Lathe Bench and Tool storage

[madmatt41]

Thanks everyone. Since my lathe is in my wood shop full of scrap wood and I would have to buy steel, I’m definitely leaning towards a wooden bench. I really like, and am in need of something like the harbor freight tool boxes. I think I might do that for tool storage.

 

[Nogoingback]

The US General (HF) boxes are well made and good value for money. You can't go wrong with them.

 

[Larry$]

All I can add to this discussion is: rigidity and mass help! Rigidity requirement is relative to the size of the lathe. Mass helps any machine absorb and reduces vibrations that may affect to quality of the cut or the unbalance that can be tolerated. The faster something spins the greater the unbalance affect. I've mounted some castings on a face plate that were totally out of balance and just ran slow enough to keep my lathe happy. Some parts have operations that can be run on either the lathe or mill. Wood is less stable than iron.

 

[matthewsx]

This thread got me thinking about a replacement for the stock stand I have. Be nice to have something with more accessible storage especially in my small shop.

Driving home today I spotted the beginning of what I hope will be that stand. It’s even made in Taiwan like my lathe, would work as is for a mini lathe but I’ve got a 12x36.



John

 

[jwmay]

I use a modified trailer tongue jack to lift it high enough for a set of 6" casters and load it into a trailer at the end of every job.

Wait, wait, wait! Stop the train! You're saying you move that things from job to job? You're some kind of traveling machinist?
A: I may have just found my newest hero.
And 2: Bravo! I love that!

Sorry to the OP. I was fairly well in awe of Firstrams mobile setup, and just had to say so. I'm feeling kinda sheepish about the Husky toolbox my own lathe sits on. It would never tolerate being moved like that. But it serves to gently ease my tiny 300 pound lathe out of the way when necessary.

 

[Firstram]

Wait, wait, wait! Stop the train! You're saying you move that things from job to job? You're some kind of traveling machinist?

Everything I own gets loaded into a 36' Great Dane trailer until the next job. I work in the film business doing Special Effects and I supply the shop/fabrication package. We set up shop 2-3 times a year!

 

[woodchucker]

Work in progress.
Very rigid X-braced steel frame thats 1" larger than the footprint of the lathe (with the handles removed). I cut down a 30" deep 10 drawer card file for storage. I use a modified trailer tongue jack to lift it high enough for a set of 6" casters and load it into a trailer at the end of every job. I have spindle bearings, MJSK VFD system and the inverter duty motor waiting for installation but my job is really starting to get in the way!


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edit: I just read your response to jwmay no need to respond. Just found this thread.. missed it last week.. Not sure how I miss so many threads..
this was a good one.. and to all those that did show their setups I enjoyed seeing what everyone has... I'll have to go take some pics..

nice wheels and jack. You move this into a trailer at the end of each job ??? Holy cow... that's a lot of work. And sought of dangerous to you and your lathe... I feel for you... stay safe... Do you level it each time you bring it out?

 

[Firstram]

nice wheels and jack. You move this into a trailer at the end of each job ??? Holy cow... that's a lot of work. And sought of dangerous to you and your lathe... I feel for you... stay safe... Do you level it each time you bring it out?

I'll start a thread one of these days, staying mobile definitely adds $$ and stress to every new purchase.
The lathe rolls like butter and my trailer has a 6600 lb lift gate so it's pretty easy, most of the time we're backed up to a loading dock. I sort of level the stand each time but, it's so stiff it doesn't seem to have much affect on bed twist. The bed is adjustable but, I haven't checked it in a while.
Every tool I own has a stand or cage around it that can be strapped to a wall or other tools. Some of them are just wedged in place by the surrounding tools. The Bridgeport is the only tricky part of the move. It takes up so much floor space and it is hard to safely fill the voids around it.

 

[francist]

@Firstram I think it would be really interesting for a lot members to see how you do all of that. Even just a small series of photos whenever you set up or tear down from a job would be really neat to see. I end up working loosely with the film industry sometimes too, but on the receiving end (ie: the location) and I always love looking at the really specialized gear and how finely tuned everything is.
On a slightly related note, we used to have a mobile machinist here in town a few years ago (like late 1990’s) and I actually hired him at my work a couple times. Everything in a big box truck, very neat and really efficient. Don’t know what happened to him though, maybe moved on for more work. Was the first time I’d ever seen a chin-operated lens on a welding helmet — I thought that was the coolest thing!

-frank

 

[larry4406]

@Firstram I think it would be really interesting for a lot members to see how you do all of that. Even just a small series of photos whenever you set up or tear down from a job would be really neat to see. I end up working loosely with the film industry sometimes too, but on the receiving end (ie: the location) and I always love looking at the really specialized gear and how finely tuned everything is.
On a slightly related note, we used to have a mobile machinist here in town a few years ago (like late 1990’s) and I actually hired him at my work a couple times. Everything in a big box truck, very neat and really efficient. Don’t know what happened to him though, maybe moved on for more work. Was the first time I’d ever seen a chin-operated lens on a welding helmet — I thought that was the coolest thing!

-frank

Agreed!

Frankly I was surprised to hear that move sets needed lathes and a milling machine to support the shoot!