Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

Been there, done that

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Mike,

Like my buddy Bill Grumbine once said to me, "Upgrading your lathe stand is a time honored tradition among turners".

Being a machine designer, I spent an inordinate amount of time obsessing over the features I wanted to build into my former Jet 1236's new lathe stand. I had designed a new stand with trestle legs, a box for ballast, and a mobility feature. Then I looked at the time it would take me to build this "super stand", and considered that I planned on upgrading within a year or two.

It was then that I decided to modify/upgrade the existing stamped metal stand by installing plywood panels, and enclosing the entire thing. This gave the stand much needed rigidity and added weight. I even added a hinged panel that gave me access to the "ballast compartment". For the year or so that I used this lathe, I was very happy with the upgrade.

If your still set on building a lathe stand, check out this link:

Lathe Bench

Good luck!

See ya around,

Dominic

Re: Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

Peter Teubel

>Regardless of the design you choose, remember one "rule": A lathe stand can NEVER be too heavy.

Re: Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Hi Mike

I built the stand for my Poolewood with the help of a welder friend of mine. Actually he built it and I was the helper, but you get the idea. I designed it, borrowing "liberally" from Poolewood's own design. There were three basic design features to it.

First, it was made so that the spindle was at a comfortable height for me to work for long periods of time. The rule of thumb is spindle at elbow height, although there are variations on that theme for some. A difference of an inch or two can make a big difference in how you feel at the end of a session. You might want to consider blocking up your current stand at some different heights to see how it feels before you commit yourself to something new.

Second, I really love the A frame shape of my stand. I am not a physicist or even an engineer, but I think there is something to be said for an A frame over an L shape with big feet sticking out. I believe it does a better job of absorbing the forces exerted by an out of round chunk rotating on the spindle. My stand has three fixed legs and one telescoping leg for leveling.

Third, and this was a small but significant change, I made a place for me to rest one foot. This was easy with my stand, as I just had one of the braces rotated so that the flat spots were parallel with the floor. Now I have a big flat spot where I can rest one or the other foot and that takes a tremendous strain off my back, especially for those long sessions.

Finally, if there is any way you can use metal, do it. It is all well and good to make things out of wood (hey, that rhymes!), but metal is much better for strength and rigidity. Good luck with it.

Bill

Re: Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

Joel Hunnicutt

>Mine is almost an exact copy of the plan on the teknatool website. The notable exception is the toolholder built into the front of the lathe. Dom would hate it because the chips collect around the tools, but I like having them all right there.

The cavity is filled with sand and the top is 8/4 poplar. I'm guessing that the whole thing weighs in at about 500 lbs.

Re: Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

Glenn Hodges

>When I built a stand for my Nova 3000, I used the same plan. For tool storage I used the lip of the top to place small hooks and screwed them into this lip. I then screwed eye hooks into the end of my tools, they hung right under the lip, and out of the way in plain view. Chip collection was never a problem. I now have a heavy metal frame for my Poolewood.

Re: Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

Craig Chambers

>When I had a Nova 3K I used the plans in Shop Notes Issue #10, modified to fit my lathe. It featured a double layer particle board top, heavy legs, a torsion box for sand and drawers.

I found it to be servicable and the new owner of the lathe is still using the stand.

I particularly found the drawers to be useful...they did fill up with shavings tho'. Perhaps a drawer with openings or a mesh bottom would have been an improvement.

I think the plans are available on-line for a modest fee.

Craig

I like your moblie base

Ron Sardo in PA

>I Bet it works well

You'll have to ask Col. George

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>or his son about it now. He bought my old Jet JWL-1236 and mounted the lathe on his existing shop-built stand. My old encased stand he gave to his son with his old lathe.

But while I had it in my shop, it worked fantastically. So much so, that I decided to make a bigger version to allow me to move my 750 lb Jet 1642 (450lb lathe with 300 lbs of sand as ballast).

See ya around,

Dominic

Re: Features to build in a custom lathe stand?

GeeSeaWhy

>I did something very similar for my Nova 3K, but I did the tool rack a bit differently. Mine is further back and angled so the tool handles tilt towards the front. I used two strips of 3/4" ply spaced about 3" apart. The blades go through both strips and the ferrules fit into the holes in the top strip.

I also routed dadoes in the bottom rails and the inside faces of the legs to hold a 3/4" ply shelf - sandbag holder.

Graeme