soj
Well-known member
A little background on what got this project started:
I have long thought I wanted a mini lathe, but never seemed to really NEED one (not that it should matter
). But last month something broke and I could not find a replacement, but decided I could make one (8 actually) if I had a lathe. It is just little plastic rollers for my wife's greenhouse doors, but it was all the excuse I needed. 
The original cracked plastic on the right, and my first attempt at machine work on the left. The little threaded hub was swapped out from the old bearing:
I found new bearings to go in them. The penny shows why I only needed a mini lathe. The new rollers are installed, the doors are working fine, and all her plants are snug and warm in their little house.
When I first got the lathe (a Grizzly G0765) I just put it on an existing workbench, but even though it is small, it didn't leave much working room on that bench. I felt I had no choice but to get a HF 13 drawer, 44" base cabinet to put it on. What else could I do? It comes so highly recommended on GJ.
Of course, as you can see, it takes up most of the top space of that cabinet, so I had to get two 7 drawer side cabinets to really have any "working" room
The lathe doesn't come with any tooling, so I had to place an order with littlemachineshop.com. They had the blue denim cover, so I figured, why not?
Also, the Bondhus T handle sets were called for, since the lathe has lots of allen head screws. On the lathe, they are all metric, but the quick change tool post I got from littlemachineshop.com is USA made, and fractional, so I had to get both sets. Those came from shopenco.com during the black Friday 25% off/ free shipping sale.
Somehow that HF magnetic spray can holder and tool tray got in my shopping cart. It is amazing how one little repair job can mushroom into multiple tool purchases.
As you can see, the three chest combo doesn't give a smooth, uninterrupted work surface. Also, the rubber mats that come with the boxes are ****. A bottle of cutting fluid left a ring that swelled up like a balloon. I suppose that HF store stink really is a sign of cheep rubber. I remembered this thread (and others that I can't find now), where guys put wooden tops on their base cabinets. That provided the solution, or at least the seed idea. I decided laminate would be a good option for a lathe work center. Oil wont soak in or damage it, and it is easy to wipe clean. I shouldn't be doing any beating 'n banging on it, I have other places for that. If mounted to a firm substrate, laminate will take some abuse, so I decided to use MDF, two 3/4" layers glued together. To accommodate the ridge along the back and sides, and between the boxes, I will rout grooves This may be all I need to keep the top in place. The weight of the top itself, and the lathe on it, should keep it anchored on those ridges. I will decide if it needs any screws from below after it is built and loaded.
Enough of an introduction, I will get into construction next.
jp
I have long thought I wanted a mini lathe, but never seemed to really NEED one (not that it should matter
). But last month something broke and I could not find a replacement, but decided I could make one (8 actually) if I had a lathe. It is just little plastic rollers for my wife's greenhouse doors, but it was all the excuse I needed. The original cracked plastic on the right, and my first attempt at machine work on the left. The little threaded hub was swapped out from the old bearing:
I found new bearings to go in them. The penny shows why I only needed a mini lathe. The new rollers are installed, the doors are working fine, and all her plants are snug and warm in their little house.
When I first got the lathe (a Grizzly G0765) I just put it on an existing workbench, but even though it is small, it didn't leave much working room on that bench. I felt I had no choice but to get a HF 13 drawer, 44" base cabinet to put it on. What else could I do? It comes so highly recommended on GJ.
Of course, as you can see, it takes up most of the top space of that cabinet, so I had to get two 7 drawer side cabinets to really have any "working" room
The lathe doesn't come with any tooling, so I had to place an order with littlemachineshop.com. They had the blue denim cover, so I figured, why not?
Also, the Bondhus T handle sets were called for, since the lathe has lots of allen head screws. On the lathe, they are all metric, but the quick change tool post I got from littlemachineshop.com is USA made, and fractional, so I had to get both sets. Those came from shopenco.com during the black Friday 25% off/ free shipping sale.
Somehow that HF magnetic spray can holder and tool tray got in my shopping cart. It is amazing how one little repair job can mushroom into multiple tool purchases.
As you can see, the three chest combo doesn't give a smooth, uninterrupted work surface. Also, the rubber mats that come with the boxes are ****. A bottle of cutting fluid left a ring that swelled up like a balloon. I suppose that HF store stink really is a sign of cheep rubber. I remembered this thread (and others that I can't find now), where guys put wooden tops on their base cabinets. That provided the solution, or at least the seed idea. I decided laminate would be a good option for a lathe work center. Oil wont soak in or damage it, and it is easy to wipe clean. I shouldn't be doing any beating 'n banging on it, I have other places for that. If mounted to a firm substrate, laminate will take some abuse, so I decided to use MDF, two 3/4" layers glued together. To accommodate the ridge along the back and sides, and between the boxes, I will rout grooves This may be all I need to keep the top in place. The weight of the top itself, and the lathe on it, should keep it anchored on those ridges. I will decide if it needs any screws from below after it is built and loaded.
Enough of an introduction, I will get into construction next.
jp
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this year and has made my turning a lot more fun. I only needed 3 to complete my carbide tools and use the fourth for various hand ground HSS tools where I don't mind having to find center.
, you might want to add a machine lamp while your at it.
Creep, creep. Why buy a plastic tool holder when you can buy a mill and make 'em yourself?
