New bench for an old mini lathe

Little Machine Shop sells metal stands for mini lathes. They look alright but I think they’re really short.

I upgraded to a 7x16 lathe and made this bench for my now secondary and partially stripped 7x10 so I can keep things kind of clean and stable, and still be able to move it out of the way when I don’t need it.

The new bench is about 40x18”—two thirds the size of the old one that the new lathe is on now, but bigger and 4 1/2” higher than the LMS stand, at 39”. It weighs the same as that does not counting the motor and drive.

Attachment 23838

Finished

Attachment 23839

Select hardwood

Attachment 23840

Mortise...

Attachment 23841

...and tenon

Attachment 23842

Upside down base...

Attachment 23843

...and upside down top

Attachment 23844

Routing the oak top layer...

Attachment 23845

...for a drain

Attachment 23846

Wheels on the headstock end...

Attachment 23847

...and brake, clutch and accelerator pedals in front.

VERY NICE: good thing you wont need "Alexa" to helpyou drive it.LOL.

ENJOY TURNING!THANKS for posting.

Built like a brick and like your drain idea, Well Done! Look like Keyboard pedals? Very curious about how you made a brake and why a clutch and can you still reverse directions?

Thanks for sharing!

:hattip: PJ

Thanks, Ranald,

Running it can be more like musical performance than driving, for more than one reason! Maybe Alexa could be the conductor.

- Clark

Thanks, PJ,

Haha, a brick something with plumbing...

I finished the drain part with slow curing epoxy before applying that sink stuff and the combination is pretty durable. I heated the top to help the epoxy soak in and the hard wood base adds some impact resistance for when I drop tools on it.

Attachment 23882

For the brake I bought a cheap Bowden cable go-kart caliper and made a disc to go in place of the outboard spindle gear since I transferred the rest of the threading parts to the longer lathe.

Attachment 23883

Both pedals release the car air conditioner clutch that I jammed onto on one of the countershafts, with a spring on the brake plunger so it can press the switch right at the beginning. It’s such light lathe the clutch is okay for stopping the spindle by itself, but the mechanical brake is much faster, and just as important for my purposes, it holds it still until I release it.

Attachment 23884

The pedals themselves are just piano pedals I had but housing them loose like for electronic keyboards makes it easier to stick bigger stuff under the bench

The dc motor and controller are from an old treadmill so I still have to stop the motor and flip a switch to reverse. I found instructions to give it pushbutton start and stop that were easy to follow, so I may do something similar for reverse, too.

Thanks threesixesinarow for the information! Brilliant on the AC clutch and piano pedal switches..classic HMT! Seen the cable brake somewhere before and thought about drilling the disc to make an indexer¿ Also really like type belt you used, excellent!

Great build overall! Thanks again for sharing it here.

:hattip: PJ

very nice I particularly like the weight and sturdiness of the base, Almost any lathe can benefit from having more mass in the base. I have often thought about filling the storage compartment below my 17" Le Blond with concrete but the compartment is too handy for storing little used tooling

Oh duh, I like the way you attached the wheels. I just finished making a stand for my (new-to-me) 'old iron' Monkey Wards wood lathe. It's nice and sturdy but a b-e-a-s-t to move. I've been looking at the 1001 various designs out there for attaching wheels to a stand, but none as simple as yours...

a couple of sand bags might help : these can be easily removed later & wont destroy your tools placed on top of them.... that is if you dont do the Alfred Hitchcock "psycho" on the bags with your blades. Happy turning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PJs

thought about drilling the disc to make an indexer¿

---

Thanks again, PJ,

Good call on the brake disc as an indexer! Some of the parts I will make with it have more than one cross drilled hole, too.

⁃ Clark

Attachment 23918

Thanks, Frank,

It can be useful having easy, portable machines, too. For this one, though, as small as it is, I wasn’t sure the stand would be heavy enough! Or at least have low enough center of gravity.

Like Ranald suggested, I can hang something like sandbags on the inside if it’s a problem. I have a bunch of lead weights I can use.

Thanks, Bruce,

I’m sure I looked at the same ones as you.

I just lift the lighter tailstock end an inch or two to lower the casters to the floor and then move it like a wheelbarrow but for heavier machines like yours you could probably combine it with one of the more elegant solutions.

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Thanks threesixesinarow! We've added your Lathe Bench to our Lathes category,
as well as to your builder page: threesixesinarow's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-lathe-bench-6"> <img src="/uploads/214001/homemade-lathe-bench-6.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-lathe-bench-6">Lathe Bench</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/threesixesinarow_2">threesixesinarow</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/lathe'>lathe</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/table'>table</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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<!-- BEGIN /var/www/html/homemadetools/protected/modules/zeus/views/tool/postUpdate.php -->
Thanks threesixesinarow! We've added your Mini Lathe Brake to our Lathe Accessories category,
as well as to your builder page: threesixesinarow's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-mini-lathe-brake"> <img src="/uploads/214006/homemade-mini-lathe-brake.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-mini-lathe-brake">Mini Lathe Brake</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/threesixesinarow_2">threesixesinarow</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/brake'>brake</a>, <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/lathe'>lathe</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Brake parts with 1-1/4” thick spacer and 5/16” thick adapter and rotor

Attachment 23933

Bench sketch

Attachment 23935

Attachment 24420Attachment 24421


Piano pedals sometimes use this kind of wooden two piece bearing, with felt lining material:

Attachment 24422

Attachment 24952

Brake resistor for the motor

Attachment 24953

Square hole in a round hole

Attachment 24954

Added drawers
Attachment 26070Attachment 26071

This handles up to 4’ long 1/2” diameter bars and works with weights and pulleys and fishing line to push the bars through the spindle up to a stop when the collet is opened. It pushes when it’s closed, too, adding to the load on the headstock bearings, but that helps to keep the bars centered and not rattling around in the slotted feed tube when it’s running.

Attachment 26374 Attachment 26376

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$3 alignment tool
Attachment 26713