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Forum Index : Other Stuff : New workbench sighted!
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| KiwiJohn Guru  Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
First sighting of my new concrete work bench:- 
IMGP9307 by aardvark_akubra, on Flickr Lifting out of the concrete casting yard! 
IMGP9309 by aardvark_akubra, on Flickr Putting it on the ground! So we could all stand around and take pictures of it! 
IMGP9310 by aardvark_akubra, on Flickr The surface looks great, weight according to the crane driver is 800kgs. The mounting holes for the lathe are obvious to see as is the gutter around the table top which hopefully will collect coolant and chips. The lathe will be above this about 25mm, adjusted level then grouted. I have considered adjustable rubber feet under this bench but dont really see the need and instead will place the bench on wooden blocks which in turn will on the concrete floor. My little Adept shaper, a little bandsaw and maybe my cold saw will all fit on there. My theory is that having all the machines on one free standing bench with no chip guards or such like between them will make for easier cleaning than backed up to the wall. It would be good to have the grinders on something like that too but grinders dont get to share bench space with machine tools. |
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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
That is one heavy duty work bench, but do not use it for an anvil All the best Bob Foolin Around |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
Relax Bob, I wont be using a sledge hammer on my lathe!  |
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Rastus Guru Joined: 29/10/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 301 |
Hi KiwiJohn, Have you had trouble with things walking out the door in the past? Or do you just loan them and they don't return? You sure fixed that fella!Oh sorry I've just remembered how much wind you get over there,,,,,,good one.  lol.Cheers Rastussee Rastus graduate advise generously |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
I worked it out, its a earthquake shelter! The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
You got it! |
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Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
If I remember correctly, your lathe is similar to mine Kiwi John. I bought the metal stand for it and dynobolted it securely to the concrete workshop floor. Bolting my lathe securely to that put it out of whack, not possible to adjust to run true. Lots of fiddling revealed it would run true with the bolts not tightened hard up. So, now its mounted with 3mm cork pad shims between bed & stand, held securely and has been running true for about 10 years. Does concrete move with temperature changes? Klaus |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
Hi Klaus I really wanted to make better use of my workshop space and having a few machines on the one table seemed it would do that, lathe, little shaper, bandsaw and/or cold cut saw. The workshop is part of the house and temperature changes are not extreme so I am not anticipating any problems from that angle. It should arrive tomorrow. I do not have a definite plan for fixing the lathe down yet but as an initial test I think I will bolt it hard down to the bench top and see how far out it is. If it is just a little I expect I can tweak the table a bit. If it is out too much for that I will lift the lathe a little and grout under the feet (but really the feet do not have much surface area). I have thought of putting about 1" of pine under the feet to provide some scope for 'pull down' into true but I am not sure if I miss out of the advantages of the mass of the concrete bench doing that. 
The table itself will be standing on pine blocks to protect the floor surface and provide some vibration isolation, thats the theory anyway. John |
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| Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
John, I doubt you'll reach the resonant frequency of 800kg of concrete with anything you machine on it. My lathe shakes a bit when I turn an unbalanced object, mostly its only unbalanced during the rough cutting stage. I would keep any spark producing machinery away from the lathe, there is always some fine grit flying about with the sparks and you don't want that to settle on the lathe bed. My workshop is quite small and I always cover the lathe with a sheet of denim like material to keep grinding debris off it. Klaus |
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| KiwiJohn Guru Joined: 01/12/2005 Location: New ZealandPosts: 691 |
Klaus, the grinders have their own little bench, way, away in the corner by the door. I wish they had a concrete bench too as the wire brush especially seems to shake the walls. 
I have had my lathe for close on two years now and it has been standing on wooden 'feet' not fixed down to the floor at all which made me very careful starting the spindle with anything that might be unbalanced. I put a piece of cast iron in the 4 jaw once and thought it would be about balanced, I learned otherwise when I pulled the start handle, I thought the whole caboodle was going to tumble into my lap! I only need a lesson like that once! |
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Bryan1 Guru Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1344 |
G'day John, As you have 4 off mounting holes on the concrete bench, I would install 4 off threaded bars with nuts and washers, then align the lathe in both planes using an engineers level and get it spot on. Then grout the base in, this will ensure the lathe will run true and avoid any vibrations when machining unbalanced items. I did this with both of my lathes and since I haven't had any problems with either machine vibrating. It does seem the norm these days just level the lathe and not grout the base in and be held with decent hold down bolts. When I organized the 3 metre lathe at my previous work place the sales rep said not to secure and grout it. Anyway I took both of my engineers levels in and lined it up spot on the grouted it in and the lathe ran spot on. Cheers Bryan |
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| Rastus Guru Joined: 29/10/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 301 |
Hi Bryan, You are absolutely correct.Even thow lathes seem solid as a rock, the "ways" of even the strongest machine can be permannently warped if not fixed level both directions and secured.Cheers Rastus see Rastus graduate advise generously |
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