DIY Lathe Platform/Riser Blocks

[Neil Steininger]

I am currently looking to upgrade to a larger lathe than my current excelsior 10x18 bench-top. The sale on the Laguna Revo 18/36 has me pretty tempted but I am a bit worried about the height of the spindle. I am taller, 6' 4", and my bench-top lathe is on a bench with the spindle at 48" from the floor and I find that to be fairly comfortable, but I am sure I could get used to a couple inches shorter but would prefer not to. The Laguna has the 3" risers available but they are $300 and after shipping them to AK via barge it is probably closer to $400, I can justify the ~$500 price difference from the 18" Grizzly alternative but its harder as that approaches $1k (thats a lot of chucks and gouges). I like the look of the G0766 but its not in stock till late October which puts in squarely in my busy season at work.

Does anyone have experience building a platform to set their lathe on? Searches for 'lathe riser blocks' tend to come up with ways to increase the swing. I am concerned I may run into stability issues and may be walking into a self-made problem just to save a few bucks. One idea kicking around in my head is to build a shallow form, pour in concrete to give it some weight and stability for the lathe to sit on, in theory that should also level itself which would be good since my shop floor is far from level. Though then I wouldn't be able to move it easily, I doubt I will know exactly where I want to put the lathe on day one.

[John K Jordan]

I wanted to raise one of my lathes (which has adjustment bolts with flat disks against the floor). I made four wooden blocks and drilled a shallow recess into the top of each with a Forstner bit. With the weight of the lathe there was no problem with stability. If I turned huge blocks that made the lathe walk around the shop I would have done something different, probably weld up some steel risers, bolt the legs to those, and put the original adjusters on the bottom. To me it is important to retain the leg adjusters to correct misalignment.



I am currently looking to upgrade to a larger lathe than my current excelsior 10x18 bench-top. The sale on the Laguna Revo 18/36 has me pretty tempted but I am a bit worried about the height of the spindle. I am taller, 6' 4", and my bench-top lathe is on a bench with the spindle at 48" from the floor and I find that to be fairly comfortable, but I am sure I could get used to a couple inches shorter but would prefer not to. The Laguna has the 3" risers available but they are $300 and after shipping them to AK via barge it is probably closer to $400, I can justify the ~$500 price difference from the 18" Grizzly alternative but its harder as that approaches $1k (thats a lot of chucks and gouges). I like the look of the G0766 but its not in stock till late October which puts in squarely in my busy season at work.

Does anyone have experience building a platform to set their lathe on? Searches for 'lathe riser blocks' tend to come up with ways to increase the swing. I am concerned I may run into stability issues and may be walking into a self-made problem just to save a few bucks. One idea kicking around in my head is to build a shallow form, pour in concrete to give it some weight and stability for the lathe to sit on, in theory that should also level itself which would be good since my shop floor is far from level. Though then I wouldn't be able to move it easily, I doubt I will know exactly where I want to put the lathe on day one.


JKJ

[Neil Steininger]

Thanks for the idea, I will give that a shot, should be able to dial in a bit more custom of a height that way too.

[Steve Eure]

I saw this a while back. This might help.
388006
Took me a few minutes to figure out how to import this. Not too computer savy. Thats my wives job.

[Thomas Wilson80]

Does the mobile base kit raise it up,at all? (then again, that's another $500)

tom

[Thomas Canfield]

I made blocks similar to those described by John Jordan to use with my Powermatic 3520B that have been in use for 10+ years with no problem even with large unbalanced pieces. Blocks are about 2"H x 4"D with Forster bit recess in top to contain the leveling screw to have good connection and the weight of lathe makes it very solid while still being able to level lathe properly. I have a trailer jack mobil lift system for moving lathe and just have to remember to position the blocks if lathe is moved. I think the use of larger D blocks and shorter height of adjusting screw provides a more solid lathe.

[Neil Steininger]

I don’t think it does. I think the lathe sits on its feet when not on the wheels, otherwise that would be two birds with one stone. Maybe a combination of Steve and John’s ideas might fit the bill too. I am thinking if I screw a piece of plywood to each I can attach them to the mounting points for the stock riser won’t add much stability but if I move it around they won’t fall off. I’ll be sure to take a picture, pretty sure I’m gonna pull the trigger on the Laguna at this point since I’ve already done the leg work to prep my wife for the price tag (and just gave her a nice koa bowl).

[Sam Force]

I too am 6'4" I have raised my Powermatic 7 1/2 inches built 2 risers to run between the legs and then connected those with 2x4. I put pieces from an innertube under the rises to keep from walking. I keep a platform under the 2x4 connectors to pull out for when short friends stop by it works great and my back thanks me

[Mick Fagan]

Go to about 4" on this clip and you'll see the riser kit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rQNSxpGUbQ&list=PLGxpBSxMxWOS_Vc73N5DAkKrWiNJLz25r

You may wish to download the user manual, great reading.

Mick.

[jon minerich]

Hey Neil,
i bought the Laguna Revo 1836. Like you, I am 6’4”. I bought the riser blocks and it was still a bit low. I then bought 4 hockey pucks on E-bay, and now the height is perfect. It is very stable and comfortable. Yesterday I spent almost 6 hours on the lathe and didn’t get a sore neck, back or arms.
Jon

[Neil Steininger]

Hockey pucks sound like a pretty novel solution. Something tells me if I tape together a stack of them 4-5” tall I might loose a bit of stability :)

[Dick Strauss]

How about a long coupler or two and long bolt to effectively extend the levelers? If you know someone with metal lathe, have them thread both ends of a 4" piece of 1" diameter steel rod to match the threading in the lathe feet. Add a bolt to the top and thread the levelers in the bottom and voila!

[Greg Parrish]

I bought some tubular steel from a local welding shop cut to length. Think it was 3.5” square tube. I drilled holes in the top to bolt to the bottom of my Laguna 18/36 and also drilled holes in the bottom to bolt an adjustable foot to. Used washers and a nut above and below the tube so I could adjust the feet for leveling. Works great and got height I needed but isn’t mobile like the factory riser and wheel kit. I don’t move mine though.

http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2263799829-4.jpg

http://txbonds.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2263801413-5.jpg

[Neil Steininger]

That looks even better Greg. I have a friend who does a lot of metal working so I might have to pay him a visit.

[Greg Parrish]

That looks even better Greg. I have a friend who does a lot of metal working so I might have to pay him a visit.

Little black paint and a few holes with the drill. Easy peasy. As long as you don’t plan to add the laguna wheel kit it’s a cheap alternative.

[Rob Price]

I put my 3520 on 4 of these: 2" Leveling Swivel Caster, Nylon Wheel, Hexagon Top Plate, 550 lb Capacity https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UZ4E5C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9lTkBbM3E055Z

they raise it several inches and when needed I can ratchet down the wheel to roll around. They are a little wobbly with big out of round blanks but I just slow the lathe down. I’m not very aggressive with wobble.

Since then I bought a lift cart from harbor freight and moved to a new shop. My lathe hasn’t moved in 5 years. I’m tempted to jack it up, take the casters off and put it in blocks.

[Reed Gray]

My first lathe was a 3520A. I had it up on 4 X 4s with a slight forstner bit hole for each foot. 6 X 6 for you maybe??? Hockey pucks are a good idea to keep them from wandering, but I wouldn't stack more than 1 high.

robo hippy

[John Sincerbeaux]

I am in the school of anchoring a lathe to the floor. My lathe is bolted into my concrete floor. If I were the OP, I would bolt 6x6’s to the floor, then bolt the lathe to the 6x6’s.

[Neil Steininger]

Well, I ordered the Laguna so now it’s time to clean the shop and plan the riser. I think I will try some blocks out of maple or oak and if I don’t like the stability at 4” I will go the steel route.