# what's the best material to put under a benchtop lathe?



## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

I'm looking for ideas on what material to use under my soon to arrive mini lathe, it weighs about 120 lbs. I have a wooden workbench 5' long with a 2" thick (cutting board)  top, that's one option but then if I use it I'll need to make another workbench to work on.
Another choice is to put on a tool box 24"x 48",   32" high with HD casters, if this is a better choice, what sound absorbing material should I use for the top ? styrofoam? rubber? or make it out of wood ? 
Any ideas?


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## Ulma Doctor (Jul 1, 2017)

the toolbox idea is cool for tool storage as well as a work platform.
a plate of surplus steel on top of the tool box would make a very nice surface to mount the lathe.
a hardwood top would work also in a pinch for a small lathe
i'd like to see what you come up with


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## wrmiller (Jul 1, 2017)

For my SB1001 (8x18?) lathe I used a 40" Craftsman toolbox. I stained a 3/4" piece of plywood cut to fit the top of the box, and I put a couple of small 3/8" steel plates between the lathe and plywood to distribute the weight a bit so the lathe wouldn't compress the plywood.

And as Mike said, the toolbox is a great place to store your lathe tooling.


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

Mike, I myself like the idea of using the big tool box , a steel plate is not a bad option, the  drawback of using metal is it may multiply the noise , it could work though  if a thin layer of rubber is used underneath the plate. 

Thanks for the suggestion,


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## wrmiller (Jul 1, 2017)

FYI, the wood under the small metal plates seemed to prevent any unwanted noises. At least I don't remember hearing any. My lathe was belt drive so it was pretty quiet.


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

Bill, you must have posted as I was typing , yeah the tool box sounds more and more feasable, never thought of sandwiching a steel plate between two layers of plywood. very doable.thanks.


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## wrmiller (Jul 1, 2017)

I didn't sandwich the steel plates. The plywood was put on top of the toolbox, and the small steel plates went between the lathe's bed feet and the plywood to better distribute the weight. That lathe I am talking about was over twice the weight of yours (about 300lbs.).


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## francist (Jul 1, 2017)

I like a wood surface, but that could come from many years at my woodworking bench and just liking the qualities of it. With my small Atlas lathe I have it mounted on a 3" thick Douglas fir top -- an old fireplace mantle salvage-- that's really nice. 

One drawback I immediately noticed though, is that with a wooden surface there is no place to stick a mag holder for indicator stands! Fortunately, I had put steel plate insets under the feet ends so I could use those. I had also designed in a kind of front ledge for more clearance under the hand wheels and had surfaced that with steel as well. I call it my dashboard, and it works well and doubles as a place for an indicator. It's not ideal though, there are some "blind spots" (especially around the back) where I wish I could stick a mag every now and again. 

So in retrospect, I would build a wood top again hands down no problem, but I would give more thought to insetting steel for the magnet aspect. It's easy to think, oh I can just just stick the mag to the machine itself, but on a small lathe 
like an Atlas it's pretty tough sometimes.

-frank


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

francist said:


> I like a wood surface, I would build a wood top again hands down no problem, but I would give more thought to insetting steel for the magnet aspect. It's easy to think, oh I can just just stick the mag to the machine itself.
> -frank


Great point, I like the idea of using a steel plate (on the plywood) even more, if you could see my shop, I have magnets all over the place, on the drill press, mill, tool box, etc. I attach  allen keys,wrenches whatever,  to them, now for the lathe I'm sure I will want to use magnets for all kind of uses.


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## Laytonnz (Jul 1, 2017)

I had my lathe on a rather poorly built stand it came with, I was getting chatter and vibration.

I decided to make a new bench from scrap I had around its made from 8mm angle iron and 8mm pipe, 18mm plywood top and a 12mm steel plate under the lathe, some old drawers from work and some scrap galvanized iron.. 

Mass = good, the bench has 4 leveling bolts in the bottom no more chatter or movement, it must weigh more then the lathe!

Not the best but it was the right price. 





Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## gregc (Jul 1, 2017)

I have a pn1228 and got a Milwaukee rolling work bench.  It weighs almost 400# alone.  A 1.5 " wood top. I wanted mobility as I have limited space.  It has worked fine except it is not as stable on wheels so there going to be jacks add  soon 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

Nelson, you made a solid table , you do need something like that for that top heavy mill/lathe, it looks like you also bolted  the steel plate to the plywood, That's what I'll have to do.thanks for the pic.


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

gregc said:


> I have a pn1228 and got a Milwaukee rolling work bench.  It weighs almost 400# alone.  A 1.5 " wood top. I wanted mobility as I have limited space.  It has worked fine except it is not as stable on wheels so there going to be jacks add  soon
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'd love to see what levelers or jacks you'll put under that bench.


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## mikey (Jul 1, 2017)

I agree with the other guys that the tool chest idea is a good one - tool storage, mobility, good height. I would use MDF and seal it. MDF is more stable than plywood re moisture and I think I would laminate two pieces of 3/4" MDF together, seal it and then put a 1/4" plate of mild steel on top of that. 

I would also make two levelers for the headstock and tailstock, like this:




This is the arrangement Emco uses and it makes for very quick leveling. 

Congrats on the new lathe, Ken. Pics are obligatory, right?


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## hman (Jul 1, 2017)

I've had pretty good results from double thicknesses of ¾" MDF, glued together and sealed with shellac.


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 1, 2017)

MDF it is.
 That leveller will also work Mike, thanks for the diagram.
Pics will be on the way once I receive my lathe and set it up , looking forward to cleaning the cosmoline


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## bfd (Jul 2, 2017)

ken this is drill chuck bill. good thing your getting a lathe. the toolbox I used is from sears. do you have them in the frozen north? the box was from their gladiator collection 5 drawers much heavier duty then their normal boxes. the local sears is going out of business and I got a 25% discount. still have another sears nearby bill converse with me if you need help with your lathe bill


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## kd4gij (Jul 2, 2017)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-46...-with-Solid-Wood-Top-Black-7440946R/206839475


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 2, 2017)

bfd said:


> ken this is drill chuck bill. good thing your getting a lathe. the toolbox I used is from sears. do you have them in the frozen north? the box was from their gladiator collection 5 drawers much heavier duty then their normal boxes. the local sears is going out of business and I got a 25% discount. still have another sears nearby bill converse with me if you need help with your lathe bill


Hey drill chuck Bill,good to hear from you.
I do have a solidly built cabinet with heavy duty casters ,stainless steel handle ,,it is for sure capable of carrying  a lathe and easily be moved around, all it needs right now is a solid MDF top and a steel plate to be officially called a lathe rolling cabinet.here's a picture of it I found on Google, I don't have the top tool box, only the bottom cabinet :


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## Veronica Stator (Jul 14, 2017)

I would never claim this was necessary, but I built a steel bench topped with 3/16" steel plate for my PM1022V. The mass really helps damp vibration (the bench weighs about #400 by itself) and a steel work surface is really nice for mag bases and such. I didn't find it amplified noise at all, but I also have a wooden shelf under it filled with plastic bins full of stuff. That may help dampen noise. Another good trick is to glue MDF under the steel to dampen sound. Again though, I don't find it noisy at all. 

http://quinndunki.com/blondihacks/?p=2973


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## Calixt0 (Jul 15, 2017)

do any of you with these "desktop" lathes find the need to level them.. working on a logan 10x27 (43") bed that is a bench top model.. redoing the cart its on as the wheels are handy with my limited space right now!


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## mikey (Jul 15, 2017)

You will need to "level" the lathe, regardless of the surface it rests on. When we speak of leveling a lathe, we are actually speaking of getting the two ends of the lathe co-planar so that there is no twist in the bed. A precision level will read the same at the headstock and tailstock ends, even if the lathe itself is not level with respect to the surface it sits on. So yes, you need to "level" the lathe.


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