# A-Level lathe stand help



## canemichael97 (Sep 22, 2015)

Hi all,
I am currently studying for my a levels and i am also a keen woodturner. For my project i have chosen to make a "all-in-one" stand for my lathe. I'm thinking it should have some storage functionality for all chisels and other accessories but also some built in lighting and dust/chip collection. I am also thinking about adding an emergency stop button/foot pedal just to add some extra functionality to it.

As part of my research section i have to complete a survey to find out what others think and get there views on my design/s. Below is a link to a quick survey that should take less than two minuets to complete and would be greatly appreciated if you could complete it.

Also if you have any design ideas or any other comments please feel free to mention them as anything you have will help me.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3HFLNC7

Thanks
Mike


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

The emergency stop switch is a good idea. I don't like tool storage in the stand because all the shavings get in the way.


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## mikeshoops (Apr 3, 2014)

I totally agree. I raised my lathe with tool storage outside of the headstock end and it is a pain to keep clean. I'm a fan of a mobile cart for accessorizing. I have a tool tray under the lathe I never use. If it ever gets in the way of my footwork, I'll remove it, too. The tool should be all about safety and ergonomics. A safety switch (magnetic) is a good idea. My preference is to never clutter the lathe with the exception of dust collection when sanding and refining cuts. 

One of these days I'll make a hood to attach with magnets to a 6" hose. If it collects the shavings, I may use it all the time.


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

I store nothing under the lathe at all.

I've tried it in the past, and I don't like it. 
After just a short while of turning, especially rough turning, there's a mountain of chips under the lathe and they tend to swamp and obstruct access to anything in that area.

Dust extraction works for sanding, but chip extraction when turning generally doesn't, especially when turning green wood. The shavings are just too much like uncooperative spaghetti, and anything with a big enough aperture and enough suction horsepower to deal with them would also devour loose sanding discs and maybe even small tools. 
It would certainly imperil the shop cat.

Tools are best stored off to one side of the action, in a stand-alone rack or other contrivance.

I do have a small shelf attached to the lathe to the left of the headstock which has holes drilled in it to accept chuck keys, live centers, jacobs chuck, drive centers, allen wrenches for chuck jaws and so on, and the knockout bar. 
But everything else is stored away from the lathe on a wheeled stand.

That way nothing I need gets buried and clean-up is faster and easier.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

I agree with ninethousandfeet and the others ... Storage beneath the lathe only sounds like a good idea before finding out that it creates more problems than benefits. Even though my lathe has provisions for adding a wooden shelf, I don't even care to do that because that is just one more place for shavings and dust to pile up.


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## canemichael97 (Sep 22, 2015)

Thanks for your replies, i do agree with the chips being a problem with the under lathe storage. However i was thinking of places the chisels in draws like this








Again any further contributions help alot towards my final grade,

Many thanks
Mike


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

canemichael97 said:


> However i was thinking of places the chisels in draws like this...


 Yes, there are turners (and woodworkers generally) who do like to have everything neatly stored in drawers and the like.

There are turners who have "sets" of tools with matching handles, some of them being made by the turner, stored neatly in rows and they're beautiful.

But for a production turner, storing often-used tools in drawers is just too time-consuming to fool with. 
Having to open and close a drawer once or twice a day to access infrequently-used tools is perhaps no big deal, but when it stretches to many, many times a day to access regular tools it makes no sense at all. 

No. We like things to be out in the open where they can be seen and reached without delay. A rack on wheels for the often-used tools is the way to go.
And with a place for everything, so that if a tool is not in the rack, a simple glance will reveal the gap where it normally resides, and is a reminder to go find it _before_ it gets scooped up and tossed out with the shavings.
Don't ask me how I know that.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Ditto what was just said. It is nice to have a nice storage area for the tools but when your actually using them it's essential to simply be able to reach over and grab the next tool. If your doing any kind of production work you will also have calipers and other things that need to be instantly available.


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## canemichael97 (Sep 22, 2015)

So in your opinions a rack for frequently used tools is ideal be drawers such as the image previous could be used for less frequently required tools?

I understand the need for trolleys and racks to have everything handy and easy to get however the reason i am designing this stand is for workshops with very little space


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I'm fixing to convert my second rolling tool box into a lathe tool holder. I'm going to put as many tools as possible on top, but I will have to put some inside.


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

canemichael97 said:


> So in your opinions a rack for frequently used tools is ideal be drawers such as the image previous could be used for less frequently required tools?


 Oh sure. 

Maybe if the context of your design is extremely limited working space, a combination open rack/cabinet/drawer thingy, on wheels, which would fit under the lathe, but which could also be wheeled out into a more convenient location (out of the line of fire, as it were) when actually turning? 
Just a thought.

Anyway, tools which need to be accommodated for frequent access are perhaps up to 10 turning tools which are used almost constantly. I do 90% of my bowl work, just as one example, with just 4 or 5 tools, but I have duplicates of those tools to give me a bit longer turning time between sessions at the grinder. If I just had one of each tool I could manage with 5 tools real handy. It would be a different 5 for spindle work than for faceplate work, but that would be manageable.

Also calipers. A vernier caliper. Double ended caliper for checking wall thickness. Compass. Dividers. Outside and Inside calipers. 
Production turners use all those things constantly and might have several calipers and dividers permanently set to mark off/measure often-used diameters. I keep mine on magnetic strips on a wall where I can see and reach them easily

Then there are a number of things which lend themselves to being stored (securely) in holes drilled in a shelf or blind holes in a block of wood. Mine is attached to the end of the lathe bed just to the left of the headstock.
Drive center(s). Probably a Jacobs chuck on a morse taper shank. Live center(s). Chuck keys and keys for chuck jaw screws. Tommy bars for removing accessories from the spindle threads. A knockout bar. A stout carpenter's pencil. Perhaps a depth drill. 

Items for drawer storage might be, in addition to infrequently used turning tools, twist drill sets, forstner drillbits, possibly chucks-though mine are out in the open, templates, sanding discs and backup pads, A sketchpad and pencils, power tools like drill motors and angle sanders. I use other power tools with the work still on the lathe sometimes too, like reciprocating carvers and high-speed "Dremel" style tools.
(You might want to think about incorporating some power outlets as part of your design now I think about it.)


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

Here is one reason that I don't care to store stuff under the lathe ... and, this is from just a few minutes worth of turning. A full day's worth would be about knee deep ... after it is trampled down. :laughing:

Don't even mention sanding. Shavings are nothing in comparison to sanding dust.









I also want to be able to get very close to the lathe and be able to put my feet beneath it without any interference from anything.

And, here are some of the shavings on the ground from that same piece. Most of the shavings have been swept away so that I have a place to stand.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I have a wall mounted tool storage and a under lathe mouthed storage. I still have tools laying on the floor because my racks won't fit them. I also don't have any good place to put accessories. My scroll saw seems to be a convenient place to hang my face shield and calipers. I am going to put everything in my tool box in my other larger tool box, and convert this one to lathe tool storage with the end result because similar to what John Lucas has. The lathe is even pretty clean in the picture after only finishing the small bowl seen in the picture. Something like Bill posted is more typical.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

hwebb99 said:


> .... I still have tools laying on the floor because my racks won't fit them....
> View attachment 187305


I noticed the SRG in the tools on the floor ... is that some sort of ergonomic handle? ... or ... is it what I think it is? :laughing:


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

Bill Boehme said:


> I noticed the SRG in the tools on the floor ... is that some sort of ergonomic handle? ... or ... is it what I think it is? :laughing:


 Are you talking about the big Crown one with a bent tang? I wasn't responsible for that and that is even after I straightened it. I know better than using a SRG ( spindle roughing gouge ) to rough out the biggest bowl a Powermatic 3520 will swing.


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## canemichael97 (Sep 22, 2015)

Hi al, project has finished now and i have uploaded some pictures of the final product, if you don't mind writing a quick review on how you think it looks and whether you believe the product fits its original purpose.
Also i have sent you a link to another survey if you have the time to fill this out.

Many thanks once again for all you help.


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## JeffH56 (May 4, 2016)

Hi Mike,
I believe the lathe stand looks great and completes the initial brief we set out. However I do believe the triangular supports on the sides would not be compatible with my lathe. Also the magnetic strip and drawer wouldn't hold all of my tools. The stand would be much better with a few more drawers


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## louise (May 4, 2016)

Hi Mike,
The stand looks very sturdy with the steel legs. The contrast of steel and waxed timber also looks great. The storage would just about be enough for me but I don't like how there is now adjustable light which I was keen on in the original design.


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