lathe bench tabletop material

Topics include, Machine Tools & Tooling, Precision Measuring, Materials and their Properties, Electrical discussions related to machine tools, setups, fixtures and jigs and other general discussion related to amateur machining.

Moderators: GlennW, Harold_V

Post Reply
SteveM
Posts: 7763
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Wisconsin

lathe bench tabletop material

Post by SteveM »

My new (to me) lathe came on a homemade bench.
Lathe.jpg
It's pretty decent, but the top is made of three pieces of 2x12 with a sheet of masonite nailed to the top. One of the pieces of 2x12 (luckily the one in the back) is severely warped.

It's soaked with oil and probably a fire haxard.

Looking to make a new top out of 2x4 scraps turned on edge, like how they make bowling alleys. I will plane the top down to get it flat, if it isn't.

Then I figure I'll put something on top of that to have a smooth surface.

Masonite is the wrong choice, as Dr. Strangelove would say, "for reasons which are all too obvious".

What would make a good top material?

I can get thin (like 1/8") sheets of aluminum (in fact, that's what I'm going to use for a backsplash).

Or should I just cover it in plywood, give it a coat of something to seal it and call it a day, figuring it's going to take 20 more years to get this bad again?

Any other ideas?

Steve
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10464
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
Contact:

Re: lathe bench tabletop material

Post by Bill Shields »

My idea of a good lathe bench top is 1/2" thick steel plate..but then everyone knows that I am a little strange.

I like my lathe benches to be solid stable and non warping..is the best way to keep the ways straight and level.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
SteveM
Posts: 7763
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: lathe bench tabletop material

Post by SteveM »

Bill Shields wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 1:58 pm My idea of a good lathe bench top is 1/2" thick steel plate..but then everyone knows that I am a little strange.

I like my lathe benches to be solid stable and non warping..is the best way to keep the ways straight and level.
I have no way of cutting such a top, but I have a water-jet facility right up the street. Certainly worth asking.

Steve
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10464
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
Contact:

Re: lathe bench tabletop material

Post by Bill Shields »

Mine was cut the old fashioned way long before water jets were available...used an oxy acetylene torch.

Finished edges with a grinder
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
User avatar
Greg_Lewis
Posts: 3014
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
Location: Fresno, CA

Re: lathe bench tabletop material

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Here's mine. The design came from one of the magazines many years ago. While a little larger than what you need, the idea is that each end of the lathe is on a slightly higher perch so there is more room underneath for the inevitable bits and pieces you want to keep at hand. As Bill mentioned, the ends are on 1/2-inch plate but you may not need that for yours (Is that a 9-inch?). The whole thing is on an angle iron frame with leveling screws under each leg. The center is just a piece of 3/4 plywood as all it holds is the chip tray and tools.
IMG_0282.JPG
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Post Reply