Lathe stand

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Hi all.

I intend to reinstate my smart and brown model L1 to a fully working condition. It came without it’s original cabinet stand. I could search high and low for a stand or bite the bullet and fabricate a steel frame bench to carry the lathe.
I’ve never made such a lathe stand so any thoughts on the size of material, whether the top would be wood or steel etc would be very welcome.
If anyone k owe of a cabinet stand available then please let me know so I can put the mig welder away.
Muck

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

depends on what ya want…….personally I'd make or adapt a cabinet……don't bother with just legs, a waste of space….always use heavy / thicker grade of steel…….weight is ur friend……..as for the top, depends on budget…..u'll need drawers or some form of shelving…….

have fun making it……..clogs

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

For my 1326 BH Taiwanese lathe, 275kg, I built a stand from 50 x 50 x 6 mm angle iron, its been very good for the last twenty odd years, today, knowing a bit more about things like that, I would most likely use square tube instead.

Ian S C

[larry PhelanParticipant @larryphelan54019]

I used 2×2 box tubing for my LUX mill stand. It,s easy to work with,is strong and looks well. Angle iron can be messy,and never looks as well.

Dont forget to fit drawers,otherwise it,s a dead loss.

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

Plenty of good advice above. Whatever you do, don't use Dexion or Handy Angle. Both are great for shelving, but far too flexible for a lathe stand, even if you build in plenty of triangle sections to aid stiffness. I made that mistake once, hated the thing from the word go, and saved my money to buy a proper Myford stand.

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

I made myself a wooden bench for my lathe I'm going to convert to CNC. The legs are 3×4's, the top frame is 6×2 and 8×2. Everything else is from pallets. I have used it for 20 hrs and never felt it move at all. All joints are M10 studding or cross head woodscrews. There are shear panels and cross bracing. Total timber weight about 50kg. Cost 2m of M10 studding as everything else was for free.

The lathe is a Clarke CL430, about 130 kg.

If the work is well balanced, the bench material is pretty irrelevant. If the work is unbalanced, stop and put it right, you could kill yourself.

Regards

Richard.

[VicParticipant @vic]

I made a bench from 4 x 2’s with a 36mm ply top clad in Lino. It’s not shown any signs of moving or vibration but the design is well braced and panelled.

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Some great advice as ever. I’m looking for a similar lathe on a stand before I decide to make one. Obviously I can use the lathe I have now as a donor for parts.
I’m going to.put my Elgo turret lathe up for sale as it’s too big for my needs. That will give me a bit more space for the S&B capstan.
Best regards Mick

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Well never say never! A smart and brown cabinet stand popped up on a well known auction site and is now mine. Off to collect on Thursday.
Save a lot of work fabricating a new stand.
I tried several dealers for the Elgo capstan lathe and zero interest. Not a glimmer of hope to sell it on so I will keep it and get making nuts and bolts lol.

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Collected the cabinet base today. It’s quite an old one made of cast iron and very sturdy. The same guy had a combination cross slide available so I bought that too. With any luck I will be able to make one capstan lathe and one plain turning.

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