To start off I am not a tall or smart man. I am thinking about lowering the machine a couple of inches so that it is level with other machines in my shop and I am trying to figure out if it will be a bad solution to shorten the legs by a couple inches and still use the leveling feet for adjustment etc. or is that not a good idea.
My thoughts are to take a couple inches off each leg and then of course re level the whole machine which I need to do anyway (a multi month home renovation project has been going on and the machine hasn’t been used)
I guess I am just looking to see if this is a monumental bad idea or has this been done before.
I don’t see a problem with cutting the legs down. Note that the bottom ends have threaded holes so you may have to tap them deeper (and at least clean the threads at the newly cut end) and/or use shorter bolts for the foot plates. I wouldn’t want to cut from the top unless you’re prepared to re-machine the counterbores for the anchors.
Another option would be to find a different leveling foot that maybe bolts to the t-slots on the side rather than under the leg. That might buy you enough difference without making any cuts. And consider a single layer of spoilboard for another 3/4" drop. Or weld up some steel Z-plates to offset the mounting of the stock leveling foot. Lots of options if you have time.
I wouldn’t mind taking 4 inches off it would be a little easier loading sheet goods!! My machine is already built it’s a pain to do now. Yes its been done before…
One way to increase rigidity of the legs is to reduce the height but keep the same bracing. It could reduce the long period waves in the base of the machine.
I have a growing problem with my machine slowly separating at the splices in the table top. I have about a millimeter of of gap now and I was planning to get more legs and put more braces between them.
I noticed that the newer PRO60120 machines even have an extra set of legs that my kit did not come with. Probably for this exact reason.
So I could see shorter legs and more bracing as a positive.
Thanks so much for the replies! The feedback gives me the confidence to go ahead and shorten it up. I’ll let you guys know how it goes. I’m sure somebody has already done it and is saying I’m kind of just weird for needing some type of support system to do it. Lol thanks again.
Why not make holes on the ground for the amount you want it shortened and in the same time make fixture to help hold the machine and increase rigidity, as the machine remains intact in case you want to sell it in the future. Just a thought. I did bolt mine to the ground helped with vibrations.
Why not just build a platform in front of the machine? Put a ramp in front of the platform if you are concerned with tripping on a step. Cheap, fast and easy.
I guess I should’ve said from the start that I’m lowering it so that it’s the same height as my tablesaw so that I can use all of it as a outfeed table because I’m in a two car garage with a lot of equipment. Lol
I added thick rubber below the legs for damping the vibrations, then added big bolts for helping with leveling which I welded directly, then I added some fixtures on place which I manually located with points, drilled and attached. You can see cutting edge enginering australia on Youtube, he shows the process of leveling his machines.