Advice for building a lathe bench

[=Adam=]

Hi guys!

Today I have bought my first ever lathe and I am itching to have a go on it but I have nowhere to safely use it at the moment as I have no bench

I understand that a sturdy bench is required due to the vibrations from the machine. Is it possible to make a suitable/sturdy bench from softwood?

If not then what should I be looking to make it out of?

The thread at the top of the page (quick table for friend) shows some basic benches which would be ideal for me but would they be strong enough?

Thanks for looking and I look forward
To hearing the replies!

 

[MickCheese]

Softwood would be appropriate. As long as it is strong then just weight it to hold it down or screw it to the wall.

Mick

 

[Deejay]

Morning Adam

stand-for-lathe-t37538.html

might help.

Cheers

Dave

 

[=Adam=]

Thanks for the info guys!

From what I have seen online, most people have gone with softwood and mdf benches and seem to be doing fine with them.

I think what I will do is make a basic bench like the one I posted about, but double up on some of the supports, so I would have say two 2x4's laminated together as legs and have two separate 2x4 cross braces to make it sturdy. Does this principle sound right?

I think i will also build some storage shelfs for wood underneath to help weight it down!

I will do a sketchup of the design to show what I mean!

Thanks guys!


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.668990,-4.056070

 

[Andrewf]

My lathe sits on a wooden bench made from soft wood fence posts. The bench is more like a large saw horse than a usual work bench. The top is just a little bit bigger than the footprint of the lathe. The sprayed legs give better stability, and it takes up less room in the workshop. They also allow you to stand close to the lathe.

 

[Aled Dafis]

A few bags of sand on a shelf below the lathe are great to weigh your machine down as well as absorbing vibrations.

 

[Aled Dafis]

My lathe sits on a wooden bench made from soft wood fence posts. The bench is more like a large saw horse than a usual work bench. The top is just a little bit bigger than the footprint of the lathe. The sprayed legs give better stability, and it takes up less room in the workshop. They also allow you to stand close to the lathe.

I'd be tempted to go with the large saw horse idea above, and clad the frame in ply to form a big box that I'd fill with sand. Remember not to build the cladding all the way to the floor though as you'll need to stand as close as possible to the machine so you'll need room for your feet, it may sound a little silly, but it really does make the world of difference.

 

[=Adam=]

Bags of sand are a very good idea!

I have sketched up a bench, however the work horse idea seems to be a bit easier.

I was also thinking of building in a tool storage rack onto the rear half of the work surface. But thinking of it now, would this cause the tools to rattle and possibly fall off?


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.665526,-4.065679

 

[TheTiddles]

A lot of it depends on what lathe you have! For a midi size or below you really don't need much. Our Jet midi sits on a rolling cabinet with kitchen worktop on the top and a carcase made from 18mm shuttering ply with an ash face-frame, no vibration problems at all. However, it's rarely used for anything large or excentric.

I made some large burr bowls with a 3-speed Elu lathe sat on a workmate years ago. They turned out just fine, however the lathe would walk accross the garage floor and my home-made balancing disk jetisoned its tool-steel weights into the walls, floor and ceiling, one of them is still embedded. I am not recommending the workmate or the balancing disk idea, just for clarity.

If you aren't planning to move the lathe then some form of rack can be made to keep blanks on under the lathe which has the dual purpose of storage and keeping it weighed down. The ultimate way to secure a lathe bench is to the walls and floor, cheap and adds a lot of mass to it, in fact, about as much mass as it is possible to attach to anything on this planet!

Aidan

 

[=Adam=]

I have done a bit of clearing today and have been able to take some measurements which have allowed me to come up with the following design:

The plan is to mount a lathe and a grinder on the bench and then store some tools on the back board, with the shelves being able to store some larger tools and blanks.

The one question that I have is what is the wood called that is used for hanging tool storage? To me it looks like pre drilled mdf, but google searches don't show anything like that, is there a more specific name for it?

Thanks for looking!

Comments on the design would be great too!

 

[marcros]

The one question that I have is what is the wood called that is used for hanging tool storage? To me it looks like pre drilled mdf, but google searches don't show anything like that, is there a more specific name for it?

peg board (may be 1 word???)

 

[TheTiddles]

Pegboard it is, everywhere in the USA, much harder to find here and boy is it ugly!

Aidan

 

[marcros]

there is a discussion here post641488.html?hilit=pegboard#p641488

 

[Dibs-h]

Planning to make one of these when I get time and get my head round the drawings.

http://www.owdman.co.uk/howto/howto2.htm

Dibs

 

[Melinda_dd]

Words of warning for mounting tools on board behind... far too tempting to reach over a spinning lathe for another tool.....
before you know it your all tangled up and claiming sick pay at work!

Not talking from experience... just numerous posts on the forum warning against it
Congrats on your purchase... be prepared for your bank balance to take a hammering!!!

 

[=Adam=]

Would the back board be safe when using the lathe? In terms of the vibrations from the machine shaking the tools off?

I just want to build it and get going now


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.669215,-4.055811

 

[Dibs-h]

Would the back board be safe when using the lathe? In terms of the vibrations from the machine shaking the tools off?

I just want to build it and get going now


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.669215,-4.055811

I wouldn't want to reach over the lathe to reach tools as one day you'll do it with the lathe running and it won't be forgiving.

I like the design on Jacob's website with the tools underneath.

HIH

Dibs