Makers stand or make own

[RogerJSJ]

I'm just about to take the plunge and buy a lathe - but not sure about the stand. Is it better to go with the makers stand at c. £200 (for example for one of the Axminster lathes) or build a wooden bench (or similar)? What are the pros and cons?

Any advice gratefully accepted.

 

[chipmunk]

You might find this thread interesting... https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/new-turner-needing-advice-please-t92568.html

The basic pros of a build your own is that it'll be the right height for you and you can build in the mass you need but it also needs to be rigid which may or may not be easy to achieve.

The pros of a bought stand is that usually they'll be rigid but almost certainly will not be the right height for you and probably haven't got much mass to damp down vibration.

Good luck and hope this helps
Jon

 

[woodfarmer]

I think it might also depend a bit on how you plan to "grow" your setup. For instance if like me you add a bed extension in order to get outboard turning of larger objects, starting with the makers stand will make life a lot easier because the makers stand is pre drilled to allow extending the bed length or swing.. I have the bed extension for my Axi lathe. If you doubt you will go down that route I would not worry too much about bed height. If it is too high you can use duckboards or even a sheet of plywood to raise yourself in relation to the lathe. Likewise you can raise the lathe easily by bolting it on something such as flat steel on plywood.

 

[Bigbud78]

After reading the linked thread I'm looking at upgrading my record stand, New legs and building in a shelf to carry the sand

 

[Woodchips2]

I made a very solid stand from two sheets of 18mm chipboard lathe-stand-free-to-a-good-home-t72048.html to a design by Peter Child. Cheap as chips plus if you wanted extra stability you could load the shelf with sand bags or concrete blocks.

Regards Keith

 

[RogerJSJ]

Thanks for the input.

Decisions, Decisions!

 

[WoodMangler]

I built the stand specified in Keith Rowley's book Woodturning - A Foundation Course, adjusted for my height. The only other change to his design was to make the bottom shelf into 3" deep hollow box, and fill it with (dry) builder's ballast. The resultant bench is solid as a rock, vibration-free, and I don't feel guilty when I make holes in it or, attach things to it

 

[user 18352]

I made mine from U section welded up and topped with marine ply where the lathe bolts to it, good height for me and very little vibration unless I get silly.

Its getting bolted to the floor when I decide on its final location, tho after moving it 3 times I'm relatively happy with where it is at the minute.

The rest of the pallet racking got made into high level board storage, and theres still quite a bit left that will do for any upcoming projects, try your local scrap yard or big warehouses that may have some damaged racks as you only need 3-4ft lengths max.

Make your own and customise it to taste, try and visit a few workshops and see what works, much better than googling it