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Roll around lathe

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Jay Lock

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Hi everyone

I am probably putting the cart WAY ahead of the proverbial horse, but I'm trying to do some advance planning on my upcoming lathe purchase. I 'm not sure if I can place it against a wall out of the way from the rest of the stuff in the garage, and I won't be home for another couple of weeks when I can take actual measurements.

If I can't I'm going to have to be able to move it around and I'm thinking that something like a delta DJ20 jointer rolling base would do the job. I'm leaning toward building my own stand and really loading it down with sand for stability, but that is going to make moving it around difficult. Hence the rolling base idea. But then I worry that turning will be uncomfortable if I can't get close enough to the lathe and I won't be able to slip my feet underneath like I could with a lathe in a normal setup. Anyone here have
their lathes on a mobile base? Looking forward to your suggestions/comments

Jay
 
Jay, my Craftsman lathe is on a wooden stand that the previous owner cobbled together (think sawhorse made of 4x4s with a 2x8 for the horizontal), and I mounted casters at the four corners. I bolted pieces of 2x2 steel angle iron horizontally to tie the legs together on both sides, and bolted the casters to the steel. I'll try to get some pics of it later. (I'll have to clear away all the junk that's piled around the lathe.)

My lathe is sitting on padded carpet, so it doesn't roll real easily. (I don't even bother locking the casters.) Still, I can move it around if I need to. It's also surprisingly stable with unbalanced blanks, partly due to the flex in the stand. I usually try to get my blanks fairly round to start with on the bandsaw, so I haven't really pushed the off-balance limits. My setup is less than ideal, but I've been able to produce decent stuff with it.

So...to answer your question, yes, there are ways to put your lathe on a mobile base. You'll potentially lose a little bit of stability with unbalanced blanks, but it's definitely doable. The type of base will depend on the lathe to a certain extent. A Jet mini would be easier than a PM 3520. ;)
 
Jay,
If you go it on your own, check out Burden Surplus Center for casters. They have a lot of heavy duty casters at decent prices. I would have bought a set, but found a super duty set at my local Habitat Restore. I think they have more grease fittings than a dump truck:D

http://www.surpluscenter.com/wheels.asp?UID=2007091519490038&catname=wheels

My lathes are going to be on wheels as well - using the above casters. Just don't have the room otherwise.:rolleyes:

Wes
 
Jay, our Atlas is on a mobile base from Delta, it's the 50-345. You purchase the lift mechanism and the four corners, then insert 1-1/2" box steel in the length and width you want to fit the machine. The lift mechanism unlocks the "steer" casters (two are fixed), maneuver it to where you want it, then lock down the casters. It doesn't go anywhere.

Nancy (97 days)
 
Jay,

I've got the same problem, a 1 car garage and way too many machines. My Delta 1460 lathe is on a mobile base as I need to roll it outside to turn. The best bases I've found are the 1200lb models at Northern tools for $42.99. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_1040652_1040652 They have 3.5" steel wheels that roll over small cracks and debris without getting hung up. The only drawback is they are only 17in. Wide x 21 1/2in. Long at the max, but the spreaders are 1 1/4" steel tubing which you can get at any steel supplier. You usually have to buy it as a 25' length, but I haven't found it a problem as I just store it until I need to make another base. I think the lathe used about 17' anyway so there wasn't a lot left over anyway. If I recall the tubing ran me about $60. So for about $100 you can have a custom fitted base. I welded mine together because it was quick, but you could just as easily bolt it together like the original.

Mike
1460a.jpg
 
Jay, a lathe on wheels is not a bad idea and it is a lot more convenient when you can use it out in the open and not slammed up against a wall or in a corner. I built a stand for my lathe, I (like you said) wanted to stand close with my feet under the lathe... (no offence Mike but that style of roller mount would get in the way for my standing up close and personal to the lathe and would trip me when I worked) The footprint is the key to stability with lathes, Not weight, Although the added cabinets full of chisels and other tools does add weight, it is not necessary as long as the weight is spread wide with the feet. I thought long and hard about my stand and considered the heavy cast legs of the lathes in the schools where I taught, as well as the lathes mounted to work benches (without undercuts or open bottoms). There needs to be a place for your feet, If you stand too far back, it starts to work on your back, sholders, and neck muscles. At my age I need to take care of these weakening aspects of my tired old body. Here is a picture of the cabinet w/drawers that hold the chisels and a cabinet for other goodies, as you can see 3" rubber wheels carry it whereever I want and it has not yet poised a problem of rolling out from under me whilst I work. (If that does become a problem I will replace the casters with locking casters.)
 

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here`s another idea.....why not use the two casters at one end and a johnston bar for moving it around? that set up would be fairly straightforward to rig up and there are quite a few folks who don`t like their minimax johnston bars that come with the mm16`s.
 
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OK Tod, there you go using technical terms and those of us who pushed papers and talked for a living don't have a clue! :rofl:

Is that like the mobility kit that comes with a Laguna BS? I have a long handle with two wheels and a "prong" that I put into a "goesinto" on the saw to move it around.

Yeah, that is a good idea, I'll have to go to a metal shop to get another "goesinto" welded up -- otherwise I'll have to get a welder, angle grinder etc and then learn how to weld before I build the bench. Either that or take the parts to Stu and have him do it,but............... no frequent flyer points! :(

Jay
 
Jay,

Thought I'd send you a couple pictures of my setup. Essentially, I built a workbench on casters. The top is hemfir 2x4s, joited, planed, glued up in 3 sections, replaned, and then glued together. Six 1" dowel pieces let into the top of the frame hold it on, but aren't glued in. The frame verticals are planed doubled hemfir 2 x 6s, dadoed and glued together to form mortises to accept full width 2 x 4s for the laterals. The sides, back and bottom are "skinned" with fitted sheets of 3/4 MDF. The doors are made of MDF as well. Three sheets of MDF and all that lumber... it must weigh 400 pounds. Add at least a couple hundred for the lathe, plus all the stuff in the drawers, and there's not much need for sand. I let magnets into the front for the chuck key and the spindle wrench, so I wouldn't have to dig through the shavings to find them all the time. I'm cheap, but I did put about 8 bucks each into decent casters. They do roll... ;) Believe it or not, the lathe itself used to be bolted to the bench, but I get better results with it just sitting on top: screwed in blocks keep it from "walking" when something unbalanced is on there.

If I had to do it again, I'd build it a little lower, as the spindle is about three inches above my elbow... other than that, it seems to work... ;) The shop is so small that everything HAS to be on casters, as I reconfigure for each project. It looks like there's lots of room because two rollable workbenchs are out in the driveway this morning... most of the time I'm turning with about 24" between the bench and whatever's behind me.

Hope this helps,

thanks,

Bill

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Jay Knoll said:
OK Tod, there you go using technical terms and those of us who pushed papers and talked for a living don't have a clue! :rofl:

Is that like the mobility kit that comes with a Laguna BS? I have a long handle with two wheels and a "prong" that I put into a "goesinto" on the saw to move it around.

Yeah, that is a good idea, I'll have to go to a metal shop to get another "goesinto" welded up -- otherwise I'll have to get a welder, angle grinder etc and then learn how to weld before I build the bench. Either that or take the parts to Stu and have him do it,but............... no frequent flyer points! :(

Jay
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jay, yup! 2-points;)......the "goesinto" could be as simple as a hole drilled into a piece of angle iron bolted to the legs.......simple is usually good!
 
Tod

Hey, I CAN DO THAT! Maybe I'll get fancy and round off the corners so I don't leave a trail of blood around the shop floor.

Thanks for the suggestion, I was already doodling out square tubing with a hole in it welded to another piece of tubing thru bolted to the legs

Jay
 
Bill

That is massive, but I'd have to build a stable for the mule team to hitch on to it when I wanted to move it.

Your back must be in better shape than mine, I'm thinking something a bit smaller.

Jay
 
tod evans said:
jay, yup! 2-points;)......the "goesinto" could be as simple as a hole drilled into a piece of angle iron bolted to the legs.......simple is usually good!
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I'm with tod. Simple is usually good. Angle iron and bolts where I can get away with it. You could use this type of thing if you have a stand and run the angle iron crosswise instead of lengthwise. Could always add additional bracing later if it is needed. The cabinets are really nice though if you need additional storage. For my limited space I alway use four double locking casters so I can rotate it around in a very small area.

I just noticed that I am in the turning area. Sorry about that. Sure hope that I did not get contaminated.
 

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Bill, is that a rare earth or some other kind of magnet holding the chuck key? I like that idea. mind if I borrow it? I also saw how you mounted the wrench, I opted to sticky backed magnet tape along the back of the flat wrench and just stick it to the Headstock or ways.

Opps, sorry to kidnap the thread, you may return to your regular programing...
 

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Jay, my Mustard is up against the wall (well, nearly so at least... the back legs are only about 6" from the wall) and not on castors. Just giving you some particulars from a different perspective.
 
Jay, I am going to deviate from the crowd just a little on the wheel thing. As long as you make provision for the lathe to sit solidly on the floor, or as long as you stay with well balanced pieces, you will be fine. But if the lathe sits on the wheels all the time, when you get that itch to turn something unbalanced, or just get a piece of wood that is not uniform in density, it can be a problem. Most of the time it is not a dangerous problem, just a frustrating one as you try to get the piece running smooth and true.

I had a Nova TK 1500 on wheels and although they locked, and I had close to 800 lbs in the lathe and stand, I could never get the thing to run as smoothly as I would have liked. The Robust will have wheels, but they are detachable. I do not foresee moving it much, but there will be occasions. And those wheels are detachable - i.e. I need to jack up the lathe to install them. If you were to go with a two wheels and a Johnson bar arrangement, you should do fairly well with it.

Bill
 
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