Club "Portable" Lathe Stand/Station Design

[Dave Willey]

Hi All,

Our local AAW club is thinking about upgrading from a old gutless mini Jet 10" lathe/fixed Jet stand, to a midi sized lathe for our monthly club demos. (Think Delta 46-460, Jet 1220, Nova, etc in size.) The make/model for this discussion isn't really important.

Our club lost our meeting room when the local Woodcraft closed it doors back in February. So we've been having "traveling" or "floating" meetings at local high schools, commercial cabinet shops, etc. -thanks to the generosity of the locals! So we ultimately need to take it with us wherever we land each month.

My question to you all has anyone designed some sort of portable stand/case that can be transported in a car/truck/van?

To give an example of the idea of what I'm thinking about is similar in concept to a Bosch T4B "Gravity-Rise" miter saw stand. Something that can be relatively stable when in use, yet easily folded up into a "hand-truck" format for transport in and out of a truck bed or van. I use this as an example of concept only.

My T4B is a engineering marvel. VERY easy to open/close, and is very stable when the wheels are inflated rock hard. I can sit on my T4B (I'm 190 lbs) and it didn't seem wobbly as I thought it would be. But as strong as it is for a miter saw, a midi lathe is something else again. Only thing about it is I can't stand the pneumatic tube wheels which seem to always go flat every other day. So they're getting replace w/ hard rubber wheels.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-T4B-Gravity-Rise-Miter-Stand/dp/B000VZNEM0

With so may folks doing traveling demos these days, I can't be the first to ask about this. (I have read about clubs having trailers dedicated for equipment but that is way over the top for our club.)

Anyway has anyone come up with some similar design concept to be able to "take the show on the road"?


Thanks,

Dave
Librarian - Wine Country Woodturners.
Sonoma County, CA.

 

[john lucas]

I use an older Stanley workmate when I traveled with a Jet mini. I added plywood braces to the front and back of the legs to stabilize it. It worked great. If I did it again (and I'm thinking about it because I may buy a Delta 12" mini) I would add leveling adjusters to the feet.
There are two factors that made the stand less than perfect. It wanted to twist. The plywood took care of that. And it wanted to rock if the floor wasn't perfect. I usually shoved a wedge under a leg but that would often slip out. Other than that it was surprisingly solid.

 

[DOCworks]

Dave,
I have a Jet 1220 that I use for demo's and taking to classes if they don't have enough lathes. I use the Aluminum wheel chair holder from Harbour Freight, around $100 on sale. It slides into the trailer hitch. I use the Jet stand for the base with wheels from Woodcraft. I have put different handles and threads on the lathe where it connects to the base. Making it very easy to remove, if you want pictures let me know. I use two ratchet straps to hold it on and lock the wheels. No problems, oh and I use a moving blanket to cover it and a tarp if it's raining. The Tarp won't last without the moving blanket due to all the sharp edges. The holder has one end that lets down and I put a board on the bed of the carrier. I can lift one end onto the carrier and then lift the other end and push, no problem. It's easier if two people do it, but at least one guy can without hurting anything.

 

[Dave Willey]

Follow Up- Portabe Lathe Stand

While surfing for something else, I found a link to someone's website that has in concept what I was looking for...A portable lathe stand that can be moved easily in and out of a car/truck/van.

Though it isn't perfect (To my eye it's too flimsy), it is however is the only example I've found so far. (Other that the Bosch T4 Miter saw stand I mentioned in my original post.)

I may end up basing my version on this author's design but beefing it up some. How much to beef it up and in what way, while still keeping it manageable for one person to load in / out is up for interpretation. I won't know till I can't move myself anymore without giving myself a hernia. Then I know I went too far.

http://www.woodisfun.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=73&Itemid=176

Hopefully this will inspire others as it has me to come up with a usable club / demonstrator system that is portable.

As always I'd be interested in your comments both good and bad.

-Dave

 

[Ian Robertson]

This may help.

http://www.ttit.id.au/gadgets/gadgets.htm#Lifter2

He has another one there for the Stubby as well as a whole heap of other stuff.

 

[john lucas]

I just spent a few days turning with Mark StLeger. I just purchased a Delta 46-460 and stand. I'm going to do what Mark does. He replaced the nuts on the stand with the big plastic knobs. He can totally dissassemble the stand for travel and packing in his car. In just a couple of minutes he can reassemble it. He also has attachments for the lathe stand that hold his tools, the tailstock when it's removed from the lathe, and a spot for chucks, drive centers tailstock etc. I liked it and will probablly do something similar. All of this comes off very quickly for storage in his car.

 

[Dave Willey]

Ian-

Thanks for the link.

John-

Actually our local club president brought up the suggestion of a Delta 46-460 to replace her ancient Jet 10" lathe/stand that the club has used in the past for demos. Which is what got me thinking about a portable "lathe station" in the first place. Though I really like this model Delta lathe, I initially didn't think much of the Delta stand for mobile use till I read your suggestion. But now the idea kind of intrigues me and I will add it as an option to the short list of 5+ design options I'll suggest to the Board of Directors to consider.

Now I've got to go hunt down a Delta 46-460 lathe and stand locally to actually "kick the tires" to see just how feasible it would be to use knob screws or wing-nuts and "wing-bolts" with split lock washers for quick (dis)assembly.

However, I am still liking the Bosch T4B "Gravity-Rise" stand as a all in one "tip up, turn on, and go" setup. But it would need some very slight reassembly and bracing modification to hold a lathe. But it isn't cheap to gamble on.


-Dave

 

[Rob Wallace]

At the AAW Symposium I was talking to Lyle Jamieson at his booth, and he has a well-designed system for moving his lathe (which he does A LOT, due to his extensive travel schedule) that transports well, and sets up quickly. It uses a set of bolt-on wheels, and is fairly easy to get the lathe set-up and torn down.

I just checked his web site, but could not find a specific page about his lathe transport system.

You may want to send him an e-mail at: lyle@lylejamieson.com and ask him if he has any plans or photos of his system to get some additional ideas.

I generally use a Jet 1220 (bolted to a plywood stand) that is clamped into a Black and Decker Workmate when I do demonstrations and classes. It sets up quickly, doesn't take up too much space when packed in the truck, and works fine. In fact, I'll be using it again to demo roughing bowls this coming weekend for our club's woodworking exhibition at our county fair.

Good luck!

Rob Wallace

 

[hockenbery]

A couple of clubs here in Central Florida have meeting places that don't provide for equipment storage.

They have bought or been given closed trailers.
The lathe on wheels, Bandsaws, compressors, vacuums, video equipment, speakers and whatever go in the trailer at the end of the meeting. various members take the trailer home between meetings.

The trailers vary from one with just a few tiedowns to one with built in cabinets.

have fun,
Al

 

[Jerry Hall]

Bonnie Klein has a slick setup

Based on this: http://www.toolking.com/delta-36-136-universal-miter-saw-planer-stand

She had it at the Portland Symposium. Maybe someone has a picture of it. It looked like a very slick setup to me and she was wheeling it around from session to session.

 

[wwlewis]

We had Bonnie to the Gulf Coast Woodturners a few years ago. Several in our club had modified the Delta Planer stand for the Mini/Midi lathe. Bonnie made several suggestions that improved the first design. I have tried to attach a few photos of my set-up.

It will fit into the back of a 5 1/2 foot pickup bed with the tailgate closed. Also there are two height settings, one I use and the shorter one for (my wife and) smaller students.

There are a few leftover parts including the rollers. But the roller pullout is good for extra space. I used one for tools and the other for "stuff."

The important modification is to shift the lathe off center so one can be closer to the work. It is the possible to set up a area for the tailstock. On the block to mount the Moffat Light I am also able to attach a plexiglas shield for demos.

This may be too much information.

 

[Jerry Hall]

WWLewis: Thanks for the Pictures!

Gives just the right amount of info to duplicate the setup. It looks like it would be fairly easy to remove from he portable stand to put back on a shop cabinet, if it wasn't going to be ported that often?

 

[Dave Willey]

Delta Folding Stand

wwlewis & Jerry,

That's what I was imagining could be done! Thanks for jumping in.

I've got both a Bosch T4B with a DeWalt miter saw on it, and a unused Jet 1220 lathe out om the shop. (And stacks of 1/2 finished projects all over.) Just for yucks I should make some room and swap out the DeWalt saw and mount the Jet lathe on it. Just to see how steady it is during moving, set-up, and use.

My only concern with the Delta folding stand as you two have suggested above using Bonnie's design is that from the pictures, it seems kind of narrow. With a 100 lbs lathe sitting on (basically) an over-sized ironing board, I would worry about being too top heavy and tipsy front to back with such a narrow footprint.

I just went out and measured my Bosch T4B stand. The four points that are in contact with the floor measure 35" foot to wheel (wide), and 22" foot to foot on the left with 28" outside wheel to outside wheel on the right (deep). So it may not be that much different than the Delta.

Does anyone have the actual footprint measurement for the Delta? (Not the published overall size measurements.)

wwlewis, the first picture you provided has that empty board at the headstock end that would be just about right for a 8" slow grinder perpendicular to the axes of the lathe. I don't think I could do that easily on the Bosch T4B stand.

And FYI. The Bosch is listed about $100 more than the Delta.


-Dave

 

[Dave Willey]

Delta Stand Update

I went surfing and was unable to find anyone that had the Delta 36-136 in stock. But it seems to have been re-released as the Porter-Cable PC136MS.

Seems to have a "improved" top rack and different color according to the review I saw. But basically the same unit.

-Dave

 

[wwlewis]

I checked the footprint of the stand. Between the outside edge of the wheels is 20 1/2 inches. Between outside of the rear feet is 24 1/2 inches. The distance between them is 39 inches.

I doubt you could mount a grinder on the extension I have. It was originally designed for a roller feed to the planer. I don't believe it is that stable.

The 12 inch Rikon I have mounted on the stand is very stable, even when mounted slightly off center. The reason we mounted them off center is we can work closer to the turning. (In addition it also provides room behind the lathe to mount a light and a holder for the tailstock.)

The Porter Cable stand on Amazon for $188 looks the same except for the label.

Hope this helps.