Under lathe storage?

[Caniac]

I am in need of more tool storage space and have been toying with the idea of building a set of drawers and a small cabinet on the shelf under my PM 3520 lathe. Right now, the shelf is being used to hold a bunch of blanks- but I could find other places to store those.

The shelf is 17"x48"- about 36" of usuable space in between where the legs meet the lathe bed. I am a little concerned that it might be a nuisance however, as far as chips collecting on top (in an area hard to reach to clean), and whether having the cabinet sticking out from the lathe bed (the front edge of the shelf is 2-3" proud of the front face of the bed) would possibly get in the way.

Anybody else try this, or have further suggestions I should consider? 😕

My other option is to mount another cabinet/rack to the wall behind the lathe, but it's masonry and I'd like to avoid drilling big holes in it that I'll end up regretting later...

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[MichaelMouse]

The irregular surfaces of those blanks are probably more difficult to clean than a nice slick cabinet top.

If you add a cabinet, make sure the top is far enough beneath the ways to allow you to clean out what collects there. It can actually be easier on your back than allowing them to hit the floor. My top runs to the wall behind the lathe, and it's quickly brushed and vacuumed without having to worry about squeezing between wall and lathe and vacuuming under things.

Oh yes, if you build drawers, which is a great way to keep tools and accessories organized and in plain view when opened, remember to close them before you begin turning again, or they fill up with shavings. DAMHIKT

 

[hcbph]

Jeff

That's exactly what I did not too long ago. I have the Jet 1642 and I made a shelf that hooked on the upper castings on the legs. Comes out both front and back then I hung 2 drawers below it. I oriented mine so I could slide my metal lathe below that. Overall, it works well, spot for chisels, shelf you can lay multiple tools on while turning. Downside: you're tempted to lay unrelated junk on it and it does collect sawdust.

Paul

 

[Bob Hadley]

I'd like to see how you've got that metal lathe installed. Been looking to add one, but tough to do without anymore space...

BH

 

[bbrussell]

I have thought several times that I would build s storage unit under my lathe, but I always have second thoughts. A storage unit takes up space that shavings occupy. That means I have to shovel out the space more often. I would rather make shavings than clean-up anyday.

 

[hcbph]

I never said the metal lathe was mounted, just slid under the wood lathe 😛 . I use it for the occasional machine repair I need so I cut the stand off, made a roller platform and set it on that. When I need to use it, I roll it out and sit on a stool, then roll it back under the wood lathe when I'm done.

I took a quick shot of it along with the shelf/drawer combination I made. I didn't expect company so I didn't bother cleaning up 😀 So don't look at the sawdust and crap. The shelf sits on the lips cast into the upper section of the legs. I used a block and a bolt on each side to hold it all steady. That acts kind of like a wood clamp, I didn't have to drill anything on the lathe.

Paul

Sorry about the size of the picture, very limited with the camera I have.

 

[underdog]

About the size of the picture...

There are all kinds of ways to reduce the size. You don't have to rely on the camera. I think you could even use MS Paint to do it, but the quality goes way down...

Try IrfanView. It's a free utility that you can do an awful lot with, including, yes, reducing the size of a photo in several formats. I use it a lot for editing photos for use in our club newsletter.

http://www.irfanview.com/

 

[Don Snethen]

I have the same PM3520A lathe and most certainly did want to use the area underneath for storage. I started out by installing an underslung sheet metal channel to the bottom of the bed ways to keep shavings from falling through. This is simply a 24 gage metal bent in the shape of a channel to slide up over the bottom opening. I had it slightly over bent to put some extra clamping pressure onto the sides of the lathe bed. If you will notice that where the legs attach to the bottom of the bed there is a slight crack, or opening, about a half inch deep on either side. I simply made the channel the right length to slide in one side all the way and still lift up into place and then backed it out into the other side half way. I taped the top edges to the lathe to keep it from moving sideways and now it can't fall out. Two smaller flat sheet metal pieces inserted from each end complete the sealing off of the bed underside. To remove the chips I simply reach in with my hand, or with the vacuum nozzle, and clean out the shavings once in a while. Surprisingly it doesn't fill up that often.

I put a full shelf on the bottom and a second narrower one up eight or nine inches above. Both shelves have a bit of a back on them to keep stuff from getting pushed back too far. I store many lathe accessories on these shelves. To further keep the chips from getting on the shelves I used sheet vinyl, the kind sold for storm window use, draped down over the front and back and attached to, or held to, the legs with rare earth magnets. Again tape holds the top edge in place. My shelved storage stays clean and I can easily view what I keep there. I just lift the vinyl to access the storage. It has worked well for me for several years now. And the stored items all add a bit more weight.

Don from Eugene, OR

 

[pfduffy]

Space under PM lathe

I am in need of more tool storage space and have been toying with the idea of building a set of drawers and a small cabinet on the shelf under my PM 3520 lathe. Right now, the shelf is being used to hold a bunch of blanks- but I could find other places to store those.

The shelf is 17"x48"- about 36" of usuable space in between where the legs meet the lathe bed. I am a little concerned that it might be a nuisance however, as far as chips collecting on top (in an area hard to reach to clean), and whether having the cabinet sticking out from the lathe bed (the front edge of the shelf is 2-3" proud of the front face of the bed) would possibly get in the way.

Anybody else try this, or have further suggestions I should consider? 😕

My other option is to mount another cabinet/rack to the wall behind the lathe, but it's masonry and I'd like to avoid drilling big holes in it that I'll end up regretting later...

Thanks in advance for your input!

I put 300 lbs of sand bags and it help a great deal on reducing vibration from out of round green blanks. Phil

 

[MichaelMouse]

I have thought several times that I would build s storage unit under my lathe, but I always have second thoughts. A storage unit takes up space that shavings occupy. That means I have to shovel out the space more often. I would rather make shavings than clean-up anyday.

Take a look at the thread entitled "Tired of Flying Wood Chips" for a good answer to that problem.

 

[Caniac]

Wow- thanks for all of the great replies! I think I'll go ahead and do it- I liked the suggestion of keeping it low enough to allow easy cleanup, as well as providing a place to rest tools temporarily (keeping it temporary, as always, is the key... 😉 ). The "chip channel" is a pretty cool idea, as well. Might have to incorporate that in the future.

Thanks again for the help!

-Jeff