Woodturning Blog » Books, Videos, and Plans http://www.woodturningblog.com Creating interesting firewood... Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:29:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 PlansNow Mini Lathe Stand http://www.woodturningblog.com/2009/09/14/plansnow-mini-lathe-stand/ http://www.woodturningblog.com/2009/09/14/plansnow-mini-lathe-stand/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:29:25 +0000 Bill http://www.woodturningblog.com/?p=50 Fold-up tables don’t work as lathe stands for anything larger than a pen. Out of round wood of a decent size would actually cause the table to walk across the floor, sway back and forth, or both. At one point I had to clamp a piece of wood across the table to keep the lathe itself from walking off and crashing onto the floor. None of these problems were evident with pens, bottle stoppers, and smaller pieces….

I decided that in order to expand my turning capabilities I needed a better lathe stand. I could just buy the one for my lathe, but it provides no storage capabilities. I finally decided to attempt to build the PlansNow Mini Lathe Stand. There are many benefits evident from the plans and pictures.

  • It is sturdy
  • It has plenty of storage
  • Casters allow it to move around the shop, but the feet allow you to plant it in one place
  • It would be challenging (but not impossible) for me to build

    • I made a few changes to their stock plan. The tool drawers are way too small for any regular-sized tool. I ended up making the large drawer into 2 tool drawers and the tool drawers into a deeper drawer. I also mounted the lathe on the right. This leaves me enough roon to have the tool drawers open and still stand at the lathe. There were a few small mistakes in the plans that were unrelated to the changes I made, but overall the plans were well laid out and easy to follow. (I think that they mislabeled two of the pieces on the cutting diagram.) At one point I noticed that I made one critical cut 1/4″ long, but I was far enough along that I couldn’t correct it easily. The support slot in my center divider was 1/4″ higher than the sides. This means that the frame bows upward in the middle. I shimmed the top in order to level it out, so my mistake only affects the drawers. Be careful if you build it, this did make hanging the drawers more difficult. One other suggestion. For the drawers, get slides with as much extension as possible or you won’t be able to use the back few inches for tools. Here’s my finished product prior to the drawer/door hardware.

    lathe stand

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