Lathe stand upgrades

[SawDustB]

So here's my rough thoughts on the grinder raising. I realize there aren't attachment details and so on here, but assume there's some kind of heavy duty hinge (gate hinge or similar) attaching the back of the grinder platform to the lathe stand. The support underneath could either be just a stick that get put in place, or a telescoping/folding support.

Here's the "up" position. The grinder fits entirely within that space, and clears by an inch or two going through rotating up or down. The piece behind it becomes the door over the opening when it's down, and I figure it can't hurt with containing dust.

And of course, this is it in the down position. The one thing I'm not crazy about is putting the weight hanging off that one spot under the lathe. I'm also not sure it it''ll want to vibrate when the lathe is going.

Anyway, I'm not quite ready to jump into doing it, but I thought I'd see if anyone had any brilliant additions or changes to it. It should get the grinder up to working height, and might give me a spot to mount tool rests in front (although they might need to fold up). It does mean I'm storing it upside down, and putting all of its weight hanging on a single spot. I looked at building something closer to the mixer lifts, but that seems like a much more involved project than just using a couple of big hinges.

 

[wtnhighlander]

Approriately sized hinges should work fine. I would include a means to lock the grinder in its stored position, and maybe add some counter weight to the rear of the stand to ensure the center of gravity is under the bed, not offset. An accidental split of spinning material could tip the machine forward as it becomes unbalanced, with the grinder's weight somewhat high in the stand and slightly forward, as shown.

[SawDustB]

6 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Approriately sized hinges should work fine. I would include a means to lock the grinder in its stored position, and maybe add some counter weight to the rear of the stand to ensure the center of gravity is under the bed, not offset. An accidental split of spinning material could tip the machine forward as it becomes unbalanced, with the grinder's weight somewhat high in the stand and slightly forward, as shown.

I expect that if I went ahead, I'd have latches of some kind to secure it to the stand in the stored position. Ideally I'd also have an eye hook to transfer the weight to under the bed, but that won't be reachable because the stand is closed in for dust reasons. I can add some more weight to the bottom if it's unsteady at all, although with the splayed legs it seems pretty solid.

[Mark J]

What wtnhighlander said.  

Also be aware that if you're turning much more than one knob you are going to be sharpening frequently--going back and forth to the grinder and the lathe.  The grinder will be in your way for lathe work (you need right arm elbow room even for small projects), so the grinder is going to have to go up and down frequently.  

Grinding tools creates a great deal of dust which is a mix of high speed steel and aluminum oxide.  Of course you don't want this grit around the lathe or your work.  The shield you are envisioning will help, but only some.  

You will not be able to use any of the sharpening jigs (Tormek, Wolverine-Varigrind) with your set up.  But lots of people (not me) free hand grind. 

Why not go with the simpler set up first (lift out grinder).  Then after you see how you're using the grinder and the mess, etc., you can decide if the phase 2 construction is worth it.  

[wtnhighlander]

I wonder how awkward it might be to put the grinder on a fixed mount under the lathe, but tilted backward so that you coukd just bend forward at the waist to address the grinder at the same angle that would result if it were higher, but mounted flat?

[SawDustB]

1 minute ago, Mark J said:

Why not go with the simpler set up first (lift out grinder).  Then after you see how you're using the grinder and the mess, etc., you can decide if the phase 2 construction is worth it.  

That's probably the right approach. I'm honestly not sure yet how much I'll just the lathe, so I may change my thoughts after I've had it for a bit. I also need to finish this up in the next few days so I can take care of a couple of small Christmas presents. The only other work I really need to do on this is to build the upper drawer and add the drawer fronts & handles. After that I have a couple of pen kits to try.

[..Kev]

Just my 2 worth..

When I'm at the lathe, I try and follow the proper path and sharpen often.  This is why I set my Tormek and my slow speed grinder next to the lathe and at bench top height.  I know myself well enough to know that if there's extra steps involved, I'll most likely push that tool to the point where the sharpening takes much longer and it's really a process I don't enjoy.

Obviously, every shop is different in available space etc.  Like I said, just my 2 worth.

[Chestnut]

I think you should just do an addition on your garage and double your shop size . I know you have limited space hence the joke but do you have wall space somewhere that you could hang the grinder Murphy bed style and have it flop down when you need it? Maybe that won't work....

I'm also envisioning some pulley system to lower it form the ceiling.... been thinking about this one for storing items in my own garage.

[SawDustB]

9 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

I think you should just do an addition on your garage and double your shop size . I know you have limited space hence the joke but do you have wall space somewhere that you could hang the grinder Murphy bed style and have it flop down when you need it? Maybe that won't work....

I'm also envisioning some pulley system to lower it form the ceiling.... been thinking about this one for storing items in my own garage.

I know you're joking but I did actually look into the addition. I don't have enough distance to the property line to make it work. I might be able to find a spot on the wall, but even that space is pretty much gone. I've got two man doors, a garage door, and a large window that all eat up a lot of the wall space. My wife also insists on having some household stuff in there too, although she gave up on the car well before I started woodworking.

Really, the grinder isn't all that heavy (it's only a 6") so the most sensible thing is to lift it out when I need it. I tend to set up the garage for different operations (heavy table saw use, using the planer, etc) and I expect turning will be no different. If I didn't do this, I'm not sure I could even do much woodworking in the space unless I became a mostly hand tool user.

[wtnhighlander]

19 hours ago, Chestnut said:

I think you should just do an addition on your garage and double your shop size . I know you have limited space hence the joke but do you have wall space somewhere that you could hang the grinder Murphy bed style and have it flop down when you need it? Maybe that won't work....

I'm also envisioning some pulley system to lower it form the ceiling.... been thinking about this one for storing items in my own garage.

One garage door opener, some aircraft cable, and a pulley systam.

Bam.

Need an auxiliary way to lock the load in the upper position for safety, not just hanging from the cables.

[Chestnut]

3 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

One garage door opener, some aircraft cable, and a pulley systam.

Bam.

Need an auxiliary way to lock the load in the upper position for safety, not just hanging from the cables.

This is way more complicate than i was thinking. I was thinking a rope and one of those pulley things with locking pawl. Kinda like how the deer hanging rigs work, or window blinds.

[legenddc]

I've seen people mount metal working vises onto trailer hitches and mount a hitch receiver somewhere (i.e. under a workbench). Maybe you could do that. Store it under the lathe like you're planning but have a hitch receiver at the tail end of the lathe or elsewhere.

My other suggestion would be a fliptop workstation  and put another tool on the other side to consolidate the footprint some.

[SawDustB]

1 hour ago, legenddc said:

I've seen people mount metal working vises onto trailer hitches and mount a hitch receiver somewhere (i.e. under a workbench). Maybe you could do that. Store it under the lathe like you're planning but have a hitch receiver at the tail end of the lathe or elsewhere.

My other suggestion would be a fliptop workstation  and put another tool on the other side to consolidate the footprint some.

I've got one of those already in the workshop. It's fantastic, but no space for another one at this point. I could do the hitch receiver, but for this I think it's  easier and cheaper to put it on a piece of plywood and clamp it down to a work stand. I think I've settled on just doing nothing for now, and if it annoys me later I'll deal with it. The nice thing about the grinder, unlike a vise, is that there shouldn't be a lot of force applied to it.

[legenddc]

Yeah, that's probably the easiest unless you can turn that drill press sideways and fit both the drill press and grinder on that same side.

[wtnhighlander]

11 hours ago, Chestnut said:

This is way more complicate than i was thinking. I was thinking a rope and one of those pulley things with locking pawl. Kinda like how the deer hanging rigs work, or window blinds.

Boat trailer winch?

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-hand-winch-65688.html

[Chestnut]

11 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Boat trailer winch?

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-hand-winch-65688.html

Ooo i hadn't thought of that. That's a good idea... I'm gonna borrow that. Thanks!

[legenddc]

@Chestnut Is this what you're looking for? I would also recommend looking up Jeep hardtop hoists if you want to find a cheaper DIY solution. A lot use hand winches like the boat one linked earlier.

[SawDustB]

I finally managed to wrap this up over the weekend. I've added a third drawer, put on drawer fronts and hardware, and put finish on the bare wood. Here's the final result:

I decided that since I had exposed plywood edges on the partitions,I would embrace it and use plywood edges for the drawer fronts. As a bonus, I used up a lot of the scraps I generated in the project. Here's a better view of the drawers:

For the lower drawers, I glued up a blank that was about 2"X3" and cut it in half with my blade at 10 degrees. From there I planed it to what I wanted. The upper drawer was just a bunch of 5/8" wide 1/2" ply strips glued together. For that drawer, I angled the drawer false front to get a little more room inside.

I may still modify this a bit more after I use it, but for now I think my next shop time will be spent turning.

[Chestnut]

Those drawer fronts are awesome. I really dig that look. This is quite the stand now.

34 minutes ago, SawDustB said:

but for now I think my next shop time will be spent turning.

I don't know why but i always chuckle reading about wood turners "turning". In my mind I imagine them in their shop spinning around like a figure skater.

[fcschoenthal]

Sorry to come to the party late, but where are you going to set the grinder when you lift it out of the bottom to use it?

Somewhere I've seen a temporary platform that bolts onto the bedrails (similar to the tail stock) and extends past the end. Mostly used for extra space to lay your tools, but don't see why the grinder couldn't stay there temporarily while you're turning.

Hope I'm explaining it well enough to get the idea across. 

[SawDustB]

5 hours ago, fcschoenthal said:

Sorry to come to the party late, but where are you going to set the grinder when you lift it out of the bottom to use it?

Somewhere I've seen a temporary platform that bolts onto the bedrails (similar to the tail stock) and extends past the end. Mostly used for extra space to lay your tools, but don't see why the grinder couldn't stay there temporarily while you're turning.

Hope I'm explaining it well enough to get the idea across. 

I've had a similar thought, but I think I need to try using the setup before I do much else to it. I have a work mate stand that is usually floating around the garage that I've set the grinder on in the past. That should work for the moment. The grinder isn't very heavy so it's not a big deal to move it around. 

[Chestnut]

Now it's time to use it. I found out last night, after i got home late due to a 12 hour work day, that turning a couple quick things on a lathe is fun and relaxing. Your setup is beautiful and makes mine look like a joke but it works.

[SawDustB]

With the lead up to Christmas, I haven't had much time to try using the lathe. Last night I finally made something that wasn't just practice. These snowmen are for my girls, so they can paint and assemble them. I still need to drill holes for dowel arms and the nose, but you get the idea. It was a perfect project to spend a couple of hours.

I am starting to see where a chuck would be really useful for this sort of thing. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm also seeing that there are gaps in what I can do with my current tools, since I have nothing that's good for smaller details.

 

[SawDustB]

The snowmen were a big hit. My girls informed me that there was a Mr snowman and a Mrs snowman, so here they are. I may have done a few touch ups after their paint job, and they've got shellac over it to seal it in. They've already put in their order for snowman kids for next year.

[legenddc]

Can you remind me to do this next November? Looks great!