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Jet Mini Lathe Rolling Stand

Brent Dowell

Brent Dowell

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Reno NV
Well, Finally got around to it. Was tired of lugging the lathe out when I wanted to use it, and I never really hooked up the extension bed to it.

So I figured I'd make a stand for it. The rule in my little shop is everything but sawhorses gets mounted on wheels, so This has a set of locking casters under it.

Everything needs to do double duty too, so storage for the tools accessories needs to be built in.

I might move the chisel rack to the other side, but so far it doesn't really bother me.

turningcart.jpg
 
As a fellow mini lathe owner, I say ... very nice! :thumb:

I think the chisels would bug me too much in the current position; you must have very long arms! :rofl:
 
That's a slick setup, Brent. nicely organized to fit a lot of stuff in a small space.

My old lathe was mounted on a "A" frame type wooden stand with a shelf and and enclosed back. I stored a lot of stuff on the shelf below, and eventually used a piece of cardboard to cover the shelf to keep the chips off of it. It was anchored at the top, like a door hinged right below the lathe bed. I'd just lift it up when I needed to get something off the shelf, and it kept the chips out well.

If you find chips are a problem on the stuff below your lathe, you could do something similar with thin plywood or Masonite.
 
Brent,
Good idea but I also would move the turning tools. This is my set up.
(Click pic for full size)



The only thing I am going to do is put a piece of plastic that I can roll up to keep the chips & dust from all the stuff under my lathe.
 
I did end up moving the tools to the opposite side of the cart this morning.

It's hard to tell, but I do have a baffle directly under the lathe to direct any shavings that fall straight down, or to the back to accumulate on the back side of the lathe.

I've also got a little dust hood I use to try and collect most of the shavings or dust.

I like the idea of a plastic sheet on the front to keep shavings from accumulating. I think I'll add that to the cart as well.
 
About the lathe height. I read that the spindle of the lathe should be at the same level as your elbow, so that's the height I set it up for.
 
You might consider a shower curtain for the plastic sheet idea. I have several old ones (with worn out holes) that I use as dropcloths around the shop.
(Plus, the fishies go nicely with the rest of my shop decor...or so LOML tells me.) :p
 
Brent,
Elbow height is a good starting point after using your lathe for a bit you may want to either raise or lower it depends if your back gets sore from bending over a bit raise it a couple of inches. Mine I have it about 2" above my elbow height.
 
I too like the setup but also too don't care for the lathe tools location. seems you would be barking your shins on the handles and have to step back to retrieve the desired tool. Also how do keep the chips and shaving and dust out of your goodies?

Here is my set up on one of my lathes,

P1000664a.jpg

although it is not a Mini, it would certainly suit a Mini

P1000669.jpg

The drawers hold an array of different tools...
 
Brent since you started this thread I want to thank you for prompting the idea. And thanks to all the others for sharing their lathe benches.

I have been more than displeased with the very thin gauge bent steel frame that came with my lathe and have been considering something like this but always thought that weight was the thing that is needed on a lathe bench.

I like the idea of somewhere to store the tools and get rid of the vibration noise caused by the steel and the tools rattling around when you turn.

Thanks guys for sharing. This will go on the project list for my new shop.



Brent Dowell said:
Well, Finally got around to it. Was tired of lugging the lathe out when I wanted to use it, and I never really hooked up the extension bed to it.

So I figured I'd make a stand for it. The rule in my little shop is everything but sawhorses gets mounted on wheels, so This has a set of locking casters under it.

Everything needs to do double duty too, so storage for the tools accessories needs to be built in.

I might move the chisel rack to the other side, but so far it doesn't really bother me.

View attachment 24021
Click to expand...
 
I did move the shin busters to the right, and actually gave it a test run tonight making a pen. Seems solid, doesn't move around, and was at a pretty good height. Actually, it ended up being at the same exact height my workbench is at and I used to use it on that.

The dust collector behind it and the baffle underneath seems to take care of most of the shavings so far. I will probably incorporate a curtain.

Bill, I have no idea why I didn't just make a nice cabinet like you have for it. That really seems to make sense, and nice job on yours. Looks really convenient.
 
If it is the drawers you like then add a Drawer unit, you can move about like you moved the tool holder unit. Make it a modular cabinet/stand. :thumb:

BTW from your picture you look so familure but I can't seem to place the face, could you turn around and allow me to sniff....:rofl:
 
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I also made mine mobile for my 10 x 18 mini lathe.

I used a bathroom vanity that was made into a bench with wheels.

I need to find a larger piece of plywood as I have a 21" bed extension that needs to be added to the lathe.

I added some heavy duty casters (1/2" off the ground) to the front and I can moved it around anywhere simply by picking up the opposite end.

I'm always laying my tools down and forget where they are so I made them easy to reach by boring holes in the top.

I added a couple more smaller holes at the end of the bed for my knock out bar and chuck key.

Here's a pic of the backside.

Lathe003.jpg
 
Very Nice Ron

Welcome to the family Ron, that's a very nice and functional stand. Let's see some of the results of your owning a lathe.
If you don't use the extension all the time, might you add a drop-down leaf to the right side of the table?

29520-02-med.jpg

~ Rockler
 
Brent I am only an occasional visitor to this forum I have the Jet Mini with ext also. The extention sits at the back of the old desk I turned into a bench, its so dam frustrating pulling the tail stock off all the time. Then having to use a long board to mount it on when I put the two together.

Your idea and space saver looks great :thumb:

Frank Townend love the drop down idea :thumb:

:huh: Now to incorporate that with a height adjustment so LOML can lower it to do pens and candle sticks.

Ray
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
You might consider a shower curtain for the plastic sheet idea. I have several old ones (with worn out holes) that I use as dropcloths around the shop.
(Plus, the fishies go nicely with the rest of my shop decor...or so LOML tells me.) :p
Click to expand...

Vaughn, instead of a plastic sheet or shower curtain that you have to muck around under when you want something, how about mounting a roll up window shade at the top front that you could pull down while you're turning, or let it roll up when you want something. (just a thought).
 
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