Thread: My new workshop setup and lathe

Looks very nice, only your bench top is not sturdy enough. My suggestion, take a 40mm tabletop for that. Make a sturdy frame and screw the table top on it. I did the same with my lathe.
Look to my website. http://members.lycos.nl/adecrom
Ad

Hello John, nice peek at your shed. I concur with Ad's answer. You bench has to be rock solid. Mine is bolted to the wall in two places and somewhere around the 30 - 40mm thick. Maybe a reorganization of the shed with the obligatory photos?

Good setup Jow.

I thought at first that you ment it rolled back against the wall but it seams you just push it back out of the way,
You will not get anywhere with a lathe that is not bolted down to a bench of some kind, even a small lathe needs to be secured down and a good solid surface, as for rocking i should think that one of the legs is a little smaller in the casting rather than a twist, this can be packed and bolted down. Bolt it down to a solid surface one that is going to stay still or you will just getLB

Jow , the 'twisting ' is more likely to be in the table top , rather than the lathe.
A 20mm top is no workbench top at all . Add to that ,the frame it sits on is also lightweight .
It would be better , in the short term , to bolt it down to your heavy workbench , with long bolts and wing-nuts .
A new bench , the same size and weight , looks as tho it would fit along the wall , to carry both the drop saw and the lathe.
Try the bolt-down to your excellent workbench first , and see if there is a difference .
I hazard a guess that there will be .

Great workshop there mate , top toys too

Jock

PS. don'tworry about the holes left in the big bench , they may come in handy for bench dogs someday

As the others have said the bench has to be solid and the lathe has to be secured to it. Most of the turning books have a section on constructing a bench. We are looking at legs at least 4''x4'' (laminate 2 2x4 if you have to) and the top at least 1 1/2''(2 sheets of ply MDF or chipboard can be glued to make this). It does not have to be a work of art just solid and heavy.

Agree with all the above. My Little Vic sits on a table made from 13 2x4s screwed and glued together on edge. About 19 or 20 inches wide, and very sturdy on it's 2x4 legs. I just clamped it down, because I move it to my truck when traveling.

Thanks for all advice mentioned above, a nice new 10ft workbench across that site would be nice.

And purchase a new carpet as well!

Na mate , carpet is a bugga to vacuum , best stick with the lino

John I reckkon a thicker bench top but also like yo there is more than one thing happening on my bench area and when the lathe comes in to play I put 2 layers of antislip down and she will sit while I turn for a couple of hours and not move and also reduced the noise considerably so will leave it to you to use the idea if you wish regards WW Wally

Originally Posted by Manuka Jock

Na mate , carpet is a bugga to vacuum , best stick with the lino

Actually the carpet is better honestly, its a kitchen type carpet, (flotex type) and a stiff brush sweeps it clean a treat.

With regard to top I will report back over the weekend, the lathe is going on another board and anti slip mats sounds a good idea.

So, what do you fancy trying your hand at?

If only small stuff (small, as in "not the maximum sizes that lathe will handle") like pens, etc. then there's no need to bolt it down. As WWWally said, a rubber mat does the job nicely.

Mind you, you'd be surprised at how big a piece of wood it will spin up... and if you plan on finding out just how big then it'd be a very, very good idea to invest in a couple of bolts. DAMHIKT!

Thanks for the encoureagement Skew.

The preseent lathe bed is only 15mm chipboard, but everything is screwed to the back wall and the floor also to the side bench, and braced underneath I can get no vibration at the moment.

Going to have a go tomorrow, a neighbour is requesting my services to reset her broadband.

And I gather their helpline is useless!

Nice setup John, but isn't it time you painted the walls white?


Peter.