# Lathe basket, re-purposed!



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

My new Grizzly lathe came with what they call a "basket". It's supposed to mount UNDER the lathe, but as far as I'm concerned it mounts too high, making it difficult to get anything in or out of it. It actually sits higher than this pic shows.
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So …. what to do with what seems to be a useless accessory? Took me a little bit of cogitating but I finally came up with a use for it. On my other lathe stand I had made a holder for the tools. 
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It hung on the stand right under the lathe with some brackets I made. Unfortunately this holder wont work with the Grizzly's legs being the way they are. So I came up with the idea of using the basket as a rack for a tool holder. Couple scraps of oak, drilled 40 holes, some glue and a couple coats of Tung oil. Here's what I did… 
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At first I had the basket mounted so it was almost level with the lathe bed, but soon realized it puts the tool handles in the way of the tailstock handle. So I lowered the basket in the frame and it clears fine now. 
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And as you can see, I made plenty of "extra" holes, so there's room to grow. 
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Thanks for looking. Comments, critiques, etc …


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## Sigung (Nov 20, 2013)

Brilliant Joe, but it makes me a little nervous seeing all those shiny, sharp things pointy side up… You sure don't want to trip anywhere close to that.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I know Jerry. Good reminder. 
When I made the first rack I made them fit "pointy side" DOWN … but I found that I was pulling 3 or 4 tools up every time to get the one I wanted. So I changed the rack to hold them this way and I'm super careful when reaching for a tool.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

Pretty slick idea, Joe!

So, are you liking your new toy? Have fun with it!


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

Joe, I like it. It looks better than original equipment. Good thinking. I see those cool looking lathe handles you made. Goes great with the wood holder.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

That looks pro.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

Well done joe! I have one of those "roll around" version of this, but the tools can fall through if they are small… and I am always running into it….this is well done.
Mike


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Thanks all! I have about 12 of the HSS tools, now all I need to do is figure out how to do a better job of keeping them SHARP !


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## thechipcarver (Jan 29, 2014)

Cool idea.


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