My First Lathe - HF 9" x 20"

wachuko said:
The toolbox is the HF US General 44", correct.

But wow! I was planing on doing this today! hahahahahahhaha... I would have to buy all that and build it and then... Wife is looking the other way and I need to sneak all this during the afternoon...

I was just thinking of using a 1.75" thick butcher block and bolting everything down to the toolbox... is this a good alternative??

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My only concern is how do you secure the lathe to that? The bolts will protrude and may interfere with the top drawer.
 
HD has this 61", I have 2 of them. Husky as the same one
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C-Bag said:
One thing, you can never have too many drawers. That’s why I put the flat file next to my lathe. And why there’s two mid tool boxes under my RF30. With that tool box you should have just about enough storage :)
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There is never "enough" storage.

Re. The wood lathe. I'll come around to the metal lathe (HF) later. I have a Craftsman wood lathe that looks very similar to what you picture. Being Craftsman, it's a little smaller, and older (1936), and shorter. . . The stand is similar, wooden planks and steel legs. One must keep in mind that a 2X8 from the late '30s-early '40s is no comparison to a 2X8 from 1980. Actually, the other way around. . . I wouldn't dare replace the old wood with new. You may be facing a situation where a previous owner did.

What I did do was true up the frame to my satisfaction. Meaning plumb and level with a carpenter's level, not a machinist's level. Then attached two diagonal tensioning wires on the back of the stand. Just stainless "lashing" wire, but enough for a lightweight machine. A simple toggle mechanism to tension them, and drawing up both against each other. They are attached to the base bolts of the lathe and lower shelf bolts opposite, and provide secure stability. Not much for shelf space below, but I need to (one day) redo the jack legged motor. One day. . . A couple of drawers are jerry rigged to the bottom of the upper plank. Wife uses it (well did, until I got her a Shop Smith) to make pens. I use it occasionally to make molds/patterns from wood. It was a "junkyard" purchase way back when I had no lathe, wood or metal. There was (in 1936) a retrofit kit that gave some primitive metal working capability. I don't have such a kit, and heaven forbid I find one these days.

Re. The Horrible Fright 9X20, or whatever size it's called this week. I have a Grizzly equivilent (G-1550). An older Taiwan made version, with a spindle nose of 1-1/2 X 8. I think the newer version (G-4000) has M39 X 4. Otherwise, pretty much identical. I had the HF version alongside the Griz for a while. But couldn't do what I had in mind and eventually passed it along to a friend. The HF machine was a little more of a "kit" than the Griz, but did function out of the box. To my skill level, any way.

The cabinet you pictured above looks quite capable. I do question the stability of such a box, but just a photo doesn't do justice to how stable it is. If you had space, I would have recommended a surplus GSA desk. I don't know the style or any background. All I know is that I have a couple. No wood, it's an all steel frame. Pop used to get them cheap as war surplus when I was a child. These days, a little more dificult to find. They are built like a tank. And heavy, a two man moving job.

My Griz is mounted to a base from Grizzly. Purchased before the advent of large tool boxes from HF and Lowe's, it was made for the machine. Everything lined up proper. I did have to extend the legs 4 or 5 inches. I'm tall, 6ft 3in. . . Used the same source for an Atlas horizontal mill. I have an old Craftsman tool chest, and it's full of heavy stuff. Like pipe dies and a power pony. But even the ca. 1970 tool box struck me as too light for machine mounting. Even a 6 X 12 was too heavy.

I have used a number of cabinet bases from W W Grainger for commercial use. They are strong, but Grainger is proud of them. I think their stuff is plated with gold. Sway bracing is an issue. The HF machine isn't so touchy to level in the supports, but movement is a problem.

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woodchucker said:
I have that pencil sharpener on the left of your lathe bench... A engineering pencil sharpener...
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I've had that since high school. 4yrs of mechanical drawing. Still have the same Steadtler Mars mech pencil too. It lives in my leather shop apron. Kinda crazy to think I just got notice about my 50yr high school reunion. Can't live without my pencil and sharpener, reunion, not so much.
 
C-Bag said:
I've had that since high school. 4yrs of mechanical drawing. Still have the same Steadtler Mars mech pencil too. It lives in my leather shop apron. Kinda crazy to think I just got notice about my 50yr high school reunion. Can't live without my pencil and sharpener, reunion, not so much.
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Mine is a Pilot H1005 vanishing point 0.5 mm point with 4B leads. I do not let anyone touch that one...it is my second one as my first one snapped in two right after I got out of college (many, many, many moons ago)... so this one is around 30 years old (I should buy a spare just in case). Oh, and always the Mars eraser... we have several of those as my daughter also uses them... I love using this pencil, but only do so in the home office when sketching out something I was to make/build... Holding it now, can't believe it has not broken again in so many years... it is on the fragile side.

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Nowadays I use a rOtring 500 in 0.5mm. If you drop it, it will land on the lead guide and bend it - I must have done that a few times. Sometimes I can fix it. Other times, well, I have to get another one. I use 2B leads.
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My mistake... I just checked the leads I have... all 2B
 
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