# Your lathes & benches



## DavidR8 (Jan 31, 2020)

Hello all, as I get deeper and deeper into this rabit hole I seem to be accumulating more and more tooling. (Thanks @mmcmdl. @darkzero @francist @Janderso and a cast of others ;-)
So now the question is how to store it all.

For reference I have a SB 10K on a flat wooden bench with an open base. Already I know I need to add some lateral bracing to the bench so in theory that could be the beginning of drawers underneath the benchtop.
Also thinking about some sort of shelf at the back of the top to store most used items like wrenches, toolholders and the like.

I'd love to see some shots of your lathes and benches for some inspiration.


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## hman (Jan 31, 2020)

Here's what I did for my Grizzly 9x20 (since sold).  Maybe you can use some ideas! 

Front view.  Note lamp above.  Tabletop is double ¾" MDF.  Thin plywood panels attached to back side prevent left-to-right racking.  AXA tool storage above lathe, clipped onto double height DIN rail.  Other tools stored on shelf below AXA tool holders and in drawers mounted below tabletop.



Note heavy (black) angle brackets between legs and top support.  This reinforces front face of frame to prevent racking.



Knee action caster plates both ends - lowered for mobility, raised for rigidity.  Aluminum handles attached to front of tabletop are salvaged from a "road find" carpenter's level.




"Lazy Susan" chuck and faceplate storage



Back view


Note - grey object taped to garage door is not part of lathe.


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## DavidR8 (Jan 31, 2020)

Thanks @hman, that's a very well thought out setup. Really like the lazy susan idea.


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## francist (Jan 31, 2020)

Two lathes, two benches, slightly different approaches. I dislike anything on shelves or walls behind the machine, so all my tools and things I want to reach for are all either below or off the end. Nothing lives on the bench surface itself other than the machine. I also find steel “dashboards” very useful for sticking mag bases.


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## mmcmdl (Jan 31, 2020)

I'm not so sure you would want to see my area at this point , even if I could get to it !


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## DavidR8 (Jan 31, 2020)

Thanks @francist I relly like the metal dashboard idea and the undermounted toolbox on drawer slide. Brilliant that!
And the lathe as an indoor conversation piece, well I think you've got us all topped! Beautiful!


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## middle.road (Jan 31, 2020)

francist said:


> Two lathes, two benches, slightly different approaches. I dislike anything on shelves or walls behind the machine, so all my tools and things I want to reach for are all either below or off the end. Nothing lives on the bench surface itself other than the machine. I also find steel “dashboards” very useful for sticking mag bases.
> 
> View attachment 312112
> 
> ...


What does Honey/SO say about swarf in the carpet?


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## eugene13 (Jan 31, 2020)

Here's what I've done for my 12X40


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## DavidR8 (Jan 31, 2020)

@eugene13 That's very tidy and well thought out!


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## Winegrower (Jan 31, 2020)

Francist, thanks for reminding me I need to get a nice oriental rug for the shop.


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## FanMan (Jan 31, 2020)

I mounted my 6x18 on top of the wooden cabinet I got with my mill a few years earlier.  I added a modified and bent drip tray from the  local auto parts on top, and some 2x6's on the bottom with leveling feet to give it more  stability.


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## darkzero (Jan 31, 2020)

That's pretty cool @FanMan. I've seen people use drip pans as a chip pan but never seen anyone use one to make a backsplash. Nice job. I too had my old mini lathe sitting on a drip pan but later changed to a pet cage pan.

I'd post pics but my setup won't help David any with ideas & not nearly as great as all the setups already posted.


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## francist (Jan 31, 2020)

middle.road said:


> What does Honey/SO say about swarf in the carpet?


Well not much, actually. One of the perks of living alone is I can do whatever I want...


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## Cadillac (Jan 31, 2020)

Sorry for the mess the cleaning lady hasn’t stopped by in awhile


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## Cadillac (Jan 31, 2020)

francist said:


> Well not much, actually. One of the perks of living alone is I can do whatever I want...



Funny I just got yelled at before dinner by the wife/warden. She found this in the carpet and had to save to show me.


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## Titanium Knurler (Jan 31, 2020)

hman said:


> Here's what I did for my Grizzly 9x20 (since sold).



Wow, very nice hman; I bet it was tough to get rid of it after all that work. The knee action caster plates are very clever.  It looks like you even had a place for a roll of toilet paper.  I assume that is to be used after those “near misses” we all have from time to time.

DavidR8, this is what I did with mine:


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## darkzero (Jan 31, 2020)

@Titanium Knurler So you've been learning how to time travel from ThisOldTony & Clickspring? Looks like you got your own flux capacitor! Mine blew up & I tried to buy a new one from O'Reilly's but they've been out of stock.   

I know I know, looks like a doggy/cat door but at first glance....


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## Titanium Knurler (Jan 31, 2020)

Wow, you’re good Will. The Delorean quit running so I installed it’s flux capacitor in my shop.  I just throw a banana peel in it occasionally and it runs the shop for weeks-1.2 Gigawatts goes a long way if you use sharp tools.

Actually, we have a miniature Dachshund(don’t laugh) that likes to hang out with me at the shop.  I installe a door that senses the magnet on her collar and opens automatically as she walks up the little ramp I made for her. She can then go in and out as she likes.  The white stuff is snow.


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## darkzero (Jan 31, 2020)

Titanium Knurler said:


> Wow, you’re good. The Delorean quite running so I installed it in my shop.  I just throw a banana peel in it occasionally and it runs the shop for weeks-1.2 Gigawatts goes a long way if you use sharp tools.
> 
> Actually, we have a miniature Dachshund(don’t laugh) that likes to hang out with me at the shop.  I installed an automatic door that senses the magnet on her collar and opens automatically as she walks up the little ramp I made for her. She can then go in and out as she likes.  The white stuff is snow.



Funny, I actually like dachshunds. 2 of my friends have em. I've been wanting one of my own for a very long time now.


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## hman (Jan 31, 2020)

Fanman -

It must have taken me a couple of minutes until my eyes/brain were able to figure out that your backsplash is actually flat.  I somehow got a strong optical illusion that made it look dished ... about 6" deep.  

Anyway, GREAT idea!  I've used oil drip pans under a couple mills, but never thought of using one for a backsplash!  Very nicely done.


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## hman (Jan 31, 2020)

Titanium Knurler said:


> Wow, very nice hman; I bet it was tough to get rid of it after all that work. The knee action caster plates are very clever.  It looks like you even had a place for a roll of toilet paper.  I assume that is to be used after those “near misses” we all have from time to time.


Well, that, too.  But I was inspired by the sonar room scenes in Hunt for Red October 
As for the caster plates - I've started work on a detailed article for Home Shop Machinist/Machinist's Workshop.  Hope to get it done before summer.  Glad you like them.


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## Hawkeye (Feb 1, 2020)

The Storebro Bruk came mounted on a solid wood cabinet, braced with metal straps. The nine drawers hold a lot of tooling. The left-hand cupboard hides the motor and transmission and the right-hand one holds the 4-jaw chuck and the faceplate (both around 10 1/2"). Since then, I added a shelf unit as a back-board, which holds a lot of small tooling and has the DRO head mounted on it.


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## FanMan (Feb 1, 2020)

hman said:


> Fanman -
> 
> It must have taken me a couple of minutes until my eyes/brain were able to figure out that your backsplash is actually flat.  I somehow got a strong optical illusion that made it look dished ... about 6" deep.



It may not quite be  an illusion.  The back half is notched and bent up to form the  backskplash, but on the headstock end it's cut out to clear the drive belt and  bent back in about 6" behind the chuck to keep swarf out of the  motor.  I'll try to get a better picture later.


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## projectnut (Feb 1, 2020)

Here's what I did to my Seneca Falls Star #20 lathe.  The machine is listed as a "benchtop" model, so I built a stand from 3" square tubing for legs, and 2" square tubing as spreader bars.  I just laid plywood on the spreaders to form a shelf.  The bags on the right side of the shelf contain chucks.  I probably have around a dozen or so for this lathe.  I keep them in the bags to keep them clean.  I also made a "collet rack" for the 2A ccollets.  As you can see it now holds far more than it was originally intended to.




Here's my 13" Sheldon.  When I purchased it about 4 years ago the previous owner had already installed the drawers.  They work fine, but I doubt they are coolant proof since the tracks are held in place by flat head screws through the pan.

You can't see it from this angle, but there are also 3 shelves in the right pedestal.  There are 4 additional chucks, a couple face plates, and a drive plate stored on the shelves.  I have to move the cart with the surface plate and tooling to access the door on the pedestal.


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## middle.road (Feb 1, 2020)

francist said:


> Well not much, actually. One of the perks of living alone is I can do whatever I want...


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## mattthemuppet2 (Feb 1, 2020)

here's mine. Was still organising stuff at that point, so it was a bit messy. Have my measuring stuff and drills/ taps in the 2 drawers under the lathe, electronics and handtools in the 2 drawers under the vise on the right, my anodising gear in the bottom right draw and the others are for metal stock and other bits'n'pieces. Made out of scavenged fence posts, 2x4s, plywood and kitchen countertops. The slides are 100lb rated ones I got from Amazon for $60/10pr.


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## DavidR8 (Feb 1, 2020)

This is all great input and really helpful to me, greatly appreciated!


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## bill70j (Feb 1, 2020)

FWIW, I have a bench for my Atlas lathe designed like the ones Atlas used to sell.  It is made from 2x4's and has three drawers and a cabinet for storage.  

And I have a roll-around desk/storage thing that I made from the crate that my other lathe was shipped in.  It has a number of drawers and three work surfaces.

*Here is the Atlas bench:*





*Here is the role-around thing.  It has two drop leaves for work surfaces in addition to the top.*


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## FanMan (Feb 1, 2020)

Here's a couple of better pictures of mine.  I just lucked out that the green cabinet was such a perfect size:




There's a piece of plywood attached to the back of the cabinet to support the backsplash.  The plywood supporting the jackshaft is attached to the top of the cabinet.  The gray bandsaw stand isn't attached to the lathe, except for the thin piece of plywood that helps keep chips off the lathe motor




(The black electrical tape on the pan is hopefully holding  the RTV in place that I finally got around to putting on the corner seams, taking pictures shamed me into it.)


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## eugene13 (Feb 1, 2020)

Here's what I did for my mill, they collect chips, but that's what I have a shop-vac for.  I store my collets in a wooden block, I've found that if you sandwich a piece of lumber between two pieces of plywood it will give you the thickness you need , and won't warp,


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## Shootymacshootface (Feb 1, 2020)

Thanks for starting this thread, it's inspiring. Makes me want to finish what I started, backsplash, shelves, and more cabinets.


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## Titanium Knurler (Feb 3, 2020)

darkzero said:


> Funny, I actually like dachshunds. 2 of my friends have em. I've been wanting one of my own for a very long time now.
> 
> View attachment 312192



Well, here she is begging for a treat by the flux capacitor. She’s a weird one; looks to be made of spare parts, with one blue and one brown eye and all, but she’s a wonderful companion.  I have had four dogs in the past: an incredibly smart and loyal mutt , followed by three yellow labs.  After the last lab died my wife asked if she could pick out the dog this time.  Well...she came home with TWO miniature long haired Dachsunds.  Wonderful companions but completely untrainable as the t-shirt indicates.  

I think dogs are a gift to us.


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## silence dogood (Feb 3, 2020)

DavidR8,  here are some things that I have learned on benches  not just lathes.  This may seem minor, but find your most comfortable height.  You could use a temporary bench with blocks to raise and lower.  Second, the surface that your lathe sits on must be rigid.  Even if your bench is on wheels, make sure that there will be no racking.  If your bench twists or bends, then leveling your lathe would be futile. Lighting, I have a LED light that is the same length as the lathe 2 feet above it mounted to the bench.  I don't like to store tooling above or behind the lathe.  I'm always afraid of dropping something on the ways, but  that is just me.  What ever tooling that goes with the lathe goes in the lathe bench (it means a lot less searching).  I want to make sure that I can walk all the around the machine if I need to.  In my case, it's on casters since I have little space.  Sorry, no pictures, but I'm in the process of building a new bench which will utilize some new ideas.  One.  I came across a piece of heavy channel iron that is a little longer and the same width as the lathe, this should make it more rigid.  The other is that I plan to add a spring castors on the tail stock end so that the bench can roll on the uneven floor. It's like having the lathe sit on 3 points even though there are 4 castors.   Building this bench may take longer than expected, since the fellows here have come up with some interesting and neat ideas.


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## Mini Cooper S (Feb 3, 2020)

One thing that my father taught me many decades ago about setting up a workshop, horizontal surfaces collect junk! I therefore use tool boards, high narrow shelves designed to hold specific items, cabinets, and tool boxes! Works great for me.


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## DavidR8 (Feb 3, 2020)

Mini Cooper S said:


> One thing that my father taught me many decades ago about setting up a workshop, horizontal surfaces collect junk! I therefore use tool boards, high narrow shelves designed to hold specific items, cabinets, and tool boxes! Works great for me.


My shop is living proof of this!


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## projectnut (Feb 3, 2020)

Shootymacshootface said:


> Thanks for starting this thread, it's inspiring. Makes me want to finish what I started, backsplash, shelves, and more cabinets.



Rather than make a backsplash the extends the entire length of the lathe I made a shorter one that slides on a rail.  It's only about 2' long, but can be positioned to cover almost any spot behind the lathe.  It works for me mainly because I don't use flood coolant.  Cutting oil or fluids are applied by a brush or squirt bottle.




If you look closely at the bottom there's a square tube with slots.  There are 3 bolts with heads in the slots and the shank through the plate.  There are small threaded knobs on the rear of the plate that can tighten the bolts in any position desired.  For short work pieces the back splash can slide to the left until it reaches the headstock.  For longer pieces it's centered behind the tool post.

Here's another pic.


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## Shootymacshootface (Feb 3, 2020)

projectnut said:


> Rather than make a backsplash the extends the entire length of the lathe I made a shorter one that slides on a rail.  It's only about 2' long, but can be positioned to cover almost any spot behind the lathe.  It works for me mainly because I don't use flood coolant.  Cutting oil or fluids are applied by a brush or squirt bottle.
> 
> View attachment 312523
> 
> ...


That is simple and utilitarian, very nice, and would really suit me. I only use brush on lubricants as well. A moving back splash would go well with the baking sheet that I have under the cutting area of my lathe.


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## silence dogood (Feb 3, 2020)

Mini Cooper S said:


> One thing that my father taught me many decades ago about setting up a workshop, horizontal surfaces collect junk! I therefore use tool boards, high narrow shelves designed to hold specific items, cabinets, and tool boxes! Works great for me.


Your thread gave me a hearty laugh.  My machinist father-in-law used every square inch of space to put something on.  It took me years to convince my dear wife to keep some clear space on the kitchen counter top.  The day that I finally cleared the counter, she started making homemade bread,  Yum.  Afterwards she told me how nice that it was not to spend 20minutes clear a space. Yes, dear.


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## MrCrankyface (Feb 4, 2020)

Here's how I set up my lathe area.
The subframe is bolted to studs in both walls and is set to a 'good for me' working height.
I need to level and bolt the lathe down some day but since I mostly work with small things it hasn't been a problem so far.
Quick change holders hang to the left of where I'd stand.
The lathe uses a couple of allen keys for some features so I put a holder for those up at hip height or so.

The tool storage behind the lathe isn't optimal but I'm trying to use as much wall area as possible.


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## mickri (Feb 5, 2020)

David there are lots of great ideas above and in other threads on the subject of work benches.  Wish I could show you something with great ideas.  No luck.  What I can show is what not to do.  My lathe came with a very sturdy bench and a very rickety set of shelves under it.  What a PITA to use.  To access anything I often have to get down on my hand and knees.  Not fun putting a knee down on a wayward chip.




 IMHO drawers and roller shelves are the only way to go.  Some day those rickety shelves will be replaced with drawers and roller shelves.  The lazy susan table for holding chucks in one of the above posts is a great idea.  I plan to steal it when I redo the storage under my lathe. 

I also don't like reaching over the lathe to get stuff.  I don't have a lot of tooling.  I keep most of my stuff in a rolling cart with three drawers and a top shelf. 




The top shelf holds my ER32 collets, tool holders for the QCTP, tool bits and boring bars and other misc stuff.  The top drawer holds all of my measuring tools.  Calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, etc.  2nd drawer is drill bits and the 3rd drawer is taps and dies.  The bottom of the cart holds the stuff that I never use but can't seem to part with.

On thing that makes a great bench is an old steel desk.  These can often be had for free.


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## stuarth44 (Feb 5, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> Hello all, as I get deeper and deeper into this rabit hole I seem to be accumulating more and more tooling. (Thanks @mmcmdl. @darkzero @francist @Janderso and a cast of others ;-)
> So now the question is how to store it all.
> 
> For reference I have a SB 10K on a flat wooden bench with an open base. Already I know I need to add some lateral bracing to the bench so in theory that could be the beginning of drawers underneath the benchtop.
> ...


tried to stick mine on a benc


hman said:


> Here's what I did for my Grizzly 9x20 (since sold).  Maybe you can use some ideas!
> 
> Front view.  Note lamp above.  Tabletop is double ¾" MDF.  Thin plywood panels attached to back side prevent left-to-right racking.  AXA tool storage above lathe, clipped onto double height DIN rail.  Other tools stored on shelf below AXA tool holders and in drawers mounted below tabletop.
> View attachment 312104
> ...


very tidy, stuck mine on a bench, legs collapsed no idea why. must admit I'M  very unorganized, floor is always ankle deep in , well everything


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## Janderso (Feb 5, 2020)

I keep most of my lathe and mill tooling in the Red box that I built right into the shelving unit I made. The other hand tools are in the roll around.
The lathe does not have any storage space other than a cabinet in the tailstock rear base.


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