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Question about bench-mounting a Lathe

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Mike313:
Hi Folks,
I'm thinking about buying the Axminster Trade AT406WL lathe (used to be called the AT1628VS) and mounting it on a home-made bench with closeable storage underneath. Can I bolt the lathe directly to the bench or do I need to bolt it to bench feet and then bolt the feet to the bench?
Ta in advance,
Mike.

bodrighywood:
Main thing is getting the height right, need ti have the centre roughly at your elbow height. How you bolt it is basically a matter of making sure it is a strong enough base and well fixed. You will also need to have it positioned so you can take advantage of its swivelling head and, if needs be the, sliding headstock as these can make a huge difference to the size of bowl etc you turn.

Pete

fuzzyturns:
Pete is spot on with his reply. Also make sure that your bench is of sufficient weight (or you add ballast once it's all where you want it. I have the Twister FU-200, which is essentially the same lathe and despite it weighing around 200kg (with cast iron legs and some other bits) it does go dancing around the shop when I turn heavy and out-of-balance pieces. You would want to have at least 150kg underneath that lathe.

Derek:
Looking at the lathe in question I can not see any reason for not being able to bolt it straight to the bench it just means that if you want any clearance under the lathe it will be reduced. Without seeing the lathe in the flesh to see if any part of it protrudes below the mounting points to prevent this. After all if you was to buy the legs the lathe is bolted straight to them.
I appreciate what the two comments above are saying and are very valid when setting up a lathe.

Mike313:
Thanks for the replies, folks. The reason I asked about whether bench feet were necessary was to ensure I get the centre height at 1165mm (elbow height) above the floor as (at least as a starting point) I think this is the height that will suit - definitely not lower, perhaps higher (it will be easier for me to add height than to take it away). I have dimensions for the lathe - underside to centre of the drive is 365mm - so I have 800mm under the lathe to achieve a height of 1165mm to the centre of the drive. So if it can be directly mounted to a bench, the bench will be 800mm high, or less than that if bench feet are essential. I'm going to put a compartment in the bottom of the bench to take ballast, probably from scrap metal is I can find the right bits. Then some storage with selves above that and two doors to the front. I'm also putting a recess at the bottom (like you see on kitchen units) to allow feet to stand close to the lathe. The side panels will flare out at the bottom to ensure the bench is as stable as possible.

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