Want to see pictures of your benchtop lathe stand

I'm using a husky box. It was on sale a few weeks ago for $150. Add in some 1x1 box tubing and bolts to reinforce/level and I'm happy with it. It sits lower than the HF boxes, so I left the casters on and added a leveling frame.
 

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So many great ideas. I too like the idea of the HF end cabs(I've been wanting a couple for a year but with the price going up all the time I've gone a different route). I think I'd have to put a mid box in between them as the drawers are small and it surprising how quickly you run of of space. I love the idea of a drop in the middle for removable chip pan and Frank's dashboard. On the local CL there was several Craftman workbenches with built in drawers for cheap and that's the route I went for my 9x20. Good storage, cheap and sturdy but probably too short for OP's. Good thing is the bottom drawer is deep and can hold the different chucks.
 
Get an old steel desk. They can sometimes be found for free to just to haul them away. Both counties where I live (Fresno and Tulare) have old metal desks in their surplus sales for $30 to $60. An old wood desk would also work. I have an old wood desk (free to haul it away) that I put wheels on that I use as a movable work bench in my garage/shop. Lots of storage with different size drawers. You can also add movable shelves in the footwell for more storage.
 
I just cast a rebar reinforced 60mm thick concrete top for a 36" tool trolley. I figured for a lathe it needed rigidity to make levelling possible. Now to buy the lathe :)296672

The rebar is in a bow-tie shape to increase strength against twisting. I cast it in cheap melamine.
 
It's not only solid, but also massive enough to give some nice vibration damping! Nicely finished edges, too. Do you plan to drill the concrete for the lathe mounting bolts?
 
Mine is a byproduct of times past. It is a restaurant kitchen table that was retired once stainless steel became mandatory. You can still find the stainless version at local auctions when a restaurant closes down. I don't have a spec sheet, but 600 lbs seems to work on mine!

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Slid a toolbox down under on the 1 half & house the accessories under the other half.
 
hman said:
Do you plan to drill the concrete for the lathe mounting bolts?
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Thanks. It is held in from the bottom with a couple of concrete screws. I will drill the concrete for the lathe mounting bolts though I will probably epoxy in threaded studs rather than through bolt. Much less messy inside the cabinet and I'd have a layer of foam rubber in the sandwich, which I hope will further reduce vibrations, which would simply compress.

The edges were bevelled with a flap disk. They work well on moderately green concrete.
 
francist said:
I like the feel of a wooden bench, especially with a heavy top. 2-1/2" thick aged Douglas fir on a trestle base that can knock down if needed. Didn't want to fuss with drawers myself, so went the tool box route. I didn't want to lose the functionality of the top of the box though, so in addition to the drawers sliding, I put the whole chest on heavy duty full extension slides. I also put a full-width strip of 1/4" plate across the front, kind of like a dashboard, that is handy for small lathes that don't have a lot of real estate to attach indicator stands to.

-frank

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Hello! I know this was quite some time ago, but do you recall what load rating the drawer slides were?
 
Alec Jam said:
Hello! I know this was quite some time ago, but do you recall what load rating the drawer slides were?
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Hmmm, yes that was a while ago for sure. You know I can’t be positive anymore but I think they may have been these ones…

200 lb Slides - Lee Valley Tools

Discover the 200 Lb Slides. Buy this product now on our Lee Valley online store.
www.leevalley.com www.leevalley.com

I just went downstairs and measured them — when collapsed they are 2” tall by 1/2” thick — so you can maybe base your choices on that? I notice all the various load ratings at the Lee Valley site have different slide dimensions, so that may be the easiest way to tell. I do think that I bought them there though.

Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the amount of weight that “a few pieces of tooling” can add up to. It’s surprising, really. My slides are still working well for me though, so that’s about all I can add. Good luck.

-frank
 
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