Lathe Stands

[leighd]

I have a MC-1100 and it isnt heavy enough to do some bigger turnings with its stand now. I put abut 50-60kg of logs on the tray now and i dont think it can take much more. I want to build a stand for it with drawers for chisels sandpaper ect. I was wondering if anyone else has built one and if they had any pics or things i should watch out for when building the stand.

[Don Nethercott]

When I moved into this place the previous owner left behind a wooden bench to which I bolted my lathe.
The bench is made of 100mm x 100mm hardwood posts and rails, with 25-30mm hardwood planks on top. It has a bottom shelf and a middle shelf plus plents on top space for tools, sandpaper, polish, etc.

It may cost a bit to build, but it needs a big lump of wood seriously out of balance to make this setup shake.

Not much room to take a picture, but hope attached is useful.
Don

[DarrylF]

Here's mine. It's built from pine 2x3's and MDF. The top is 25mm MDF with 2x3 rails underneath the top and another set underneath the lathe. About 550mm deep. 12mm melamine forms the back, and I've since added chisel racks & hooks to hang things behind. Dust collection is built in as well.

It's never looked like moving and I doubt I'd change anything of substance if I did it again.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/darrylf/images/8.jpg

[smidsy]

Hei Leigh,
You can get a cast iron stand for the MC lathes for around $130.

If you build your own stand I would recommend you check out Belmont Salvage in Maddington (on Austin Ave) as they sell 4x2 jarrah for $2 a metre. The jarrah is in assorted lengths from 1.8 to 3 metres, it's de-nailed and it's a great source of cheap timber for projects like this - I'm currently building a router bench and that's where I got the frame timber from.

Daryl & Don, I thought about building a stand like yours because the storage underneath would be down right handy but my concern is that you are essentially enclosing the underneath of the bed and it would become a real crap trap. Also, how do you access the underneath of the bed - I use a centre steady from time and I need to be able to reach under the bed to put this on.

Cheers
Paul

[Don Nethercott]

Paul,
The bench is closed in ends and back with ply, and the top back has a lip with a shelf on it - nothing can get behind or under the bench.
If you are worried about dust etc getting in the front you could always attach doors or a curtain.

Re getting at underside of lathe - mine is a Woodfast and has a raised section with enough space to get hands under. I cases like the lathe Darryl has I guess you could mount the lathe on a few transverse pieces of 4 x 2 or similar (depends how big your hands are) - a bit like Darryl has but leave out the long bits on top.
Don

[DarrylF]

With mine the lathe is mounted on 2 2x3's running the length of the bed, with a gap between the width of the opening in the bed. Those two 2x3's are mounted each end so they're raised off the bench top just enough to get my hand in underneath. That allows me to tighten up the nut, clean underneath etc.

I was originally going to mount the lathe just at each end but I needed some extra height and thought it would be a little more stable like I did it.

It looks closed in because I have a loose piece of pine that sits at the front to help the dust collection work a little better. The DC runs from 2 90mm ports inset into the bench top just behind the lathe bed near the chuck. Works great when sanding.

[Babytoolman]

Dear Leighd,
If you go to the Sydney Woodturners Guild web page and download the "By Hand and Eye" the feb issue it has a stand in it with the plans.

Roger

[smidsy]

That is one monster newsletter, well worth a read.
In case you need it, the URL is http://www.sydneywoodturners.com.au/

Cheers
Paul

[rbarnold]

Hey Babytoolman (and namesake :))

Can you send me a copy of that Sydney woodturners newsletter?

I tried to get it myself, but all I got was 28 pages with nothing on them, so somethings going wrong somewhere
:(

Thanks
Roger (yeh that's me too)

[rsser]

Re crap trap, my solution was to get hold of some heavy clear PVC from Bunnings (by the metre; think they call it table cloth or somesuch), staple the top edge to an appropriate edge under or on the side of the benchtop and then cover that with beading. Then weight the bottom edge with a length of semi-circular beading. Given appropriate clearances, you can then just grab that beading and pull it up onto the benchtop, giving you two hands clear to access the shelf underneath.

I've used this for open shelves too in order to keep the worst of the dust out. Clear is good cos you can see what you're looking for.