I am subscriber. I feel like I need lathe slightly bigger than her's. I want to be able to QUICKLY make some kind of press adapter for car suspension (2-4 in in diameter from harder steel). And I want to be able to do precision work on smaller pieces if needed. Thats why I kind of thing 13-40 size also in person it looks too big. 9x20 was definitely pushing and small.I don't know how useful this will be given you're not really a beginner but there'll probably be some good information for you for setting up a shop:
Quinn has a clear, friendly and good humoured presentation style, so even the stuff you already know shouldn't be too boring.
Worth looking at her other videos too (her Lathe Skills and Mill Skills playlists are good).
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Basement shop equipment suggestions needed
- Thread starter katit
- Start date
I am in my 40th and hope to be able to use this for coupled decades at least
Which mill do you think would be great to compliment 1340 from PM taiwan offering? Given that it needs to go downstairs..?
A lot of other stuff I already have. Some measuring equipment, bench grinder (not belt grinder), welder, press, compressor. All out in garage. As mentioned above Ideally I like to keep this place CLEAN.
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2023
- Messages
- 1,127
Well, I wasn't suggesting you buy the same lathe as her
.I was suggesting that you look at her general "How to set up a shop" playlist because I thought it might be useful given your OP .
Welcome to HM.
And as a fellow "Cellar Dweller" I welcome you to the underworld. All is possible down here in the basement, just a little more rigging and planning is required...
A few pointers.
Keep some clearance to the left of the lathe head, incase you need to work on long bar stock, fed through the spindle.
Milling machines fit well into a corner.
If you have open joists, take advantage of the space between them it's great for storage.
Here are some threads of how I set up my shop:
Lathe Delivery, Backhoe Required
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How To Assemble A Milling Machine In A Low Ceiling Basement
I continue the story of the RB-1 mill from Here. I figured I would start a new thread on this as it is a new phase of the project. It took the better part of two days to get the mill and the grinder into the basement, now to reassemble them... The problem is, the ceiling is too low to rig the...
Bench Top Mounting System
Hi All, This is a system I came up with for securing small machines, tools etc. to a workbench top. Basically, it's a machine tool "slot & tee nut" arrangement, made out of common strut channel. It was a result of my commitment issues, except in this case instead of women, it was tool placement...
Went through all of those threads. Wow. Speechless
And no, won't be possible in my case, I am not that determined All I have is 32 doors and tight corners and concrete steps down.
13x40 lathe can be stripped down. If it's 1100lb, but I can remove tailstock, carriage, chuck, maybe even electric motor and back splash. Gears..
Will it be like 800lb? I figured if I make a "cage" 30in wide it should be manageable for safe movers to get it downstairs, right? I am not touching head.
Don't buy anything you can't get around those corners, including the rigging. Even small lathes are hard to move, and they are heavy if they are any good. A 13x40 lathe is not particularly small.
And I doubt you'd be able to get any knee mills around corners and down stairs. It's turning the corners that are the real issue, but you may have to construct rails and hard rigging points to get it down the stairs, too. A large bench mill might be fine. Remember that knee mills have a much bigger footprint than they appear to in the picture because the table moves three feet or more.
But you should really start with the size of the objects you intend to make as much as their material and hardness/toughness. I considered smaller lathes before my South Bend made itself available, but I want to be able to true up brake disks as the use case that drives the size. That means I need to turn a workpiece that is 12" in diameter. Facing flywheels for clutches is a stretch goal, but I probably can't do that for bigger engines in my 14-1/2" lathe. But that was a fairly obscure stretch goal--I do that so rarely than it wasn't worth spending money to make happen.
Most of my parts-making is setup tools like bearing pushers and the like. And making the other tools I own work better by remachining parts of them.
I haven't yet really settled on my mill use cases, so until I do that, I'm not in the market for one. (And, conveniently, I don't have the money for one right now anyway.) But you may have to compromise on mill use cases because of those corners and stairs. Of course, anything that can be chucked up in the lathe can be machined flat in the lathe, so there are some milling use cases that can be done in an appropriate lathe. I've gotten by with that, so far.
The advantage to Blondihacks videos is that she explores the limits of her benchtop mill, which gives a good idea of what can be done with a smaller mill. The biggest limitation for a benchtop mill that she identifies is the lack of z-axis clearance, and the degree to which that is a problem depends on the size of the workpiece.
Leave room for a metal-cutting band saw or even two. You'll need those before a mill. I have gotten acceptable service from the little import 4x6 dry saw sold under a variety of brand names. It's slow but it works.
Rick "and a stout bench with a vise and an arbor press" Denney
And I doubt you'd be able to get any knee mills around corners and down stairs. It's turning the corners that are the real issue, but you may have to construct rails and hard rigging points to get it down the stairs, too. A large bench mill might be fine. Remember that knee mills have a much bigger footprint than they appear to in the picture because the table moves three feet or more.
But you should really start with the size of the objects you intend to make as much as their material and hardness/toughness. I considered smaller lathes before my South Bend made itself available, but I want to be able to true up brake disks as the use case that drives the size. That means I need to turn a workpiece that is 12" in diameter. Facing flywheels for clutches is a stretch goal, but I probably can't do that for bigger engines in my 14-1/2" lathe. But that was a fairly obscure stretch goal--I do that so rarely than it wasn't worth spending money to make happen.
Most of my parts-making is setup tools like bearing pushers and the like. And making the other tools I own work better by remachining parts of them.
I haven't yet really settled on my mill use cases, so until I do that, I'm not in the market for one. (And, conveniently, I don't have the money for one right now anyway.) But you may have to compromise on mill use cases because of those corners and stairs. Of course, anything that can be chucked up in the lathe can be machined flat in the lathe, so there are some milling use cases that can be done in an appropriate lathe. I've gotten by with that, so far.
The advantage to Blondihacks videos is that she explores the limits of her benchtop mill, which gives a good idea of what can be done with a smaller mill. The biggest limitation for a benchtop mill that she identifies is the lack of z-axis clearance, and the degree to which that is a problem depends on the size of the workpiece.
Leave room for a metal-cutting band saw or even two. You'll need those before a mill. I have gotten acceptable service from the little import 4x6 dry saw sold under a variety of brand names. It's slow but it works.
Rick "and a stout bench with a vise and an arbor press" Denney
Thats why I am here asking questions. Entrance to the basement is NOT straight. It's steep downstairs with landing and turn into the 32 door.
I am always picturing heavy safe. If lathe fixed into metal "box" - according to specs it's "Assembled with stand: 52”H x 29”W x 70”L"
so, 29 should go through the door. And without stand it will like 25-30? Resembles safe. Is it ok to have it vertical though? And how far I can take it apart?
For mill - yes, I have tiny X2 and it's not particularly useful. I can get bigger bench top later, I don't really use or need it much for what I did anyways..
Drywall, wall paper, and drapes are for home decorators and is always in the way once you start trying to modify things.
Mind the mill height vs your ceiling height. As noted the mill motor when up might fit between joists??? Yes, get the Taiwan version of equipment. The Chinese versions are a bit of the luck of the draw as to QC. Taiwan, seems to be much more consistent and better quality. Leave space at the spindle end of the lathe so you can have a long piece of work sticking out. If you cannot leave space then put things in this space that are moveable. Or make it so that the work sticking out can go through an open door. Casters on everything is nice. Check out David P Best's postings. @davidpbest He sponsors a HM Forum so it is easy to see various postings. Just click on Forums and you will find his main threads. He probably has the ultimate Hobby basement shop and has posted lots of pictures of it and on his getting his stuff in the basement. I believe that he had a walkout man door entrance installed with a flat concrete bottom outside of the basement wall so that he could just lower tools down and then roll them into his basement shop. I think he may have the PM1340GT.
I do no recommend the PM940M (Chinese), but I have one and I got it in to a very tight spot in the basement but taking the table off and mounting it on casters so that I could just roll it around. Once in place I block it above the casters so it will not move. However, when I need to get behind it I just lower it with a jack and then roll it around. I put my PM1440GT on casters as well.... similar idea but a better job of it. I up bathroom shower floor liner (thin rubber, comes in big sheets at Home Depot or Lowes or etc.) under, and around, my tools to protect the floor from the oils and debris. (This is the stuff that mason/tile layers put under the shower floor tile to prevent water leaks.) Sometimes I throw used cardboard (boxes) down on the floor to catch the oil, especially around the Mill.
A little ventilation/exhaust is nice if you can figure it out. This is especially true if you in tend to use coolant/lubricant, which breaks down and evaporates into the face of the machinist! You said hard alloys and Stainless so you will want some air.
Good luck
Dave L.
Walls open inside basement, yes, will keep in mind 36". Unfortunately, exterior door in concrete and already set.
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