Bench for SouthBend Lathe

[Phil3]

I need a better bench for my old SouthBend 9" lathe, Model A, 4-1/2 bed. It weighs 465 lbs. I think. Do you think it is possible to build a roll around cart out of wood to support the lathe and keep it stable? The lathe is currently mounted to a long piece of heavy 12" wide steel channel, with a welded on piece for the rear mounted motor assembly. I could use that on top of a cart. This steel piece weighs about 200 - 250 lbs. as I recall. It currently sits on a leg arrangement that is awful.

I cannot weld (for a steel table), do not know anyone who is willing to do that for me (except to hire someone), nor have access to a truck or SUV (short of renting one when needed), and no trailer hitch. Best if I can create something in my garage. I may be able to muster a friend or two to move the steel top (hopefully).

Thanks for your thoughts.

Phil

 

[Al 1]

Phil, In my opinion a roll around cart would not be as stable as leaving your lathe stationary. Wood will expand and contract more than steel.
Is your floor solid and is it flat. With a roll around you may have to adjust / shim every time it is moved. This would be a P.I.T.A. Try and find a location that you can leave it. and build a solid as possible bench. Al.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I'd be leery of using wood due to its habit of swelling and shrinking with changes in humidity.

 

[tjb]

In my opinion, you need a fairly heavy duty metal stand to allow for the necessary stability. A few years ago, I made a rolling stand for a Smithy Granite 3-in-1 that weighed approximately 650 pounds. I can only show you a picture that focused more on the Smithy than the stand, but it was quite adequate. I have since sold the Smithy, but no way was I going to part with that stand. It has been re-purposed more than once. As noted above, stability is unquestionably essential for the South Bend, and I don't think you'll get it out of wood. I also made a rolling workbench with a 1" top. It is very heavy (weighs close to 500 lbs.) but is likely overkill for your needs (see photos).

Perhaps you could find an H-M member near you that may help you out with welding a stand. In the grand scheme of things, if you need it to be mobile, you need to build it heavy enough to provide adequate stability, and my opinion metal is the only way to achieve that. If that's not practical, I think you need to just keep it stationary.



Regards,
Terry

 

[RJSakowski]

I need a better bench for my old SouthBend 9" lathe, Model A, 4-1/2 bed. It weighs 465 lbs. I think. Do you think it is possible to build a roll around cart out of wood to support the lathe and keep it stable? The lathe is currently mounted to a long piece of heavy 12" wide steel channel, with a welded on piece for the rear mounted motor assembly. I could use that on top of a cart. This steel piece weighs about 200 - 250 lbs. as I recall. It currently sits on a leg arrangement that is awful.

I cannot weld (for a steel table), do not know anyone who is willing to do that for me (except to hire someone), nor have access to a truck or SUV (short of renting one when needed), and no trailer hitch. Best if I can create something in my garage. I may be able to muster a friend or two to move the steel top (hopefully).

Thanks for your thoughts.

Phil

I used steel stands for all of my machines. You can certainly build a bench from wood that will be sturdy enough to support the lathe. But as the previous posters pointed out, wood changes with temperature and humidity. For some simple turning, this may not be an issue but if you want to do any precision lathe work, you will be constantly retuning your alignment. A compromise may be to use your 12" channel as a base but secure it loosely to the wood bench. I would use three mounting points; two under the headstock and one under the tailstock. This will reduce any twisting the might be caused by wood warping.
I realize that you said you don't have welding capability but it would seriously stiffen the channel if you could bridge the flanges of the channel at periodic intervals along its length. I would minimally use 1/4" x 2" or 3" strap for the bridge. 3/8" would be better. The strap could be used to mount the channel to the wood bench which would lessen the tendency to twist with wood warping. The cost for having a welding shop do this shouldn't be too bad.

 

[Phil3]

Thanks for the replies. I wanted mobility as I need to reorganize the garage shop and may need to move the lathe (and mill) more than once. Given the extreme difficulty of securing the resources and help to do this, moving even this relatively light equipment is a very big deal. It is extremely frustrating and limiting. I do acknowledge the benefits of a strong, solid steel base as a major plus, even if humidity is low in my eastern of the San Francisco bay area..

RJ's idea of reinforcing the existing steel top to secure it to the wood bench is interesting, but it requires I remove the lathe as well as handling (and transporting) the heavy table, none of which I have the ability to do. I got the table and lathe together in the first place through a difficult series of steps, which I really cannot repeat.

I will abandon the wood bench/cart idea and try to come up with another plan for a proper steel support structure and a way to make it happen.

Thank you.

Phil

 

[Phil3]

I am the OP, and said I would try to come up with a different plan for a bench..

Used welding tables are $300 - $600. Ouch! $75 or so for the rental of a Home Depot truck or van to transport, and $260 for the purchase of a fold-up engine hoist to move the table and lathe. $735. A lot just to get an ancient lathe on a different table. I can use the hoist for moving other equipment though. I really have no room for the hoist, but I see it is practically mandatory.

Maybe time to simply move to a newer lathe that already has a table.

Phil

 

[stupoty]

I am the OP, and said I would try to come up with a different plan for a bench..

Used welding tables are $300 - $600. Ouch! $75 or so for the rental of a Home Depot truck or van to transport, and $260 for the purchase of a fold-up engine hoist to move the table and lathe. $735. A lot just to get an ancient lathe on a different table. I can use the hoist for moving other equipment though. I really have no room for the hoist, but I see it is practically mandatory.

Maybe time to simply move to a newer lathe that already has a table.

Phil

you might be able to make a workable metal stand from uni strut type material and use bolt connections on it all.

http://www.unistrut.us/

you can get some fairly hench angle joiners for it and might be able to pick some up used for cheep (which is always nice)

I've had a ply wood topped work bench for a couple of smaller lathes I've had, they seemed to be fairly stable for the smaller sized lathes although as has been said mileage may vary on that.

As you said you don't weld I would like to inform you that invertor stick welders are getting very cheep and the consumables are also quite cheep and they can be a lot of fun and their quite compact. Feed the tool addiction

stu

 

[mickri]

Seems like you are trying to do two things that make for big compromises. 1) sturdy bench and 2) movable. If I understand correctly you will only need to move the bench two maybe three times as you reorganize your garage shop. The rest of the time the bench will be stationary and will not need to be moved. I would separate these functions.

As for the bench you can buy very heavy duty shelving that will bolt together. No need for welding. Make the frame of the bench out of this. For example here is a link to some shelving from lowes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/edsal-72-i...-Certified-Freestanding-Shelving-Unit/3172913. This shelving has a 1500 lb load capacity. Make the top out of 2 layers of 3/4 plywood glued and screwed together. This will give you a very strong, stable platform to set the lathe on.

I just saw another thread on making a bench for a lathe that had a very clever way to adjust and level the lathe. I have added this to my project list for my lathe.

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/thr...m-using-shop-made-levelers.72014/#post-604270

When you need to move the lathe a simple furniture dolly under each end should work. The el cheapo HF dollys are rated for 1000 lbs and cost a little over $10. Jack up each end of the bench and slip a dolly under the frame. Move the lathe and remove the dollies. You're done.

Have fun making your new bench.

 

[whitmore]

I need a better bench for my old SouthBend 9" lathe, Model A, 4-1/2 bed. It weighs 465 lbs. I think. Do you think it is possible to build a roll around cart out of wood to support the lathe and keep it stable? l

Well, yes, a wood structure holds up the second story of a frame house, it can certainly
hold up a lathe. There's a lot of engineering in making a wood structure for high loads, though,
and you're going to want something more than sturdy sawhorses. Screws and glue are your
friends, and you'll make mortises in heavy timber or a bunch of lap joints. Some folk like
diagonal braces, but plywood and glue are easier. If you use cutting lube, or water cooling,
remember that wood (and glue) are unstable materials when wet.

As for wheels, you can mount wheels on hinges; jack up the table, and flip the hinges so the wheels are under the
lathe, and it rolls. Jack it up again and flip the hinged wheels up, and it sits stable on the floor (with either shims under
the supports, or screw-leveling feet, you can make it level). Lowest wheel cost is two straight-line wheels
for lathe end A (heavy end), and one swivel wheel for lathe end B. You need the swivel, to steer it
like you'd steer a toy wagon.