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Adjustable Height Lathe Stand

B

bonsaipeter

Peter Toch
Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
75
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6
Location
Roanoke, VA
Our turning club, Blue Ridge Woodturners, has decided to refurbish an older lathe we own so that it can be used for demonstrations at remote sites. This work will also include a new stand as the old one is unstable and at best in need of major repair. Our thought is to design and build or purchase a suitable stand that will readily allow us to adjust the height of the lathe to comfortably accomodate turners tall and short. The stand must be rock steady when the lathe is in use and yet allow for easy portability. The thought of a platform for shorter turners as a solution is not overly appealing as we are concerned that a demonstrator could accidentally mis-step off of it and get hurt.

Ideas are welcome?

Peter Toch
 
Even an oversize platform doesn't sound so great. Waaaay back when, I used to use an overturned soda crate to reach the top areas of a drafting table - bad, bad, bad.

How about a platform for the lathe? U-shaped to allow foot room. Maybe make it with solid corners (under the lathe's feet) and sheet metal body, so you could fill it with water for ballast. Need to bring a hose for filling and emptying, and a pump for emptying.

Hmmm. Probably NG if you need to adjust frequently. Maybe jack screws combined with solid corners? (Just thinking out loud.)

How much adjustment do you think you'll need?

JG
 
Platforms aren't so bad. I've used them several times at demos cause I ain't that tall.
My thoughts on an adjustable stand would be to mount 2 inexpensive hydraulic jacks under the lathe. The adjustable part of the stand itself could be a box within a box. You could put slots in the sides to hold some large bolts that could be tightened after the lathe is raised or lowered to add stability.
A simpler but slower option would be to use square tubular legs that slide inside each other like car jack stands. Then simply raise one end of the lathe with a hydraulic jack, extend the legs and put a pin in some matching holes. Then raise the other side and do the same. This would be quick, easy and secure and could have a wide range of sizes. You could even make it so that when the legs were fully collapsed it would sit on a set of permanently attached wheels so that you could roll it for storage.
The rolling hydraulic jacks are really inexpensive at automotive stores. I bought one for $16. I lift my Powermatic and put wheels under it when I need to move it.
 
To answer Joe's question, we figure an adjustability range of 10"-12" should cover all heights of demonstrators.

Peter Toch
 
I'll second John's suggestion of pinned telescoping legs. If you used different spacings on the outer and inner member, you could get a reasonable fineness of adjustment with minimum holes. (e.g. 2 holes 1" apart on the outer member, and 5 holes 2" apart on the inner member would give you 11" of adjustment in 1" increments.)
 
Yep. Telescoping legs much better. To reduce rattle, drill two additional holes on adjacent sides of the outer tube beyond the hole region. Weld nuts over the holes and use a bolt or threaded handle to jam against the inside tube (like on a tool post).

JH
 
One of the KC chapters has what I personally think is a pretty neat idea. I think the stand started out life as a Jet Mini stand (virtually interchangeable with the Delta stand except for color). There is a means of securing the stand at more than the original few choices for height, and there's a scissor jack in the middle for painless, one person operation.

Pictures could probably be arranged for the asking.

Bud, can you offer more details???
 
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