rebuilding the lathe platform...finished!

Dan Noren

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falcon heights, minnesota
well, after waking up to one of the worst cramps in my calf ever:eek:, got today under way. i figured that i would have to go to one or more home depots in order to get enough of the casters (16) for the work benches, but after going out to the home depot furthest out, they had just enough.:thumb: as the wife was with me, we did some baby shower shopping, and had lunch. then it was over to my dad's to take some strategic measurements of the lathe, and the platform. what i intend to do, is while i need to remove the lathe from it's platform to replace the casters, i'm going to build a proper height (for me) stand, so that i'm not reaching up a little. i've designed it based on the workbench base, with a double 3/4" plywood top, and 1/2" sides and back, to enclose it, and provide ports for dust extraction. once i have this built, it will be attached to the base. then i will take the lathe off it's metal legs, and secure it to the new base. later on i'll build a slide in cabinet for tool, and sandpaper storage. but for now, here is the idea, done up in sketchup, and rendered to look somewhat real....
 

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Looks like it should be pretty stout. Do you have plans for the part of the base that sticks out to the right?
 
I figured you had a plan for that space. That'll be handy. :thumb: Make sure you leave enough room to remove the tailstock. ;)
 
more progress made today:D, with one slight interruption:(, she reminded me to be home before noon, as we had a birthday party for one of her friend's kids. i did manage to get all the lumber, and had it cut at home depot. nice enough kid, and he didn't charge me for the cutting.:D:thumb: got it all in the car, and over to my dad's for the cutting of the notches, and final assembly (which will happen after the bday party). i still have to replace the casters on the other benches too.
 

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hey dano this almost illegal,, taking and soiling the flat work forum with spinny stuff:) but i will let you off you do enough flat work to get preferential treatment:thumb::rofl: looks like that will be solid.. but i dont know if i would want my grinder that close to the lathe..:huh:
 
If I was going to put the grinder on the same cabinet or stand I would put it on the same cabinet or stand & try not to cobble 2 different stands together. Kinda looks like an after thought. One movable stand on top of another??? You can always use threaded inserts & knobs with threaded shanks to hold the grinder in place so you can move it if need be.
 
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Yeah but Bart and Larry i dont think you guys are thinking about how Dan works on the driveway. This way he can take the grinder stand and stand it next to him for the quick side ways sharpening and then back at the lathe. I am guess that is only for transportation and storage purposes.

Dan you better help me out here i feel like Custer at little big horn.:rofl::rofl:
 
hey dano this almost illegal,, taking and soiling the flat work forum with spinny stuff but i will let you off you do enough flat work to get preferential treatment looks like that will be solid.. but i dont know if i would want my grinder that close to the lathe..

well ol son, ahs thinin yeu jumpinn th gunn a bit here. they ain't no spinny stuff involved here, its all flat stuff...

If I was going to put the grinder on the same cabinet or stand I would put it on the same cabinet or stand & try not to cobble 2 different stands together. Kinda looks like an after thought. One movable stand on top of another??? You can always use threaded inserts & knobs with threaded shanks to hold the grinder in place so you can move it if need be.

bart, you're not swillin the same funny water as the ambassador, are you?:eek::rofl: he's seeing spinny stuff going on, and you're seeing a mobile platform under a mobile platform with no wheels.:dunno: the stand for the grinder is attached to the base, i may move it to one side or the other, once the new casters are in place, and the new cabinet is on the base. i'm planning on attaching the big case with several husky lag screws.

Dan are you using locking casters or regular, free wheel?

steve, they are free wheeling, fully swivelling casters, rated at over 300 lbs each. when i wheel this behemoth onto the driveway, i'll be using wheel chocks to keep it from moving.

Yeah but Bart and Larry i dont think you guys are thinking about how Dan works on the driveway. This way he can take the grinder stand and stand it next to him for the quick side ways sharpening and then back at the lathe. I am guess that is only for transportation and storage purposes.

Dan you better help me out here i feel like Custer at little big horn.

rob, hopefully i've addressed (that's ansered larri) the concerns of our friends. however, arrow removal must be done by yourself, as my services are not covered under plan canada...:rofl::rofl::rofl:

ok, on to the real fun.:D got back home after several hours at the bday party. then it was off to my dad's again. i've got the new casters under all of my benches, except the one for the bandsaw and drill press, it already has them, and the lathe platform. i got about halfway to my dad's and realized i forgot the camera. there will be plenty of pics tomorrow. since all i needed to do was cut the notches in the legs for the lathe cabinet, i cut them and assembled the behemoth. i call it that because it's 60 inches long, 22 inches deep, and 26 inches tall, and weighs in at around 80-90 pounds. i cannot lift this thing by myself, one end of it, but not the whole thing. i still need to rig an elbow and schnozzle setup for down draft dust collection, but hey, that's what tomorrows are for. busy day today, and worked like a dog.
 
well, except for the need for a new power switch (i want one that i can attach to the leg), and longer hold down bolts for the lathe, everything is done for the rebuild. it went faster than i thought it would. i did have help from my dad in moving the lathe from the platform, scooting the cabinet onto the platform, and moving the lathe sans (thas witout, larry) the original leg framework. went to rocklers after church (you think my wife would let me get out of that once in a while:rolleyes:), and picked up the stuff i needed for the downdraft dust collecting. then it was off to the races, old grinder stand off, old lathe off, old casters off, new ones on, new cabinet on, lathe separated from the old frame and on the cabinet, drilling various holes, connecting dust collection stuff, old grinder stand back on, and grinder mounted, not too much for one day, eh?:D it was funny listening to my dad telling me that the spindle height was going to be even higher with this setup, and even funnier when he finally had to admit i was right all along.:rofl: right now the over all spindle height is just right for me. now all i need are the quick and dirty (as my brother once said, this isn't fine furniture), cabinets for the tool and sandpaper storage, and it will be done. :D:thumb:
 

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the rest of the pics....
 

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looks like that will work just fine dano,,:thumb: now you need to get one of those wolverine jigs to keep your tools sharp on your grinder.. cant imagine having to pull everything out of the garage each time to do any work that would get to be a pain in hurry...you got more patience than me on that one:):thumb::thumb:
 
Dan looks great, see you steered clear of the grinder debate eh;)

I am interested in how the dust collection works from under the lathe. Never seen that before. You going to add some sort of hood or is this related to the fine stuff you get from sanding pens. I can see that getting sucked down which is better than in your face.

What wheels/castors did you have on before that you are changing them up? Whats special about these new ones. Are they poly type?
 
rob, the main draw of the dust collection is right under where i do the main amount of work on this lathe. as the bottom of the bed is almost flush with the top of the bench, it should be a pretty good airflow downwards. may not get all the little chips, but the dust shouldn't stand a chance. the differences between the casters are size and weight rating. the originals were 2 1/2 inch, and rated for what was needed. the new ones are 4 inch, and are rated for a little over 300 lbs each. with the original setup, it moved well enough, but needed to be manhandled (personhanled for you pc types) to steer. with the new casters, and a heavier setup, it is easier to move, and even easier to steer than the old setup. this is one of the many reasons why i like this bench design so much, you can change it to suit your needs.

larry, it's a lot more fun to do the cutting out in the sunshine and fresh air, just so long as the temps and humidity aren't in the high 90's:rofl: but i can do the turning of pens and such inside or outside. with the extra space behind the lathe, i could still rig something to catch the small chips as well, routed to a Y fitting to the main dust collector hose.
 
a couple of small things out of the way today. secured the lathe to the bed, and put in a new on/off switch. not that i had any doubts about my electrical handywork, but i had my dad make sure the switch worked....:D:rofl:
 

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well, i thought i was finished.:rofl: there were a few more additions to the behemoth known as my lathe platform. the first was the set of 2 drawers under the bed, next was the addition of a cabinet for 5 drawers on the end, then i added a work light, and finally, i was going to make a drawer for sandpaper and such, but i made a strategic redesign, and it became a sandpaper bin. yes, i still have my grinder, it is mounted on the other side of the lathe.
 

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