The issue with transferring the mill weight (and dynamic loads) through the stand and to the floor is that the stand should be the width of the machine base. That’s why i ended up with a stand (not including the toll box) that is over 325 pounds. If the stand was narrower it would have been soooo much easier. (contradicting what i said above) If I were doing again I’d start with a much narrower tool box. In my 20/20 vision hindsight, I’d use a pair of side tool boxes (KMS TBS4007X 7 drawer side tool box on sale, see below link, price $350). The mill would sit on one on the right which would be framed with angle iron. The power X feed would me over the box on the left. I’d also remove the bottom drawer to reduce the height of the box the mill sits on.
KMS's own Bynford Pro line of tool boxes are an excellent choice for both quality and price. They include high-end features like 18 gauge construction, ball-bearing slides and liners. This tool box is also available in blackBall bearing slidesAttaches to
www.kmstools.com
Here’s a couple more pics of my stand build. The mill sits on 4 pads (shims) that are machined to the required thickness so that when bolting the mill base to the stand the bolt tightening does not warp the mill base. This is an important step. (Thanks
@Susquatch for the shim idea.) I lowered the stand onto the tool box and then welded them together (in pic I’m using my tractor mounted winch to lower the stand over the box).