Well before the days of the Bible stories it was clearly understood that without sound foundations, even the grandest building would surely fall.  That is not less true today and is equally true of machinery as of buildings.  Wivamac lathes are very well equipped to avoid any such disasters!  The DB1000 and 1200 models incorporate very substantial support stands whilst the DB800/801 is designed to sit stably on a bench or other client-devised support arrangement (although a substantial purpose-designed stand can be supplied as an option).

Let's take a look "from the ground up". The DB1000 & DB1200 are mounted on an A-Frame stand of substantial section (see photo at head of DB1000 page) giving excellent stability within a small footprint.  Provision is also made for bolting this stand to the workshop floor for even greater robustness.  The same stand can be specified for delivery  as an optional extra with the DB800/801 lathes.  The latest version of this stand configuration features adjustable leg length (up to 2" / 50 mm) to provide both height adjustment and easy levelling on uneven workshop floors.

The bed itself is fabricated from heavy-section laser-profiled steel plate, generously cross-braced.  It is deep in section to resist the loads imposed on the bed by the turning activity, yet relatively slim in the lightly-loaded front-to-rear plane to maintain easy access.  The top surfaces of the bed are plated with substantial, 15 mm thick, flat bar stock which also provides the clamping lip and a smooth surface upon which the toolrest bracket, tailstock and headstock can be moved with ease, yet locked with the action of a single hand.

Many lathes are designed around easily obtained round tubes and bars since these are easily built into a lathe but they are the opposite of what is required in terms of the structural stiffness of a lathe bed.  For the technically-minded, such beds place the bulk of the material on the neutral axis of the bed where it has least effect on its stiffness: the deep structural section bed of the Wivamac lathes places the material where it can be employed to best effect, well away from the neutral axis, in the top and bottom flanges of the bed.  This provides yet another simple insight into our assertion that these are lathes designed with care by a company that cares about turning and understands engineering.  Quality is the watchword.

The stand is rigidly bolted to the bed assembly but can be removed for transport whenever this may be required.  Lathes are normally delivered with the stand separate for assembly by the user, saving cost in transport and easing manhandling the lathe to its installation location.  (We must not pretend that these lathes are lightweights - they are not.  You'll need a pal or two to get the lathe installed without too much grunting!)  Of course the DB800/801 is designed for bench mounting so these particular notes do not apply there, unless the optional A-frame stand is specified.

The A-frame stand has now been adopted as the standard supply for the DB1000 and DB1200 lathes following extensive field testing and operation.  This stand is very heavily built and is capable of carrying any of the lathes in our range, from the DB801 to the DB1200, exemplifying the very solid nature of its construction.  Whilst a pedestal stand is available as an option for the DB1200, the A-frame stand in no way compromises the strength and rigidity of this substantial machine.  It is simply that Willy Vanhoutte tries hard to please his customers, whatever they might request - to which our list of "specials" supplied bears adequate testament.