[How do I?] Help With Building A Stand For Lathe

intjonmiller said:
Excellent point! I should have taken photos of the process I used for making adjustable feet for the last plywood constructed machine stand I made. That was for a radial arm saw that needed to be not only stable, but perfectly in-line with the miter saw station immediately next to it. Their fences are inline and tables coplanar, so adjustable feet were critical.

I used 3/8" bolts, of which I have a tremendous number due to a bulk purchase from a closeout place for next to nothing a couple years ago. I have bolts of different lengths, regular and jam nuts, couplers, bushings, etc., all in 3/8"-16, so the choice of hardware was obvious for me. Fortunately the couplers are 9/16" at their narrowest point (designed for that size wrench), which is a nice fit within 3/4" plywood. I drilled a 1/2" hole with a forstner bit into the plywood, then used a simple jig with a 1/2"-3/8" bushing, a bolt, and a coupler to align the coupler with the hole, traced the shape of the coupler with a marking knife, then chiseled out the hexagonal shape very quickly. Couldn't be much easier.

I used four 3/4" plywood pucks, about 3" in diameter, with 3/4" diameter depressions drilled into the center, 1/4" deep, to receive the head of the bolt that I put in each adjustable foot assembly. That conforms slightly to the irregular surface of my shop floor, distributes the load from the cabinet/stand, and leaves just enough of the head of the bolt exposed to fit a wrench for adjustments. When the level is set a nut (spun on before assembly) is tightened against the coupler above, which is held stationary in its plywood home. It took about an hour to do all the cutting, drilling, chiseling, and assembly, and no more than 10 minutes to level it.
Click to expand...

Yes, definitely plan to incorporate some leveling feet I have lying around. I do a ton of woodworking so this should be a simple enough build for me. Hoping to knock it out this long weekend and get the lathe up and running.
 
I'm not very far ahead of you on the lathe learning curve. I've been reading and watching youtube and generally studying for several years. My Logan lathe essentially fell in my lap just this year.

In all the reading I've done, including the lathe book in the Workshop Practice Series, the Logan lathe manual, and the South Bend "How to Operate a Lathe" title, the single most helpful for me has been the Atlas lathe book, Manual of Lathe Operations. There are plenty of sections that you could skip as they apply specifically to oldschool lathes like mine, and I have skipped sections about materials I don't expect to ever use, like early plastics (though perhaps for pipes there's still interest in bakelite??), but it explained so much in such a straightforward manner that I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn, regardless of their specific equipment. I mean right from the start, where it explains that all metalworking operations (other than forging, smithing, and welding) is done with cold chisels, just put it all in perspective for me. A metalcutting bandsaw is a chain of tiny cold chisels. The tool on my lathe is a cold chisel. End mills are rotating cold chisels. Understanding what is happening at the scale of hundredths of an inch, at and just ahead of the tip of the tooling, is priceless.

The book is hard to find, unless you are creative or know who to ask. ;)
 
Oh, I also saw a specific youtube video this week that would be worth your time. "Improving accuracy of a chinese chuck", or something like that. Improving runout? Not very long and he covers the best practices for getting consistent results from a scroll chuck of any type, but particularly applicable to those that are not of premium grade.

If you don't have indicators yet, I would say those should be higher priority than tooling. At least a 1 or 2 inch travel dial indicator (0.001" or 0.0005" precision is fine) and a test indicator accurate to 0.0001". I like Shars, as do many other hobbyists and increasingly many businesses.
 
intjonmiller said:
I'm not very far ahead of you on the lathe learning curve. I've been reading and watching youtube and generally studying for several years. My Logan lathe essentially fell in my lap just this year.

In all the reading I've done, including the lathe book in the Workshop Practice Series, the Logan lathe manual, and the South Bend "How to Operate a Lathe" title, the single most helpful for me has been the Atlas lathe book, Manual of Lathe Operations. There are plenty of sections that you could skip as they apply specifically to oldschool lathes like mine, and I have skipped sections about materials I don't expect to ever use, like early plastics (though perhaps for pipes there's still interest in bakelite??), but it explained so much in such a straightforward manner that I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn, regardless of their specific equipment. I mean right from the start, where it explains that all metalworking operations (other than forging, smithing, and welding) is done with cold chisels, just put it all in perspective for me. A metalcutting bandsaw is a chain of tiny cold chisels. The tool on my lathe is a cold chisel. End mills are rotating cold chisels. Understanding what is happening at the scale of hundredths of an inch, at and just ahead of the tip of the tooling, is priceless.

The book is hard to find, unless you are creative or know who to ask. ;)
Click to expand...

Just found a digital copy of the book, thanks for the tip. Looks like a great beginner's guide, perfect for me.

intjonmiller said:
Oh, I also saw a specific youtube video this week that would be worth your time. "Improving accuracy of a chinese chuck", or something like that. Improving runout? Not very long and he covers the best practices for getting consistent results from a scroll chuck of any type, but particularly applicable to those that are not of premium grade.

If you don't have indicators yet, I would say those should be higher priority than tooling. At least a 1 or 2 inch travel dial indicator (0.001" or 0.0005" precision is fine) and a test indicator accurate to 0.0001". I like Shars, as do many other hobbyists and increasingly many businesses.
Click to expand...

This video?

And I will grab a couple of indicators. I plan on just doing practice pieces for the time being till I get the lathe sorted out.
 
That's the one. There are a few on the subject but his seemed to be the most complete.
 
Whoa...now that's a beauty! and a thread dial too.

Just an idea for quick n dirty adjustable feet. Round carriage bolt head swivels in large washer. Hope pic is self explanatory.
IMG_1664.JPG
IMG_1665.JPG
 
Nuther idea:
Lint free rags sold in paint departmentst (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) are really good for wiping down lathe parts.
Its the only stuff I trust for wiping critical surfaces like spindle nose and chuck mating surfaces.
 
Welcome to the group. The only suggestion that I would add is to put a sheet of metal over the wood to keep it from becoming an oil sponge.
I used a sheet of 18 ga. galvanised steel cut to size and bent down around the edges. It sure makes cleanup easier.

CHuck the grumpy old guy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top