Should every machine tool be bolted to a concrete floor?

Wooden workshop and wood/MDF floor at this end. My quite heavy WARCO BH600G is bolted to its stand which is in turned bolted to a length of kitchen worktop which acted as a skid when I first installed the lathe and is still in place. The lathe feet at the rear are "braced" to the wooden wall with 2x lengths of !/2" x 1/8" MS strip mainly to reduce any topple effect.

All was OK until a few months ago when I strapped a slightly of centre casting to the face plate for machining. It would have been OK but I had forgotten to reduce the speed from fast to slow range. In the split second it took me to stop the lathe I came very close to a trouser job.

So if you have a concrete floor I would say bolt it down as one day you - like me - may forget as well

Rik

None of my machines are bolted down. My South Bend 10K lathe, Rong Fu RF45 mill, and my tool & cutter grinder are on casters. My table saw and band saw are on mobile bases.

My garage is not a dedicated workshop and is used for different applications and therefore my lathe and mill are on casters so they can be moved out of the way.

My lathe is a 9" Southbend, similar to the Australian Hercus. The Hercus was used in mobile army workshops in WW2, often where they were not on concrete floors and because they have a very rigid base frame and the mounting instructions were to only bolt down the head end of the lathe and leave the tail loose. Virtually a 3 point mounting which would not twist the bed.

I also have an RF45 mill which is mobile. The support frame casters are spaced wide apart for stability so no problem with overturning and movement from vibrations.

My little 4x6 bandsaw is even more portable as it is mounted on a milk crate and carried to move.

Paul.

Edited By Paul Lousick on 07/08/2018 08:17:17

20' container. New Zealand Lamb ribbed aluminium flooring. Custom chipboard flooring on top.

Boxford lathe & shaper, Tom Senior M1 mill, all sitting on 4 x 2" welded together box section steel, lifting each machine 4" up in height (i'm tall). None of them bolted to the floor. No problems in 11 years of use.