Bolted or Feet?

Milling machine stand, would you bolt it to concrete floor, use anti vibration feet or stand it on wood blocks?

It's a Warco WM16 stand, and won't be getting moved once in.

I have my Gh universal on feet. If you decide to bolt yours down use shims to get it as level as possible to avoid distorting the frame.

To my mind that stand is too narrow. Barely a foot wide. Needs bolting down.

Oversimplifying the magic number for cupboard or tilt stability is 2 ft or maybe 18" if its not got serious weight on top. Anything significantly under really isn't stable unless restrained. Personally I'd DIY something of similar width to the table.

Perhaps bolt a couple of two drawer filing cabinets together with a strong shelf above (kitchen worktop?) to hold the mill and a stash drawer for lightweight stuff between cabinet tops and splash-tray. Filing cabinet drawers hold lots of weight so good for tools et al. make half depth lift out trays, two or three to a drawer, for lighter stuff.

Clive

PS So I'm pussy. Seeing Bridgeport dropped sideways off a pallet truck leaves blasting impression!

Once saw big bandsaw topple sideways off a pallet. It was Scary and it did not improve the machine either,so I can imagine what it did for the Bridgeport.

Dont like narrow bases on any machines,so I would think about increasing its footprint.

My Lux mill is bolted to a solid box tubing stand,but I still fixed a retaining strap from the top of the column to the back wall. Something like "Belt,braces,and safety pin "

Agreed! Mills tend to be top heavy. Then you load a heavy dividing head to one end of the table, load heavy job into it, then extend the table all the way out to the end of travel and it can tend to get a bit unstable if pushed. I'd be bolting it down just in case.

If you've not yet ordered the stand this is what I did in BB (Before Bridgeport) days. OK its a Chester Lux type so a bit larger but principle is the same. Turned out perhaps 8 inches lower than usual stand height which had me worried that it might have been too low until I used it. Didn't take long to decide that the standard cabinets are too high!

The two cabinets under the machine are bolted together. Hafta do it with wood/mdf/kitchen worktop spacer between. Metal side to metal side doesn't work well. Either rings like heck or refuses to go straight. Or both! I cut one four drawer unit down to get two two drawers.

Clive

I only have a small workshop with not a lot of floor space for a mill, lathe, press, etc. and have mounted my RF-45 mill on casters so it can be moved. The supplied mill stand has been modified with additional shelves for storage. It is very stable, even when the table is extended to one side with a load of an 8" rotary table and chuck. No distortion of the mill base or movement when machining. It weighs more than 300kg and can be moved by hand.

Paul.

I have a WM16 as well, on its stand & as stated these are too light in reality, could be sturdier at 18"square. I have mine stood on adjustable feet, levelled up then fastened to the back wall with 4 large shelf brackets, sturdy don't have pics but could post later if your interested.

George..

George.

Additional pics...

Levelling feet...

George.

I have a Chester Champion V20 mill which stands on the Chester supplied stand, the stand is bolted to the floor and the mill is bolted to the stand, when used for the first time the setup resembled a jelly and wobbled alarmingly, indicating that the stand was really too flimsy. I fitted a bracing strut between the rear of the stand and the wall behind, it certainly improved things but it’s on my list to make a substantial steel framed stand when time permits me. I certainly wouldn’t balance a heavy mill on a narrow cabinet stand unless it was firmly bolted to the stand and the stand to the floor.

Dave W

Just to sidetrack the thread slightly (sorry) - where is a good source for decent adjustable feet? I only seem able to find very flimsy pastic ones, or ridiculously expensive ones that would hold several tons.

TIA

The set of four supporting my (unbolted) 500KG lathe came from Warco.

Incidentally, that weight does not include the ballast I have loaded into the cabinet.

Thanks ega - odd that the most expensive ones have a lesser load capacity than the cheaper versions.

This stand is the improved one, 13" x 17" footprint. I'll use feet, brace it to the wall and add ballast as suggested though. Thanks fellas.

Edited By Paul Ainsworth on 26/04/2019 19:48:44