Thread: Lathe placement in the workshop

Hi folks,

My first metal lathe arrives on Monday - it's big enough that I *really* don't want to move it once it's in place... I'm a complete newbie when it comes to metal lathes (although I'm pretty practiced with my wood lathe).

How do folks position their lathes in the shop? For instance - I was planning to have the back against a wall - should I leave myself some clearance behind? Can the tailstock end be parked close into a corner without causing myself pain?

Cheers,

Danny

I have all mine enough out from the wall to open any cabinets. But otherwise cram it in. I like having a cabinet to the right for storage rather than the left as the changegear door is used a lot. Enjoy your first machine, what did you pick?

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Thanks caskwarrior - that matches what I was thinking!

In a possibly-stupid move I went over my original budget and got an ex-TAFE sheraton challenger - some more details in this thread:

https://metalworkforums.com/f65/t203...es-mill-combos

Cheers,

Danny

I suggest you avoid placing the lathe in line with the N/S terrestial magnetic lines of force at your location if possible. The result will otherwise be that everything ferrous that you turn will become magnetised.

Chas.

Ideally I reckon its a good idea to be able to walk (or at least squeeze) your way all around it if you can.
If not, leave some room so you can at least reach in behind to pick yo stuff that falls down behind it.

Also place it as far away from any grinder or grinding location, or enable screens of some sort to reduce the amount of grit that falls on the beds etc.

That's my problem; not enough distance between bench grinder, abrasive cut off wheel and lathe. Ideally, they perhaps should not be in the same room but when one space is all you've got what do you do? I have a large dropsheet over the lathe but I'm not sure that's enough.

Originally Posted by PhilT2

... I have a large dropsheet over the lathe but I'm not sure that's enough.

A number of us do use that method and it works (helps fend off the rust fairy too). Machines in factories don't even get that, so you are ahead of the game.

Michael

Originally Posted by PhilT2

I have a large dropsheet over the lathe but I'm not sure that's enough.

Id reckon it would be, provided the sparks and debris from your grinding ops are not hitting the dropsheet directly. You could also chuck an old donna or bed spread over the lathe as well. I'm sure your home workshop is not like a full on machine shop with grinders going 24/7
peter

Originally Posted by rtyuiop

... I was planning to have the back against a wall - should I leave myself some clearance behind?

Yes - as others have said, enough to get access behind, whether for maintenance or just cleaning up the swarf that will be tossed there. If you are really pushed for space, you could possibly put a wheeled trolley in that area for storage, but able to be pulled out when you need access.

Originally Posted by rtyuiop

Can the tailstock end be parked close into a corner without causing myself pain?

I would leave enough space so that you can slide the tailstock off if you need to, but other than that, the T/S end can be near a wall. There will be times you want to load stock through the headstock, so access is needed there, even if only an open door or something.

Other thoughts are that chucks can be heavy, so think about where you are going to store them and how you will move them to change them. Most of us have some wall space somewhere to store tools and/ or tool holders. I personally use an old electrical cabinet but there are other solutions. I would advise against having them on the wall behind the lathe, simply because you may be tempted to lean across the lathe when it is running to grab something. The size lathe you have is big enough that it won't let you off with a caution - it will bite if you come within reach.

Michael

I remember upgrading my light old Hercus lathe which was never bolted down to my heavy Toolex 12x36.
I went overboard dyna bolted it down, leveled etc, then decided 12 months later to move it.
It was 45 degree to the wall for a long time in my old shed, now it sits straight out at 90 degrees in the new shed because I'm very short of room. It has not been bolted down since, and as long as you go steady on the off set jobs it's fine on it's leveling feet.

Originally Posted by bollie7

Id reckon it would be, provided the sparks and debris from your grinding ops are not hitting the dropsheet directly. You could also chuck an old donna or bed spread over the lathe as well. I'm sure your home workshop is not like a full on machine shop with grinders going 24/7
peter

If you have nothing else, that would be fine, but remember a doona or bedspread are usually made of cotton or have cotton in them, and cotton catches fire easily. I'd also get an old wool blanket to throw over that lot. You may even find an old electric blanket that was made of wool.
Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

If you have nothing else, that would be fine, but remember a doona or bedspread are usually made of cotton or have cotton in them, and cotton catches fire easily. I'd also get an old wool blanket to throw over that lot. You may even find an old electric blanket that was made of wool.
Kryn

Good point Kryn. I sort of forgot that others might do a lot more grinding than I do these days. Old Elec blankets are also good for packing rugs in the back of utes etc. You have to pull the wires out though. They are really tough.
peter

Welding blankets are not all that expensive or maybe join some fire blankets together.

Many thanks all - you've helped with the decision.

I'm about to head down to the workshop to drag a heavy damn cabinet around. The cabinet will move towards the centre of the workshop (against a weird internal wall), freeing up a spot in a corner against an external wall for the lathe. XXXX marks the new lathe spot, YYYYY is my original plan, where the cabinet will go now for use as storage and a casting workbench.

Code:

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|         YYYYY         |
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Grit comes in various forms. The coarse stuff which settles out in seconds or minutes can be protected by machine covers, but the finer stuff like wheel resins and welding soots can be invisible and stays in the air for hours setting all over machine covers and you. Removing a machine creates an invisible dust ball around a machine which then settles all over the machine! This is why machine shops separate these sorts of activities.

This finer stuff can be easily be vented with some sort of an exhaust fan or fans, even a bathroom exhaust fan will help if it's near the source of the dust but usually much more air flow than this is required. A decent exhausting system is a very useful thing to have in metalworking shed. As well as fine grinding grit Im finding it's useful for solvents and welding fumes and gasses. The "grow your own" community have driven the manufacture of high capacity fans that are quiet and efficient in terms of airflow, so they don't use much power and hence cost little to run. A couple of these types of fans can easily keep these fines and fumes under control in most sheds.