Bench for lathe mounting.

I intend to mount my 3 1/2" Myford on a purpose made bench. I have fabricated a six foot by 18" wide bench from three sections of 6" x 2" timbers and intend to stand the whole bench on solid concrete block pillars ( with two just either side of the lathe mounting bolts), built off the solid concrete floor, to take out any chance of movement. Does that sound OK?

Mike

Mike

Just some thoughts on what I visualise your bench will look like :

How will you make sure a top of this type of construction is flat with no twist either when installed and over time.

Will you have facilities to level the lathe?

Are you providing a tray to catch swarf and/or coolant?

Will the two columns be attached to a wall and tied together other than by the top ?

Personally I would go for something deeper than 18 inches if you have the space.

Hope that helps.

Sounds like a waste of a nice solid assembly bench. If you're going to build two solid pillars anyway why not align them with the feet and join them with a 3x2 council quality paving slab and a metal top if 3ft is wide enough or a couple of concrete fence spurs.

If there is space in front of the lathe it will attract 'stuff' and clutter which then drops on the floor and encourages bad language. If there is space at the back of the lathe it looks like it should house stuff and clutter but it is awkward to get at and clean so encourages bad language.. So narrow bench is best.

Thanks for the comments. Good queries.

I intend to have the support walls tied in to the back (brick) wall of the garage. I will have a welded angle iron frame to tie the two walls together, with holes for the lathe mountings, to "sandwich" the bench between the lathe base and the angle supports. The lathe mounting bolts can then be used with packings/washers to level everything. I also intend to have a metal sheet covering the bench for easy cleaning/swarf collection. The reason for the extra length is so that I can mount my grinder and vice there and have somewhere to keep odds and ends whilst working.

HI Mike.

Grinder next to your lathe sounds like a recipe for disaster . The grinding dust will / could land on the bed of the lathe and be ground in as you move the saddle and or tailstock back and forth . Keep it as far away as poss if I were you. No doubt others will advise the same

Dave

It is for this very reason I quite simply do not - for any reason - grind anything in my workshop. I put my Workmate up outside, clamp the Grinder or Belt sander to it and crack on.

I have spent too much time rectifying the effects of grinding dust to want to have the same problems with my own machines.

graham.

You guys are great. What a super forum. Stopping my mistakes before they happen! I was going to give my good lady her garden shed back but I guess that I'll have to keep some of the workbench in there for my grinding work, etc. Many thanks to all, much appreciated comments,

Mike

Mike,

Personally I wouldn't use wood anywhere in a machine tool stand, just metal and/or concrete. Wood will move as the humidity varies.

Regards,

Andrew

Andrew,

Quite agree - temp. + humidity both go up and down like a whores drawers. I have a maximum + minimum thermometer and humidity gauge in my wooden shed-cum-workshop. Very enlightening results! I cover lathe, bench drill, mill and workbench with large sheets of plastic. Only my mill has suffered slight rusting in the past but now cured with multiple thick plastic bags, ex-sand and ballast, together with home - made heater on tray. Cheap to run, 4 old-style Edison 60 Watt bulbs in brass batten-holders all wired in series so only about 15 W and chuck out quite a bit of warmth. Held in reserve if needed, oil-filled radiator for general heating, humidity-extractor and a 60W tubular heater for lathe drip tray.

I find Myford on its stand on floor too low for me and I`m only 5ft 11. I have two front - to - back brick piers under the "feet" of the stand. About 3 courses high, I think and topped with a strip of roofing felt which with weight, makes everything stick, preventing movement. The mill is similarly raised on wooden blocks.

John

For my money, mount the lathe on a firm (NOT flexible) steel bench, made out of angle iron or box section.

having done that, level the lathe so that there is no twist in the bed from headstock to tailstock

The ML7 bed is relatively flexible. Once you have it twist free, with sensible torque on the fixings, do not put any additional "nip" on any of the fixings "for good measure" or you put twist back into it.

If twisted, you will never turn taper free. The Myford instruction book tells how to machine test pieces to check, and where to shim / adjust if twisted. My preference is to use as sensitive a spirit leveas possible and check at each end, and adjust until both ends read the same. This will mean a lot of iterative adjustments, but the time spent is worthwhile in terms of accuracy in the long term.

Just be patient and keep at it!

Good Luck

Howard

To minimise risk of rusting, insulate the workshop as well as possible, walls and roof, floor as well as possible.

If you install vents, put one at lowest possible level; damp air is heavier than dry air, so it will fall ouit of the low level vent. Needless to say, make sure that the outsides of the vents are weather proof to prevent rain ingress.

If you are worried during cold spells, a 60 watt heater (on a 240V supply) will keep the chill off, and hopefully above the dew point. Before I did this, it was not unknown to find the oil on the bed of my Myford starting to emulsify with the moisture. If you cover the lathe, or any machine tool, do leave the bottom open so that any moist air can escape.

I intend to use solid metal spacers between the lathe mountings and the top of the block wall/frame to isolate the lathe from the wood (the wood being bored out large enough to give clearance on the spacings). I can them shim the spacers to get everything level.

Here's the latest. As we all do, I am altering my design ideas as i'm going along! I ended up mounting the lathe on a fabricated steel tray and then onto the solid concrete supports. I then mounted my 2" (50mm) thick planking to either side of the concrete supports (on bolted and welded angle iron adjacent to the supports and on a framework at the other end). I am now in the process of welding/ fabricating a hinged, adjustable (for belt adjustments) framework to support the idler shaft pulleys. I just wish that I had a working lathe to help with making the bits!!! Work in progress.

Mike

Edited By Mike Teaman on 22/11/2013 20:13:33