Thread: Mobile turners / Turners who travel

Hello Mate
I have a lightweight metal stand which was a display stand for spools of wire at a shop. It is perfect, a plank was added as a base for the lathe. It also had a metal frame which was perfect for adding perspex for public demonstrations.
Willy
Jarrahland

Some ideas here: portable wood lathe stands - Google Search

I use a Jet mini lathe stand that I slightly modified for my Nova Mercury. Now that I have a Vicmarc VL150 the vertical supports had to be shortened somewhat but still a very safe and sturdy stand.

So many of the temporary stands I see imo are unsafe as they do not have sufficient rigidity, are not braced adequately or simply have a to narrow footprint to be stable. It doesn't take a lot of vibration or an out of balance blank to have them topple over, dance about, or lead to a significant catch.

Our Woodturning Club as do some of our other members use these for demonstrations; Gorilla Height Adjustable Domestic Work Platform | Bunnings Warehouse Mind you we're only doing small stuff, like tops, dibbers etc. nothing that would be out of balance. If you wanted to add some weight/stability to it, you could melt some lead into the bottom legs.
HTH
kryn

I had been thinking about the work platforms from bunnies but was put off by their lack of size. The plan was for something to also mount a small grinder from for sharpening. Of course, I could very easily bolt a solid plank to the top to get some extra length.

Sandbags across the leg stretchers should help with things down a bit. Maybe a bit of extra cross bracing as well.

I reckon two of these platforms could be very easily adapted to make a very efficient mobile turning rig.

Cheers
Redbeard

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Bailey offer a wider platform than the Gorilla versions, which may give you the room to place a small grinder. Its easy enough to laterally brace these platforms with some aluminium flat and a few bolts to construct cross braces on the fixed section of the legs. A simple shelf that also serves as a longitudinal spreader takes care of movement in that direction. The main issue is the high center of mass on a very light weight stand with a narrow foot print. I have rarely seen the lathes attached to those stands, so that becomes another hazard.

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

Bailey offer a wider platform than the Gorilla versions, which may give you the room to place a small grinder. Its easy enough to laterally brace these platforms with some aluminium flat and a few bolts to construct cross braces on the fixed section of the legs. A simple shelf that also serves as a longitudinal spreader takes care of movement in that direction. The main issue is the high center of mass on a very light weight stand with a narrow foot print. I have rarely seen the lathes attached to those stands, so that becomes another hazard.

Moby

You've spotted the same weaknesses inherent in just about every mobile turning stand. To make them mobile they have to be light (or so it seems). When you start adding bracing and extra structure you add weight. Wheels become important for moving. Are the part of the rig or are they simply a removalist trolley?

I wouldn't consider using a lathe which wasn't bolted down to whatever form the bench took.

Cheers

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That's why I went this way.

The Gorilla style platforms can be braced laterally with little additional weight or cost. On the inside of the leg each end install two diagonal braces using 3 or 4 mm pop rivets. By placing the brace on the inside it reduces the risk of catching a toe on the braces while using the "side step" if it is used as a step platform as well.

CAPRAL 813931 EX4002 12.00 x 3.00 mm FLAT BAR 4.00m Mill Finish 0.39kg $4.27 ea Costs more in fuel to go pick it up.

Our club does various offsite shows and we take mini lathes and mount them on STANLEY style "workmates". A board with a cleat underneath to grip in the jaws and drilled holes for the lathe feet to sit in usually
suffices to locate them reasonably securely.We find that this is generally stable enough for the minis as the size of the workpiece is small enough not to throw them out of balance. A small folding table a'la Bunnings or a trestle can hold the grinder and give you some space for tools etc.