Thread: Show us your lathe tooling layouts

Originally Posted by Sterob

Be my guest. I just went and took a couple more pics.
The rack is pretty snug on the swarf guard but I still put a couple of Teks in from the back to stop it moving. I also had to fit a strut on the end as it gets pretty heavy with all the tool holders in it.

Hi,
Good job, If you find the bracket gets in the way when taking the tail stock off, you could move the bottom of it to the back of the tray going up to where the splash back has a fold. It should still be strong enough their as well.

How are you finding the DRO now that it has been on for a while?
When I went through my Mill, I had to mill some brackets before the scales where refitted. After having it fitted for years, it was then I realised how much easier it was having the DRO over counting hand wheels. I would never go back, and any other lathe or mill I buy in the future, the DRO will be first on the must have list.

Dave

Office disposal places often have cabinets from old bank premises, the cheque book drawers are very useful as they have heavy duty drawer slides and a thick wooden top. Combine these with cutlery drawer inserts and you get a cheap way of storing lathe tooling plus a work area.

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I'm not sure if these are still available, I bought these heavy duty cabinets for $5.00 each back when a computer site was being cleared, believe it or not these cabinets held 2 x 100 MB disk packs back in the day when a 100 MB disk pack measured over a foot in diameter and weighed 20 odd lbs. (NCR 658 drives for any old techs out there). The drawers in these cabinets will support a decent sized adult without flinching so these cabinets are good for chucks and power tools.

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What we really need is rubber cabinets that will expand as we acquire more kit.....

Originally Posted by Dave J

Hi,
Good job, If you find the bracket gets in the way when taking the tail stock off, you could move the bottom of it to the back of the tray going up to where the splash back has a fold. It should still be strong enough their as well.

How are you finding the DRO now that it has been on for a while?
When I went through my Mill, I had to mill some brackets before the scales where refitted. After having it fitted for years, it was then I realised how much easier it was having the DRO over counting hand wheels. I would never go back, and any other lathe or mill I buy in the future, the DRO will be first on the must have list.

Dave

I purposely positioned the bracket so I could get the tailstock off. Its closed but thats all it has to be...lol

I love the DRO.....I'm the same, I would not be without one now.....Still working towards one for the Mill.
I haven't had time to play with the Band saw yet, never mind the Mill....

Sterob

You lot have shamed me into doing something about gaining the end 2feet of my lathe back.
So here are the before and after pic's..All this was done this arvo.
Matt

Originally Posted by matthew_g

You lot have shamed me into doing something about gaining the end 2feet of my lathe back.
So here are the before and after pic's..All this was done this arvo.
Matt

Nice tidy up - I like it - good to see some people are sometimes as messy as me

heres mine


cheers
Harty

Here's mine,

it works for me. You blokes have some good ideas but.

Burraboy, that's classic! The thing you always need right next to a machine is a surface to put things down. The challenge is keeping it tidy.

I haven't posted any pics since my setup is in transition. Currently I have some tooling drawers immediately behind me as I stand at the lathe, but what I'm aiming for is drawers to my left, next to the headstock, at right angles to the machine. Still with room to walk through. I also want a small surface below the tailstock. Much smaller than Burraboy's so I'll have to keep it tidy. And a bench/cupboard behind me as well. That should do.

I have to get a certain bathroom reno done, then I can build a dividing wall down the middle of the shed. Then I can finalise machine positions and start nailing things down.

Great Pics - keep posting - Thanks.

hi matt. at least you can grab them easy.shorly it all doesn't need to be within arms rest.

Originally Posted by azzrock

hi matt. at least you can grab them easy.shorly it all doesn't need to be within arms rest.

You would think.......But the way I chop and change my mind it needs to be

Now and again Ikea proffer something for sale that is passable. I happened to find these steel lockers for about $140 each so I bought 4. They had gangly legs that I immediately amputated. They have adjustable steel shelves which like the rest of the locker, are lightweight but remarkably ( for Ikea products) they have not fallen to bits.
All in all, good value and great for storage of some of my gear.

The door open photo is for Ken. He has a fondness for Vista Green.

they look like they do the trick. is there any brighter colours

We where only talking about mats for the lathe and mill last week. Today a mate that does interstate truck driving dropped in with these plastic mats. He picked 2 of them up in Queensland that where going to get thrown out at one of the companies he goes to.
I am not sure what their from, but they are heavy duty (around 8kg each) 1200mm x 600mm and the ribs in the back are 5mm thick.
The last ones I had where clip together 600mm squares and only had around 2mm ribs so these ones should last a few years and are better being one piece. These type of mats let the swarf though to save you walking in it.




I also picked up these through the week at Kmart on clearance for $4 each, so I bought the lot. Now I have to build a shelving cupboard for them to go in.


Dave