# The lathe stand of your dreams?



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Time for a new lathe stand. I've looked at dozens and have seen many good ideas and I found one that is close to having every feature I want. It will be for a midi lathe but that doesn't matter …

So *what do you like, or would change, about your current lathe stand?*

What works and what doesn't?


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

I have a Jet mini and love my stand for it.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

So what specifically do you like and is there anything you would change?


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

I built the top and drawer for my grandmothers old Singer. It is the only machine my wife likes to use. After building her dry sink/sewing center I kept this stand in the garage for a couple years. When I got my Jet and needed a stand to set it on, my wife reminded me of this one. It fits and works perfect with my accessories in the drawer. I guess it's more sentimental than anything, but it works for me.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I've got the parts for when I set aside time and this one will get drawers.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Mine is nothing fancy..









Maybe if and when a new lathe should ever arrive, I might see about a new bench for it..









Just an old "T" rail Craftsman….


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## JRsgarage (Jan 2, 2017)

i use a cheap wolfcraft. it was cheap and convenient at the time. but, it's sturdy with a wide base and has a large shelf to pile more junk.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Mine's on wheels with a slow grinder on the opposite side to keep tools sharp when needed.

Works for me and a I like it.


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## EEngineer (Jul 4, 2008)

Here is mine, homemade…









Almost all the materials for this were recycled. The top was cut from a section of a large bi-fold solid core door 16" X 84" X 2" being thrown away at work, the wooden frame came from a waterbed that someone was throwing out and the feet were made from a 4" X 4" mahogany board I reclaimed from a skid.










My only claim to fame are the tool storage drawers - they have open bottoms so they can be left open while working and any chips will fall right through to the floor. The slides are mounted to the bottoms of the drawers so they don't get fouled with chips.

What works and what doesn't?
This is actually the 2nd version of this stand. The first was too short and uncomfortable to work on. Make sure the height is right. Stand should be high enough that your forearms are parallel to the floor while turning. In other words, set turning center at about the height of your elbows while standing.


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## TravisH (Feb 6, 2013)

No complaints with my stand so far. Overall I like the stability of the stand with its splayed legs and sand filled base. My only knock isn't the stand really but the Rockler Casters. I just need to affix them in tandem so they will be easier to operate.


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## loiblb (Jul 6, 2015)

Industrial sewing machine stand. I bought 4 for several machines I have. Very stable


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## jeffski1 (Nov 29, 2008)

Here's mine…I like the storage it provides…I try to make sure large projects are close to round as possible…


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Lots of good ideas.



> - jeff


What do you do with the extra space on the end? Looks like a good place for a grinder.



> My only claim to fame are the tool storage drawers - they have open bottoms so they can be left open while working and any chips will fall right through to the floor.
> - EEngineer


Been debating how I will store tools, either in drawers or maybe a swing away carousel.


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## jeffski1 (Nov 29, 2008)

Rick M
I did place my grinder there for a while-it worked well and I liked it-very convenient.But I moved my lathe bench and that corner of the bench now sits up against a wall,which made the grinder difficult to use.The end now accumulates a few tools,the tailstock,supplies when turning ect.-I like the open space-so a few options there.I preferred to store my tools to the right of my bench on the wall.All the drawers in my lathe bench come in handy for storage as I have a small shop.One thing I might do different if I were building a lathe bench again is to incorporate splayed legs like TravisH's.I think that design would be more stable..


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

I just love this faux base made out of MDF:


















Cheers,
Brad


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I really liked several of the others, but that takes the cake, Brad.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I was going to make a faux iron base for my 46-111 if I hadn't sold it.

This stand is closest to what I want and I'm probably going to copy it unless I find something I like better.

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http://instagr.am/p/BO5pFMjALHy/


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

Here is a picture of mine.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I like tools behind the lathe, out of the way but handy. My Craftsman was set up like that. People didn't like it and thought it was unsafe but in practice it was fine.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

If the lathe is not running or you don't reach over the piece when it's running to get a tool could not safer.


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

Rick that is a nice stand you linked to from Instagram.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Hopefully I can build one half as nice.

Here are a couple more that gave me ideas. I like that the chips can fall through rather than build up under the ways.


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http://instagr.am/p/BMbl5s9AkNT/


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http://instagr.am/p/BNKL1TNDySJ/


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

I like the first one better. LOL


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## RobS888 (May 7, 2013)

I built this based on plans in Popular Woodworking a couple years back. I added the tool holder on the right from some of the scraps. If building again, I would put the sand in the bottom shelf. You can't really see that the ends tilt in 10 degrees and decrease 10 degrees toward the top. It is very stable.


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## eflanders (May 2, 2013)

Sorry I don't have a picture but my lathe stand is just a nice old school table that measures 4 feet square. The table was a remnant from my dad's technical school days. It has a formica top and measures 1-1/2" thick. Being big and stout, it also supports an extension wing for my RAS.

As for what I like best: I made a tool and accessory holder that doesn't collect shavings. It's just a shelf with a lot of different size holes in it that allows for easy access without being in the way.

What I would change: Handles are heavier than the blades and thus some tools do not sit upright to see what they are as easy as storing the tools handle down. I compensated for this by marking the ends of the tool handles accordingly.


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## Rayne (Mar 9, 2014)

Izzy Swan made an interesting one recently. I was thinking maybe to overcome the size restriction by adding a piano hinge in the middle of the back board behind the lathe when you need to go bigger than 6 inches. Natural chip blocker, neat flip design, get the grinder and even his sander on the same cart. He said he's adding the tool holder and some other accessories later. Nice little storage on the other side.


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## Mike_D_S (May 3, 2012)

So a little different approach than a lot of the other stands and not nearly as much storage as some of them, but I work out of my garage, so I needed optimized tool storage when not using the tools. The shelf is solid with supporting arms going to the lower shelf and pins to lock the legs down when using the lathe.

I don't think this may be what you wanted, but figure I'd throw it out there.

Mike


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> Izzy Swan made an interesting one recently.
> - Rayne


I saw that. It takes up about the same floor space open or closed and has less storage than a normal stand the same size. Probably good for getting views but impractical for real use.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Been watchin' this one Rick. Gonna have to build a stand for myself sometime soon. I like the first instagram one you linked but I don't like the tool rack right there pokin' ya in the crotch. Maybe make that removable or move it to the end. Also a lot of wasted space in the center section of that stand but that could easily be remedied.

I'm leaning toward something like TravisH's ^ but with a swinging tool rack on one end and room on the back side for the bench grinder. Still completely up in the air though…


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## Notw (Aug 7, 2013)

Mine has worked out so far for me, the only things that I don't love is i need to add a latch or a catch to the drawer because it opens itself sometimes and the area where the casters are seems to collect a lot of shavings.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

That's a nice looking stand notw.



> Been watchin this one Rick. Gonna have to build a stand for myself sometime soon. I like the first instagram one you linked but I don t like the tool rack right there pokin ya in the crotch. Maybe make that removable or move it to the end. Also a lot of wasted space in the center section of that stand but that could easily be remedied.
> 
> I m leaning toward something like TravisH s ^ but with a swinging tool rack on one end and room on the back side for the bench grinder. Still completely up in the air though…
> 
> - HokieKen


I like the center cut out so chips can fall through and not build up but maybe good dust collection would do the same. I've seen some made with a bucket that look effective. Also debating a swing tool rack. Swing out when turning, swing back to take up less space when not. Maybe a swinging lazy Susan type thing.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I keep the shop-vac beside my stand when I'm turning. When the chips pile up, I just vacuum real quick. Never really been something that bothered me. I'm trying to figure out a good way to incorporate some good lighting into my stand. I find that fixed position overhead lights just aren't always enough when turning.


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## eflanders (May 2, 2013)

For task lighting, I just use a cheap clamp-on lamp holder. Position where needed, put in a LED bulb and you have only $10 invested! You can easily get magnetic based lights for this as well.

Dust/chip collection is certainly an issue to consider. I'm personally wrestling with a cost and energy efficient way to do this. I'm thinking of trying to add a back deflector and some sort of collection bin so that I can deter stuff from getting away from the work area and then just vacuuming the collection bin as needed. I'll probably make a cardboard prototype to test effectiveness of this idea…

I saw the Izzy video and it sure looks like he hasn't done any turning on his bench yet. Why? 1). His chip deflector / machine separator limits his turning capacity a lot. 2). Turning tool storage hasn't been added yet. 3). Metal working next to wood working - Not Recommended! However, his bench top idea is quite innovative and could be easily adapted for other applications IMO. Kudos to him for thinking outside of the box!


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

If you want some really kick-butt lights without breaking the bank, run "sewing machine lights" on the Net, including Amazon Prime. For about fourteen each (I paid ten, including shipping), you can get some pretty powerful LED lights with a flex neck and a rare earth base.

I put one on the head and one on the tail and that's all I need to see to make shavings and saw dust.

If you consider one or two of these, get the ones with about twenty LED's

I liked them so much, I bought two more and siliconed them to each side of the pivot arm of my miter. No longer do I need fifty thousand candle power inches above the miter to find the line.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

For dust collection, I used some plastic pipe, scrap plywood and a 4" fitting to create this. I use it religiously and it makes a HUGE difference.

It pivots and swings so I can get it close to the work. Often, I get little or no shavings. When sanding, I get no sawdust.

It would be a good idea to put some rods in it to slow down strips of sand paper and the occasional turning. However, I wouldn't want less than one inch openings, so wet shavings could pass freely. I guess the ideal would be removable screens for different operations.

For reference, the shavings and chips you see are from a days work. The collector feeds into a Super Dust Deputy feeding a three horse Jet (four bagger).


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Thanks for the tip Kelly. Those do look handy. I'll have to grab 1 and give it a try!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> Dust/chip collection is certainly an issue to consider. I m personally wrestling with a cost and energy efficient way to do this. I m thinking of trying to add a back deflector and some sort of collection bin so that I can deter stuff from getting away from the work area and then just vacuuming the collection bin as needed. I ll probably make a cardboard prototype to test effectiveness of this idea…
> 
> - eflanders


Somewhere recently I saw a stand with a backboard for containing flying chips. Also seen some with a shower curtain. My first lathe I had a shower curtain behind that funneled chips underneath into a pile. It helped but I didn't like the look of it.


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