Setting up working Lathe "station"

[Denny Rice]

Alright guys, here it goes. As a lot of you know I have been a woodworker for a long time, but I in the last year have become really interested in turning and learning as much as possible. I have recently ( like maybe 3 months ago) purchased a Jet 1642EVS, and the money has been flying out of my wallet since. I bought what I call a beginners set of 8 turning tools, a chuck, built a ballast box under the lathe and put 300lbs of sand inside the box. I have also purchased a new P&C 8 inch grinder along with new wheels, and the Wolverine set up to sharpen all my new tools, but my problem lies in setting up a workable station where EVERYTHING is in the right place and I'm not walking across the shop to sharpen a tool. I know not many (if any) of you know what my shop looks like but if any on you have photos of your shop and in particular your lathe area I would like to see them to get an idea what would not only look good but function great. Thanks!:D

[Jon McElwain]

I don't have any photos handy, but I can describe my lathe area easily enough. My lathe stands parallel to a wall, about 5 feet away. To work at the lathe, I stand between the lathe and the wall. Behind me on the wall (to my left as a face the lathe) are shelves for turning supplies, blanks, and a few rough outs. Directly behind me are my turning tools. Behind me on the right as I face the lathe is my grinding station. Keeps everything close at hand, although it commits a fairly sizable area to the lathe.

[Mike Cruz]

Jon, your area seems very cozy and efficient.

Oddly, mine is almost the opposite... My lathe is set up at about a 30 degree angle to the wall, with the headstock end only about a foot away from the wall, and tailstock end about 3 feet or so away from the wall. Grinder is just to the left of the headstock...with juuuuuust enough room to get the knockout bar into the headstock. All my chucks, tool rests, spur drives, live centers, wrenches and such are on the wall basically above and to the left of and above the headstock and grinder. To the left, and slightly behind me is my workspace (where I keep all my turning stuff while I'm turning)....I mean my table saw. :o My set up is where it is because that is where I could put it, not necessarily because it was the best way that I could think of making a turning station. For me, it worked well this way because my ways are juuuust lower than the height of my table saw. So, with the tailstock slid to the headstock, the lathe is completely out of the way of the table saw, meaning that I can still cut a full sheet of plywood without the lathe being in the way. Any other machine in that spot would hinder my table saw use.

Denny, I would take advantage of Creeker kindness and visit as many people's shops as will allow. This will/may help you not only in your lathe station layout, but in total shop layout as well. Even if you've been woodworking your entire life, you might walk into someone's shop and have an A-HA! moment when you see the way they set up "something". I've found that many people orient their lathes to the wall similarly, but how they light it, organize their tools etc, and incorporate dust collection varies greatly.

Best of luck, and see who will let you swing by their shop for a visit! Great way to solve your issue, AND to meet fellow Creekers. I've ended up meeting a great bunch of local turners from similar situations. We now gather once a month... And if you can't find Creekers to let you in, join a local turning group. Maybe you'll find people there that can help. And one more note: Visiting people's shops may not yeild an A-HA! moment in something that you LIKE, but maybe seeing setups that you don't like will help just the same. Seeing something you don't like can make you say, "Hmmmm, I'd do that differently", which could lead to figuring out what will work best for you.

[Thom Sturgill]

My lathe (Jet 1642) is in the center of the shop. There is a post near the head that has power and several dowels sticking out that I hang chucks on. The grinder is next to the pole (behind it when I am at the lathe). Behind me is a workbench with a panel mounted to the back. The panel holds many small tools, mostly the measuring tools, but also the burner control unit and pens and a dremel. Five drawers 24" wide 3" deep are mounted under the bench and hold various tools and kits. One drawer holds tool rests and the knockout bar for example. The top drawer has dividers that hold the drive centers, parts for the live center, morris taper adapters and cleaner, drill chuck and so forth. Racks are mounted on either end of the bench for my gouges and I pull out the gouges I expect to use on a given project and lay them on the bench or the board running under the ways. Sandpaper is in a rack on the bench, while disks and holders are in a carry box. A donut chuck and spindle steady hang from the nearest wall next to the compressor and a coring tool and home-made hollowing rigs are tucked away in some drawers on the oppposite wall. My dust collector wheels behind the lathe between it and the table saw, while my Trend Airshield and turning jacket hang from the post.

A brace off of the post holds an arm with a 4' power strip mounted on the bottom. Numerous lights and a power drill are plugged into this strip, a rod with a piece of channel welded to it sticks out of the bracket that was designed to hold the turning shield and the magnetic bases of the lamps stick on this. On a beam over the lathe is an electric wench controlled by a cable that runs down the post to a battery charger. The wench was in place when I bought the place and I have not used it yet. I installed the post to carry power down to the lathe. I pulled two 110 circuits that come from adjacent breakers so that I can upgrade to 220 if needed later.

[Reed Gray]

My lathe is in a separate 8 by 12 room. It sits one side, with a bench on the other. Plenty of room for tools and grinder behind me where all I have to do is turn around. Only problem is some times the shavings pile up so high, it can be a bit of a hurdle getting out of the room. I do have a rolling wire rack with about 4 shelves on it which holds my sanding station stuff that I wheel in and out of the turning room. I do use it a well for demos where I can put out all my tools within easy reach, and turning blanks down below. I don't feel comfortable with my Baldor grinder on it though.

robo hippy

[Jim Underwood]

I built a couple of tool racks with the 45° bottoms that let the shavings out. Someone here kindly posted some plans. They're placed right behind my lathe which is parallel to the wall. I don't recommend this placement since you have to reach over the lathe to get them. I do, however, recommend the tool racks.
I then turned some pegs that I mounted on the tool racks for hanging chucks on.

I also built a frameless drawer stack with a removable top, and mounted my 6" Delta grinder and wolverine jig on it. This way I can remove it for demos. I store all the sharpening jigs and paraphernalia in the drawer stack. Tools and lots of other stuff tends to conglomerate upon this thing, so I really need to build a cabinet under the lathe.. I think. I'm not sure whether it'll be a dust catcher or not...

One thing you'll need to take into account is the amount of shavings a lathe tends to create... A lot of folks use a shower curtain to keep shavings out of the rest of the shop. And if you design some cabinets and/or lathe station, you'll need to make them so they're easy to clean off...

[Curt Fuller]

If I had the space, I would build a wheeled cart that would hold the grinder on the top along with the tools I'm using at the time, have a few drawers for sanding supplies, a cupboard or two for finishing material and chucking accessories, and maybe a tool rack on the side. But I would make it wheeled for sure so I can keep it within a few steps of the lathe while turning (and a few more steps while roughing and really throwing shavings around) but out of the way so I'm not bumping into it and it's not getting filled with shavings. And when I wasn't turning I would be able to push it out of the way. One of my biggest problems while turning is getting things lost in the shavings because of my lack of space. A rolling cart would be a little piece of heaven for me.

[Mike Cruz]

Interesting idea, Curt...I like it. Too bad, I too, lack the space...

[james bell]

I have the delta 46-460 on wheels that I roll to my shop door to turn. Built a tool rack with a box on the back which fits on a pedestal roller stand, and a rolling cabinet with four drawers for accessories, another rolling cabinet for my tormek with drawers for tool holders, and my sanding supplies are in another rolling cabinet. I like everything on wheels so I can move them around when needed, and don't have to worry about permanent shop setup.

My dilemma is going to come when I finally spring for a pm 3502b! But that is a problem I would like to have.

[Ted Evans]

The comments that I have read on the Tool Mule rail system have not been very favorable, however, for my situation, it works fabulously. All of my equipment is on castors allowing me to move them as needed and the rail system keeps my most used tools close to the lathe no matter where it is located.

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The turning tools are on a lazy susan and are easily accessible.

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There are four holders for the most used chucks and the different attachments for the Nova live center are also handy.

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This table is also on casters and is located directly behind me when I am turning/sanding. It also contains numerous other small tools. It is somewhat obscured but the cabinet for the vacuum system is just to the left of the lathe motor along with the sharpening station.

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The lights and location of the assorted tool holders are easily moved if needed. It cannot be seen on the picture but there are holes in the back of the top shelf that hold the tool rests.

For those that remove the tailstock and slide the headstock to the end for bowl turning would not like this setup. However, I have never moved my headstock in almost three years therefore, it is not an issue for me. I am sure this will send cold chills up the backs of many.....the lathe is on castors that are free to move with one hand. I have never turned anything larger than a little over 14" that was rounded on the bandsaw and experienced no problem turning the speed up to what I was comfortable with. The first castors that I tried where inexpensive ones and they did not work at all, the ones that I have now are completely satisfactory for my turnings and the lathe does not move. I cannot say how they would work with a timber that was grossly out of balance.

This arrangement works superbly for me, it may not work at all for others.

[Denny Rice]

Ted,

Thanks for the photos they really help!
Denny

[Mike Cruz]

Ted, I don't believe a word you've said. I don't see a SINGLE shaving or dust particle. I don't believe that you ACTUALLY turn... ;) :D

Very well organized and user friendly...

[Ted Evans]

Hi Mike, the area was cleaned to allow the setup to be seen, first time in years. I had recently roughed out about 30 walnut bowls so you can image how things were covered up.