200 times

Nice job, that’s a great feature having adjustment from the top!

[Bob Engelhardt]

[...]
Not bad for $10/each, [...] some long 3/4-10 setscrews for studs. [...]

Nice! But in the interest of full disclosure, let me add that those set screws are $5 EACH (at McM-C)