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.
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.
I mounted some WAY out of balance wood in my lathe last night and I wished I had more weight on this thing. (Then again, I didn’t have the feet extended because currently I have need to roll the stand around the shop due to remodeling.) Everything on the two shelves vibrated their way into the floor. A nice modification to this design might be to have a lip on the shelves to keep that from happening.
A piece of quarter-round shoe molding would be ideal for the lip you’re talking about. Also, when you get finished with your remodeling, do you think there might be some way to anchor the stand to the floor or a wall or something? Some way to do it so that you can still take it loose and move it?
I could have made the middle shelf facing larger, but I didn’t anticipate all of the shaking. I could add the same to the bottom, or go with the molding as you suggest. I doubt I can anchor it to the floor in a semi-mobile fashion, but I will have to give the wall-mount some thought. Thanks!