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Old 03-07-2013, 09:20 AM
MetalShaper MetalShaper is offline
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Default how to level a 8x15' fixture/surface plate?

I am in the process of building a fixture/surface plate.It is getting blanchard ground and the sides cut and squared.I am going to build a table for it to sit on when it gets delivered to my shop.What have you guys done in the past to level it out.My plan is to bolt it down to my table and it will most likely need to be shimmed between table and plate and then obvioulsy leveled with feet.But with a table beind 15' long and 8 feet wide and being ground i want to be as accurate as possible.Any suggestions appreciated.
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Old 03-07-2013, 10:01 AM
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How thick is the plate?
What sort of tolerance are you hoping for?

A steel plate that size is going to move around and change every day I would think. A twenty degree temp change over fifteen feet will shrink or expand 1/4".
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Old 03-07-2013, 10:23 AM
hb_newton hb_newton is offline
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Richard,

I think you might be off by a decimal place. A 20 degree F change will only expand or shrink 0.023" over 15 feet. The metal (steel) will expand (or contract) by 0.0000065 inches per inch per degree.
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Old 03-07-2013, 11:38 AM
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I stand corrected
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:15 PM
route56wingnut route56wingnut is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hb_newton View Post
Richard,

I think you might be off by a decimal place. A 20 degree F change will only expand or shrink 0.023" over 15 feet. The metal (steel) will expand (or contract) by 0.0000065 inches per inch per degree.

What are you some kind of a Rocket Sceintist or something
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:22 PM
bmikkalson bmikkalson is offline
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I use a .0005" per 6" level to set up my lathe, with climate change in the winter- summer etc the concrete moves and throws it way off. What you making that you need such precision? At school we have a table that floats on air to keep it "perfect"
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:58 PM
hb_newton hb_newton is offline
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Or something.... for sure. Thanks Dan.
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Old 03-07-2013, 01:47 PM
Ron Naida Ron Naida is offline
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Surveyors transit.,

You can be as accurate as the cross hair line thickness
is viewed over the story pole line.
Good for leaving set up in a corner and checking chassis as parts are
installed .

I spent years building swimming pools using a transit none had any water running out one end.

True level is when those fountains have water running off all sides in a sheet at the same time.
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Old 03-07-2013, 01:48 PM
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I will ask the same question asked by Richard, How thick is the surface plate. When I set up pool tables I use good quality playing cards for shims and the support base is wood. Temperature and humidity will cause movement as stated above. I use a precision machinist level, .0005" per foot.
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Old 03-07-2013, 01:58 PM
bobadame bobadame is offline
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I have a 6' x12' table that's covered with a sheet of 1/2" 6061. There are 18 pads under the aluminum plate. In the center of each pad there is a 1/2-13 threaded hole. The top is bolted down with flat head screws. On either side of each 1/2" bolt there are 3/8 16 jack screws. First I leveled the table frame then leveled the top with a .0005"/foot precision level.
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