John Keeton
03-24-2017, 10:48 AM
Greg Parrish and a couple of others wanted better pics of the ballast box I built for my Laguna, so here they are. The construction consists of two pieces of 2x12 hung in the brackets cast into the legs of the lathe. There are 4-5 pieces of 2x4 turned flat between the "joists" that support the 3/4" plywood bottom. The end caps are cutoffs from the 2x12s. The top of the box is 3/4" plywood, as is the drawer unit on top. The construction of the drawer unit is utilitarian - no slides, etc., but it works fine. There are four 60# bags of sand in the ballast box, and when combined with the lumber, the drawer unit and the drawer contents, I figure there is around 300# of added weight. I have NO vibration issues even when turning 20+" platters off center. While the black paint seemed like a nice addition since the lathe is black - just like a black car, it shows everything! I would suggest something more dust colored!!:D
I should add that the dimensions of this build are not designed for this lathe. This same unit was on my Jet 1642-2, and I wanted to reuse as much of the material as possible. I did purchase more 2x12s as the length needed for the Laguna was just a bit longer. The box is a tight fit for the sand bags, and were I building from scratch, I would have extended the length of the box a couple of inches to accommodate the sand better. As it is, I had to really move the sand around in the bags to get the top of the box on as the bags were "scrunched" into the limited space. But....I didn't want to buy new plywood!! I could have and should have used 4/4 stock for the supports under the plywood bottom. That would have given me enough space, but I was too far along in the project to bother with changing it.
I have added a pic of my light setup, which is actually the shaft from the wire cage left over from my Jet lathe. It fits nicely into the hole provided in the Laguna. Again, an inexpensive addition that could benefit from a less miserly approach - but, it works well!
The circular object above the lathe on an extendable mount is a 5X lighted viewer that I use for close detail work. I can pull it down in position when needed.
My tool racks and sandpaper bins are self explanatory. I have quite a bit of additional storage in other portions of my shop and they house turning related items, as well.
The wood object behind the lathe is a drop down assembly table - a vintage carryover from my flatwork days. Conveniently, it covers the window to the other portion of my shop building - in the event that one might launch a piece from the lathe. It hasn't seen service in that regard, but one just never knows!
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I should add that the dimensions of this build are not designed for this lathe. This same unit was on my Jet 1642-2, and I wanted to reuse as much of the material as possible. I did purchase more 2x12s as the length needed for the Laguna was just a bit longer. The box is a tight fit for the sand bags, and were I building from scratch, I would have extended the length of the box a couple of inches to accommodate the sand better. As it is, I had to really move the sand around in the bags to get the top of the box on as the bags were "scrunched" into the limited space. But....I didn't want to buy new plywood!! I could have and should have used 4/4 stock for the supports under the plywood bottom. That would have given me enough space, but I was too far along in the project to bother with changing it.
I have added a pic of my light setup, which is actually the shaft from the wire cage left over from my Jet lathe. It fits nicely into the hole provided in the Laguna. Again, an inexpensive addition that could benefit from a less miserly approach - but, it works well!
The circular object above the lathe on an extendable mount is a 5X lighted viewer that I use for close detail work. I can pull it down in position when needed.
My tool racks and sandpaper bins are self explanatory. I have quite a bit of additional storage in other portions of my shop and they house turning related items, as well.
The wood object behind the lathe is a drop down assembly table - a vintage carryover from my flatwork days. Conveniently, it covers the window to the other portion of my shop building - in the event that one might launch a piece from the lathe. It hasn't seen service in that regard, but one just never knows!
356803 356802 356804 356805 356807 356806