How much room needed behind 1236T?

cobraJack

cobraJack

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My 1236T should be arriving in 3-4 weeks. I'm arranging the shop for it and was curious how many inches from the back wall people placed theirs.
I know I may need access to the electrics in the back panel but other than to sweep etc. don't think any more.
Thoughts from those who have one or 1340T.
Thanks
JT
 
Hi @cobraJack

I have the PM1440GT and have put my VFD etc in the rear back panel. While I have the lathe on dollies, I use the feet to lift it off the dollies and to provide leveling so it is essentially stationary unless I want to do some serious work on it. Having spent quite a bit of time working on the electronics in the back of the lathe stand I found that a reasonable trade off is to have enough spacing for my shoulders to fit while horizontal to the floor! Not comfortable for long periods, but workable for simple adjustments. If I am going to pull the electronics completely out I would move the lathe out. I also have spacing at the spindle end so the rest of my body can spread out! If you want to see a picture of the electronics at the back it is in this post. In this photo you will see my knee next to the end of the lathe. I got rid of the steel cover and replace it with plexiglass so that I can look into it while operating and check on the electronics.
B2 said:
I finally finished documenting my PM1440GT lathe VFD conversion
Click to expand...
 
In my old shop I had my 13x40 pretty much against the wall. The back splash kept the chips under control so never had a need to try and sweep behind it.
 
My lathe manual says to place the machine 24" off walls on the back or sides. It's a bigger lathe, but that's beside the point. The reason did not occur to me until later, when I needed to remove the cross slide. My cross slide happens to slide off the back of the carriage, requiring every bit of 24" to remove. Not gonna move and re-level the lathe every time I need to work on the carriage! So 24" it is.

That said, most small lathes can be run right up against the wall. I bet that is the case with your 1236, and your cross slide probably slides off the front. But before you commit, make sure you can access everything you need to reach for maintenance. You will need that space for the tailstock though, all of those slide off the end the same way.

I hope that's helpful.
 
I have my PM-1340GT against the wall. I used compressed air to blow out any swarf that gets behind the lathe, and in 6 years have not had to access the electronics. If I did need to pull it out, I built my own stand for the lathe specifically for drawer storage and the ability to get under it with my pallet jack. I assume you intend to install and employ the rear chip shield - if not, you would want accessibility behind to clean up with vacuum or broom.

40049863693_6eea13fb86_c.jpg
 
My 12x36 is 24'' from the wall. Just enough for any work I had to do on the lathe from the back.
That space is used to park stuff on wheels or portable stuff so that it can easily be moved out of the way to access the back of the lathe. Much easier than moving the lathe.
 
On my the 1236T the back of the chip shield is 10" from the wall, the electrical box is about 13". The end of the lathe righthand side is 13" from the end wall. My shop is small, or I have a lot of stuff in there or both. Anyway, I placed it close to the wall to save as much room as I could. I did all the work in the electrical box before placing the chip shield. It was tight but without the chip shield there was plenty of room.

Tim
 
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You don't need much space in the rear. What you do need is space on the left hand side for feeding in bar stock or longer parts.
 
I placed my 1236 about 20 inches from the wall. I just use the space behind for storage of little used items.
 
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