11
Changing the spindle height:
The American Beauty has four
independently adjustable legs. Position the lathe where you are
going to use it before adjusting.
First, support one end with a jack. If you have the caster kit, use that
jack. Some car jacks will fit in the same notch. If you use a scissor
jack or hydraulic jack, use a board for extra support across the notch.
When supported, loosen the individual clamp bolts (see arrow on
picture) so that the legs will slide up and down. Raise or lower the
jack to the desired height. When you have it where you want it, be
sure the legs are touching the floor, then tighten the leg clamp bolts.
Repeat on the other end.
NOTE
: There are stop screws to keep the legs from moving too far
and letting the machine drop when the clamp bolts are loose. You
may need to reposition these screws when you adjust the legs.
“Settling” the lathe:
To prevent vibration, it is important that the
lathe’s weight is supported evenly on all four legs and that the hard
rubber foot pads are installed. After adjusting the height or moving
the lathe, you may find that the lathe is not setting evenly in its new
location. Determine which leg is short. Support that end of the lathe
with a jack, and then loosen its clamp. Slide the leg to the floor and
retighten the clamp bolt.
After all legs are touching the floor, go around the lathe and loosen
the eight bolts that hold the leg aprons to the lathe bed. Loosen the
bolts just enough to get the washers loose. Then rock the lathe as
shown in the bottom picture and let the legs settle to your floor
conditions.
You should have some movement when you do this
. If not, you have
probably exceeded the movement range of the slots the leg bolts ride
in. In that case, you will need to lengthen or shorten one or more legs
to get the slots in a range that will allow settling (see how to adjust
legs above).
When you have movement, find a spot about midway the extremes
and tighten up the bolts a little at a time – 2‐3 passes. Your lathe
should now be setting with its weight evenly distributed.
Having the lathe settled on the floor is more important than having
the lathe perfectly level. Be sure to also install the foot pads.
Supporting the lathe with a jack.
“Settling” the lathe – loosen all bolts like the two
pictured below, just until the washers are loose.
With the bolts loose, you should be able to
rock the lathe while the lathe’s feet stay on
the floor.
Clamp Bolt
Stop Screw
Stop Screw