Need opinions on my idea for mounting my atlas mill.

[CanadianPenguin]

I am thinking about replacing a shelf and my mill stand with a wood top 57" portable workbench/tool cabinet for better organization in my tiny space. My plan is to bolt the mill on a 12"x18" 80lbs surface plate and have the surface plate not bolted to the bench. Since the atlas mill is about 20.5" deep I'll need to add 2 more mounting holes on to the base and I will probably put a small box with switches under that 2.5" of overhang to make it look clean. I haven't been able to think of any downsides to this idea so I thought I'd check to see if anyone can spot a flaw.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

HI @CanadianPenguin ,
the heavier the surface below the mill, the better!
if you bolt the mill to a surface plate, you may wish to restrict the movement of the surface plate with small cleats or other retention of your choice
the 80lbs will help, but i'd hate to see it skate
good luck, they are sweet lil milling machines

 

[JPMacG]

I'm not sure I follow completely. I would think the surface plate would walk on the bench if not attached. Here are photos of my setup - just as one example. I am happy with it. I glued and screwed two pieces of 3/4" plywood together for the surface and bolted them to the tool chest and bolted down the mill. The tool chest came with castors but I found them too wobbly and replaced them with steel c channel with hockey puck feet and deployable castors. The setup has worked out well. The C channel also lowered the mill a few inches, which was helpful.

 

[CanadianPenguin]

I was hoping to avoid adding holes to the wood top, I'll try a thin rubber non-slip mat underneath at first and if that doesn't work then I'll add cleats. Thank you guys for your thoughts!