Leveling a lathe

[SLOB]

I think he means sighting through the open headstock to see the tailstock/center moving.

[robk]

That is exactly what I meant. Sorry for the confusion.

[hdwarner]

lathe leveling has nothing to do with the earths level it has all to do with all axis's are perpendicular and parralel to each other and leveling is the medium in which to do.
years ago hardinge made a claim that thier cnc's could be run in any plane , upside down
side ways , whatever . becuase they were such a rigid machine.
upside down plays havoc on coolant leakage however

think of your tape measure sticking out 30 inches all twisted and turned from the starting point , imagine following that line with a tool what your work would look like

[arftist]

I almost don't want to say this, but I have no trouble holding .oo1" on my sixty plus year old south bend 16" with 5" factory riser blocks. My leblond tool and diemaker is even more acurate.