Oneway 1224 vibration reduction

[Jim Leslie]

Curious if anyone has added weight in the tube of their 1224 in an effort to reduce vibration? Seems like a good place to do it as it would be out of site and not clutter anything up. I have everything securely bolted to the cement floor using the metal pads supplied. I have also tried it both with and without a set of rubber pads (under the metal ones) used to mount electrical equipment commercially. I thought these pads would help but empirical testing showed no difference. Oddly, the vibration seems to not be in the bench but above it - felt in the bed, hence my idea of packing the tube. There is also a particular rpm where it is particularly bad; kind of a resonant thing. I have read in other posts of this happening and with other lathes too. But it got me to thinking about topping up the (otherwise empty) tube with lead, gravel etc. Not turning big chunks of off-center wood at high speed. Maybe downsizing from big iron is all that it is too..

[Steve Peterson]

I purchased a 1224 from a couple that had 360 lbs of sand in the bottom. I used half as much, but eventually removed it without any issues. I don't have vibration issues with my lathe. Turning bowl blanks can cause some vibration, but I simple slow it down until the bowl is close to round.

It would seem like the 0.28cf of space inside the tube is too small to matter even if it was filled with lead. I calculate 160 lbs of lead or maybe 100 lbs with a solid slug of steel.

I would question if there is a bearing issue if your lathe is vibrating at certain RPMs.

[Michelle Rich]

to solve this problem with my lathes, I put them next to a wall and bolted them as high up as I could. Stops problems cold

[Steve Schlumpf]

To solve the vibration problem I experienced with my Jet, I have to go back and make sure everything was level. A very slight twist will result if one foot is higher or lower than the others and that results in vibration. I know, lathe beds should not twist - but they do. Try leveling and see if that doesn't take care of the issue for you.