12x36 cabinet height raise, base mounting

[Markbinwi]

I have a new to me Craftsman Commercial and would raise the working height. I know a lathe should be mounted to the floor and leveled with shims. Being a light duty lathe I was thinking of building an angle iron frame, 3/16 x 2”. Casters for the occasional movement and leveling feet. The cabinet has 6 holes for floor mounting.

Do I need to have 6 feet? Hockey puck and carriage bolts feet.
I was thinking of 3 caster, 2 under the headstock and 1 under the tail.

Is there a problem with this plan?

Thanks

 

[Charles scozzari]

I have a new to me Craftsman Commercial and would raise the working height. I know a lathe should be mounted to the floor and leveled with shims. Being a light duty lathe I was thinking of building an angle iron frame, 3/16 x 2”. Casters for the occasional movement and leveling feet. The cabinet has 6 holes for floor mounting.

Do I need to have 6 feet? Hockey puck and carriage bolts feet.
I was thinking of 3 caster, 2 under the headstock and 1 under the tail.

Is there a problem with this plan?

Thanks

I would try to skip the casters if possible and use leveling bolts, unless your frame is correctly built in an attempt to stop it from twisting the lathe bed should you relocate the lathe. Or do both.

 

[matthewsx]

I think you're talking about casters that could be moved down if you need to move the lathe, but leveling feet for it to live on. If that's the case you'll be fine as long as the casters are of sufficient capacity. Bear in mind, some casters are rated for static load, not dynamic so will not perform well in moving the machine if there's not a significant margin over what they say they will handle.

I like these https://www.zambus.com/

But, for as much as you're likely to move a lathe it may be better to build your platform so you can get a palate jack underneath. You can rent them pretty cheap if you don't want to buy one or can't borrow one from work.

This is my current stand, I need to do a little more fabrication to get a narrow palate jack underneath but once I do that I think it'll be ready to move.

John

 

[wa5cab]

I have the Atlas equivalent and although I would not put castors under mine, I do not think that you will be happy with only three. Or you could install only three castors but have six adjustable supports and do not let it sit on the castors longer than during an actual move. Or as was suggested while I was writing this, skip the castors entirely and use a pallet jack instead.

 

[SWIGIN]

I made these for my 1237

 

[wa5cab]

Looks good. The only questionable thing that I see is that the machine does not appear to be anchored to the concrete slab so that over time it might move.

 

[SWIGIN]

Correct, Here Iin PA the ground is very stable and it's never a bad Idea to recheck the bed every now and again.

 

[woodchucker]

lathes and stands are top heavy. They don't move well. That being said, your best option is to use retractable wheels.
I would recommend a set of bench casters. That way you are mounted to the ground and can lower the casters and move the lathe.

Amazon.com : bench casters

you get a solid machine, and moveable. Also you may want to consider outriggers while moving the machine to prevent a tip over.

 

[wa5cab]

Or use a pallet jack for movement and modify the tail stock end mount (only) to attach to the slab at each potential mounting location. The one attachment to the slab should keep the lathe from walking around over the years.

 

[Markbinwi]

Well I built the base. Doctor says no welding for me so I went back to my woodworking skills and made a wooden base. I cut up a glue lam for the parts, glued and screwed together. Used hockey pucks and 1/2” carriage bolts for adjustable feet. I removed the steel shelf and replaced with plywood. That will be space for drawers that will probably need to be built.