Should I put leveling feet on my lathe?

I worked on the table and there's just no salvaging it. I'm going to have to build another one. Not sure if I should go with 1 1/2" or 2" square tubing frame. Also, is MDF better than plywood as a top when it comes to warping with humidity?
 
You can always buy a heavy duty tool box to put it on from harbor freight, etc.. might be cheaper than building 2 yourself. A nice sturdy table plus drawers already in it.
 
Pcmaker said:
I worked on the table and there's just no salvaging it. I'm going to have to build another one. Not sure if I should go with 1 1/2" or 2" square tubing frame. Also, is MDF better than plywood as a top when it comes to warping with humidity?
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MDF, with humidity and stress, curves; sealing/painting on all surfaces helps, but takes a LOT of paint. Marine plywood or
exterior-glue hardwood plywood is good, but the 'nice wood' face is thin, and will get some knocks from hunks of tooling.
You do NOT want soft wood products between the lathe and its supports. The tabletop should be considered a utility
shelf, not part of the structure.

Straight-grain wood, stressed along the grain, is stable enough to connect the
machine to the floor, and can be nailed/glued/bolted effectively (I'm not much of a welder). Then
there's truss plates... but Liquid Nails is more useful for DIY work.
 
Pcmaker said:
I worked on the table and there's just no salvaging it. I'm going to have to build another one. Not sure if I should go with 1 1/2" or 2" square tubing frame. Also, is MDF better than plywood as a top when it comes to warping with humidity?
Click to expand...
I'm assuming you mean 1 1/2" or 2" cold rolled square tubing. I've built several stands and workbenches over the years with square tubing bases. I've always preferred bulk. The smallest I've used is 2" and the largest is 3". Some are stationary; others are on wheels. I am of the opinion that for a workbench, it's safer to over-build than to under-. I've never regretted making that decision. Sometimes you may end up re-purposing the bench and the additional bulk may be more of an asset than you realize. It's definitely more money, but I'd suggest you consider going metal all the way and put a steel top on it. For your lathe, you can easily get by with 1/4" sheet metal. I built one a few years ago that's about 2'x5' with a 2" square tubing base and a 1/4" sheet metal top. As in your case, I made it for a specific piece of equipment - probably with a footprint and weight similar to your PM1127. I NEVER had to worry about stability. Ended up selling the lathe that was on it. Kept the stand, though, and have re-purposed it twice.

Almost all my stands and benches have 1/2" or 1" tops and range from 3'x5' up to 4'x8'. Definitely overkill, but I've yet to run into a project or piece of equipment that I can't use them for. I've found that you can always find another decent piece of equipment if you're patient, but good luck finding a heavy duty stand. If they're well-built, folks rarely part with them. Go full metal. You won't regret it.

Regards,
Terry
 
I still have a piece of 22" x 65" piece of 10 gauge of plate sheet metal. It's more than big enough to cover the new table I'm going to build. The lathe drip pan is only 17" by 46".
 
Pcmaker said:
I still have a piece of 22" x 65" piece of 10 gauge of plate sheet metal. It's more than big enough to cover the new table I'm going to build. The lathe drip pan is only 17" by 46".
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That dog'll hunt.
 
I wish it was 8 feet long so I can replace the entire table. The plate is not long enough to hold both lathe and mill.
 
Pcmaker said:
I wish it was 8 feet long so I can replace the entire table. The plate is not long enough to hold both lathe and mill.
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With the proper bracing and stretchers, you could do the top in two pieces.

Regards,
Terry
 
I'm thinking of cutting the current table to the middle leg so the mill can still use it
 
Have you thought about some sort of self leveling epoxy? You could pour some into a wooden dam on the table top to create pads for the lath to sit on.

Stu
 
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