Lathe lifter

**TTIT** · 15th August 2007, 12:08 AM

The Stubby has been sitting in the middle of my 'too small' workspace for 8 months now - time to make it movable so I can get some flatwork done.
Put a lot of time into nutting this one out - didn't want wheels or bits to kick toes on or hinder clean-ups so I went for a removable system. That also meant it would have to fit under a workbench or somewhere out of the way when not in use so it would need to be less than 200mm high. Needed at least 30mm of lift to clear obstacles between shed and garage (if I decide to turn in the garage at some stage!) and with the lathe and cabinet weighing in at 1/2 ton, the lifting mechanism would have to have some oomph!
The principle could be adapted to a lot of lathe stands as long as you can get something wide enough through the end to give it stability. You can see in the last pic how I set it so I get the maximum width between the wheels that go through to support the 'light' end of the lathe.
Cost a bit more than my usual projects - $80 for the 200kg rated castors and about $20 for bolts. The rest was free - swapped a drill chuck for the jack and the 50x50x2.5mm RHS used to hold the neighbours pergola up

**DJ’s Timber** · 15th August 2007, 12:26 AM

Looks great Vern, I take it that you have something there to stop the elevating platform going pass the point of no return.

Did you put any thought into putting a handle on it, to be able to pull or push it like a pallet trolley?

**TTIT** · 15th August 2007, 12:31 AM

Originally Posted by djstimber

Looks great Vern, I take it that you have something there to stop the elevating platform going pass the point of no return.

Did you put any thought into putting a handle on it, to be able to pull or push it like a pallet trolley?

The 2 connectors on the inside would stop it from going too far but I've also got it set so that when the jack is fully extended the platform is still short of maximum height. The lathe becomes the handle - moves quite easily too.

**Harry72** · 15th August 2007, 01:49 AM

Better than any shop brought trolley!

You should be making these things to fit popular lathes, put some dollar$ in your pocket.

**joe greiner** · 15th August 2007, 01:53 AM

Grrrreat setup, Vern. Looks like you could move houses with it. Is it light enough to hang on the wall? Or the end of the workbench?

Joe

**les88** · 15th August 2007, 08:53 AM

It looks like a bought one, well done

les

**Andy Mac** · 15th August 2007, 09:33 AM

Good effort Vern, simple and effective. What dimensions are the flat-bar links that do the rising? No sideways flex there?
I think there'll be some copies made of that!

Cheers,

**Cliff Rogers** · 15th August 2007, 09:35 AM

Now where have I seen that yellow paint before.

**Hardenfast** · 15th August 2007, 09:58 AM

Excellent concept and execution. Oh to be a proficient metalworker with the necessary time & resources!

**hughie** · 15th August 2007, 11:23 AM

Vern,

Great looking lifter, well built to boot, looks like a mini pallet jack.
Its some thing worth doing well as it will stand you in good stead for along time to come.

**ptc** · 15th August 2007, 11:32 AM

I bet Ern would like one for christmas !

**rsser** · 15th August 2007, 11:56 AM

Very schmick Vern.

ptc, my concrete floor was an amateur job and is uneven so the Stubby has to be bolted down through rubber blocks; otherwise it'd be rock around the 'shop time ;-}

**Gil Jones** · 15th August 2007, 02:17 PM

Very schmick indeed

Excellent design and execution.

**BernieP** · 15th August 2007, 03:24 PM

G'Day TTIT

Very nice thread filed, thanks for posting.

Cheers
Bernie

**TTIT** · 15th August 2007, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by Andy Mac

......What dimensions are the flat-bar links that do the rising? No sideways flex there? ...........

30x6mm flat - was wondering how it would go myself and was prepared to replace them with angle-iron if necessary but it seems fine, even when pushing the whole thing sideways.

Originally Posted by joe greiner

Grrrreat setup, Vern. Looks like you could move houses with it. Is it light enough to hang on the wall? Or the end of the workbench?

Joe

It's no light-weight Joe but, yep, you could hang it on the wall - if I could see any of my walls - lost sight of them behind shadowboards and shelves etc years ago!

Originally Posted by Harry72

Better than any shop brought trolley!

You should be making these things to fit popular lathes, put some dollar$ in your pocket.

No thanks Harry - I'd much rather work wood for nothing than spend my days on steel for money

I like making stuff like this for my own needs but that's as far as it goes. (and if you could see the welding up close you probably wouldn't buy it anyway - shhhh!

)

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