Small tool organizer for midi lathe back plate

We recently redid our backyard, and bought new patio furniture. I salvaged a bunch of wood from the old, inexpensive meranti furniture we had before, and have been finding it useful for small shop projects and fixtures. I needed a better place to put the levers, allen wrenches, and drive centers for my midi lathe, and decided that the back plate would be a perfect location: out of the way, but close at hand.

The old back plate was just a trapezoid of plastic, so I made a new one out of a small piece of 3/8” birch, and then attached a meranti shelf. I drilled holes for the various tools, and finished it with natural Danish oil (toned a bit with a couple drops of TransTint red). Simple, functional, easy. Now everything I need for the adjusting the lathe is convenient and organized.

Meranti is an interesting wood, with a ton of variance in density and strength. Some pieces are like balsa wood, others are as hard and heavy as oak. The grain is pretty, and the nicest pieces have a nice red-grey swirl.

-- ian | "You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."