Make my lathe movable

[Arron]

We have one of what the local real estate agents laughably call a one-and-a-half car garage. In it I have a table saw, dust extractor, bandsaw, thicknesser, cut off saw, linisher, old triton working as a router table, metal cutting bandsaw and a jointer. That is in addition to a mountain of hand tools and the in-between size things like scroll saws, mitre trimmers and dovetail jigs. Then there is a workbench, a finishing bench, inflatable boat, motor, fishing gear and of course what they now called power-gardening equipment. I expect this is some kind of record.

All of this stuff is pushed back against the walls when not in use - giving me just a few square metres of clear space in the middle. The problem is, a few months ago I purchased a lathe - one of those MC900 clone type things. There is no wall space left for it to live beside, so it has to live in the clear space which means any time I want to use any other machine or do something like lay out a glue-up, I have to move the lathe out of the garage. I'm getting very tired of dragging it around. I need a solution. Getting a bigger garage is not an option, nor is building a shed, and I dont want to dispose of any tools/machines. Is it possible to have a lathe on wheels? I cant be the only person in this predicament - what do other people do? Is there a purpose-built solution available?

Any ideas welcome.

thanks
Arron

[weisyboy]

keep the lathe againsta a wall and push the other machines against it. move them away when u wanna use the lathe.:2tsup:

[TTIT]

Dug into the archives to find these pics :o. I'm in much the same boat with a small shed and too many toys (can't believe I said that :doh:). I made a sub-base for the MC900 to get it up to my height (take notes TeaLady:;) and to let me shuffle the toys around. The other end had 2 nylon wheels with large thumbscrews that could be screwed down onto each wheel to stabilise them while the end in the pics just rested on the adjustable feet. The lifter gave me just enough clearance to shift around on the concrete but you wouldn't be goin' cross country with it:C. It meant that I couldn't hog it all down with tons of concrete and sandbags etc so out-of-balance stuff was 'entertaining' but most of the time it worked just fine.
I still have the lifter assembly out in the shed - young bloke that bought the MC900 didn't need it - his shed fits 3 triples side by side:o - they grow 'em like that out here:;:U

[Tornatus]

G'day Arron

My solution to the lathe mobility problem was similar to TTIT's, but nowhere near as elegant. I used to be 6' 4" (in the old way of telling time), and even after shrinking with age I'm still around 6' 2 1/2", so I had to build a base on which to mount my MC900 to get a workable height. On the tailstock end of this wooden base, projecting outward from each corner, I fitted two fairly substantial wheels, the rims of which are just a smidgin above floor level. At the headstock end is a lifting point (the dish-shaped metal base of a shopping trolley caster) at just the right height for a budget trolley jack from Supercheap to fit under (Sorry - no pics - could take some if you are interested).

When I need to move the lathe, I just manoeuvre the jack under the lift point, and pump the handle enough to raise the headstock end clear of the floor, which forces the wheels onto the floor at the other end and lifts that clear. The trolley jack casters allow me to easily steer the lathe by the jack handle as I move it around. As I said, it lacks the engineering elegance of TTIT's built-in system, but achieves the same result, allowing me to move a really heavy and awkward machine with relatively little effort.

[Arron]

TTIT, thats a nice solution. Where did you buy your lifter.

thanks
Arron

[TTIT]

TTIT, thats a nice solution. Where did you buy your lifter.

thanks
ArronI'm flattered that you think it was purchased but have a look at the welds :B - design and construction can only be blamed on me I'm afraid :U

[Chipman]

TTIT, that really is a good solution and the welding looks ok to me!:2tsup:

Actually it gives me some ideas. I want to build a work bench (steel frame wooden top so will be rather heavy) and if I may, I will borrow your idea as I want it moveable. I will want it to sit squarely on its own legs rather than adjustable feet so would need to make the top part (with the spring) adjustable...I think I know how to do it.



Regards,

Chipman

[Tiger]

I have the same problem with space shortage and the same lathe. I welded up some angle iron and attached castors under the angle iron frame, it lets me move the lathe to any part of the garage that I want to.