Thread: Portable lathe benches

Mobyturns I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but I have a "flatpack" stand that I made for my Teknatool Comet lathe so I could take it to schools and charity days for demos. It is built from form ply, and comes apart/goes together by use of 8 bolts with wing nuts for the stand, and four bolts and wing nuts to mount the lathe on the stand. The lathe at 37 kgs is the heaviest bit by far, with the other 4 bits (the stand) weighing very little. As long as the lathe fits into the boot, the rest will also easily fit. I don't know whether you want it to travel, or just have a small space for it at home. To answer your points below: it is very stable. I have used it on grass play areas, concrete paths, rough shed floors and on bitumen netball courts, and it seems that the assembly of it is flexible enough for it to find its own level wherever I go. Lathe is the only weighty part of it. I can assemble it in minutes. No problem with access to the faceplate or spindle work. Mine packs away in minutes after use. It is self cleaning, as the shavings fall away as I unbolt it, and I leave them where I worked/played on the day. I have attached some photos, so hope it is of interest to you, or maybe some other Forum members. Doug. 100_0677.jpg100_0678.jpg100_0679.jpg100_0681.jpg100_0682.jpg100_0683.jpg100_0684.jpg100_0685.jpg
Basic requirements each component has to

• be stable
• be portable preferable a one man lift so nothing over 15kg with a 20kg max. (lathe plus add-ons is 60kg plus so a two man lift)
• easily assembled
• offer practical working access
• be able to roll away after use.
• and self cleaning - I wish.

I would appreciate any assistance or links to good setups as I saw a compact roll away workshop some time back but can't find it again.[/QUOTE]

Hi Mobyturns,
I use similar to the Gorilla Stand, $59, but like some other Turners in Vic. we have added a piece of Flat Allum.to the top part of the Legs. If ever you see the Council Chaps changing the bent Road Signs, "Keep Left" & the like, & you ask very nicely they may give you a couple. It is very stiff & hard.
You may need to cut it so as there is room for you foot to fit in the rung, if ever you need it for standing on it yourself.
I Pop Riveted using 6 rivets, & it really braces the legs beautifully. My Lathe is a Mini Ledacraft, but I do bolt it down, but many of the others just let their Lathe sit there.
Then it is just a matter of Folding the Legs & you're away.
I can assure you it is Very Stable, as I tend to push a fair bit when doing Demo's.
If you are unsure, there is a bigger one on the market @ $130 +-.

I found the original website I was trying to locate - turned out it was a Fine Wood Working article


http://www.startwoodworking.com/post/roll-away-workshop


I'm still very keen to hear of ideas or see photos of mobile or portable setups others have built for themselves. Thank you for the ideas so far.

We had a portable teknatool 1000 it was a basic stand with swing down axle and lock, the steel bar that we used to engage axle was used as a handle at the other end to push lathe.
still took 2 people to load it on truck.
my leady has wheels on headstock end and once lifted to a certain point the wheels touch the ground and away we go! Bigger wheels would be better. The ones on it are 90 mm diameter,

Originally Posted by chuck1

We had a portable teknatool 1000 it was a basic stand with swing down axle and lock, the steel bar that we used to engage axle was used as a handle at the other end to push lathe.
still took 2 people to load it on truck.
my leady has wheels on headstock end and once lifted to a certain point the wheels touch the ground and away we go! Bigger wheels would be better. The ones on it are 90 mm diameter,

The local club here has a Leady bowl lathe set up the same. Nice lathe btw.