new 9 by 20 lathe - how do I fit it?

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It's _only_ 210lb? Even a fairly poorly built ceiling should handle that with a couple of cross-braces spanning two or more trusses(rafters).

If you _really_can't_ borrow or rent an engine hoist, use a block and tackle.

That's a really light lathe, and shouldn't be a bad job getting it up.

The MDF isn't a great idea, though. Although MDF has a fairly stable surface layer, it's not stable dimensionally in changing humidity, and will rack your equipment out of true and level with every change of climate. If I had to use wood for the top, I'd choose a more stable wood, like VERY fat yellow pine. But wood isn't a great choice.

LLoyd

Lloyd, your correct, except to me, its not light. I spent 20 years as a lineman and then a TV tech, lifting awkward, heavy weights. My back is stuffed - if it goes out again, I dont work and dont earn (self employed - no compo) - and if it goes out badly, I dont want to see a surgeon - have seen too many people who are STUFFED even with "successful" surgery. . The roof is tin, with plasterboard holding up the insulation. MDF - if sealed, its pretty ok - and besides, I dont think its going to warp a cast iron bed (Could be wrong, please correct me if I am).

But youve given me food for thought - thank you - if all else fails, I will hire an engine hoist....

Andrew VK3BFA.

Rent an engine hoist or go to your favorite bar and buy a few rounds to recruit some young bucks. A couple of them can do it in a trice, or maybe a thrice. Bugs

Don't wait for all else to fail - while failing, it can cause other expensive and/or painful results/effects. Either buy a cheap one, or rent/hire one for the day if that's going to be the best way to get this done without damaging yourself.

As for the MDF, you'd be surprised how much cast iron can move, when you care about small movements. In order for a lathe to cut true, it needs to be shimmed so the bed is straight. The easiest way to achieve that is for the bed to be level, to a very precise degree. You can do bulk metal removal on a lathe with a twisted bed, and lots of people do, but it inherently limits the precision of the result you can achieve. Ideally, you want a base for the lathe that will not move, so that when you level the lathe, it says put. (exceptions for fancy Hardinge lathes that have special mountings allowing the base to sit any which way, that are about as far from Chinese 9x20's as you can get...)

I'd just call around to the local high school or trade school, ask the receptionist for someone who could reccommend a couple of sturdy characters to come over and help you. At a trade school, the students might think it is fun to help and to see what the old codgers are doing.

I know students at the local college, it's easy to get volenteers to put up sheetrock (!!!) dur> Hey good people,

MDF _will_ warp your lathe out of true. It might not move enough to break anything (perhaps not even to cause serious wear), but it will screw up your work.

One really _weird_ solution I seen used in a home shop was to cast a honey-combed concrete table top that sits on a wood stand. Yeah... concrete.

The table top must've weighed as much as the lathe... but I can see how well-reinforced, well-cured concrete would be a damned stable top!

OTOH, a sheet metal 'base' cabinet is really the way to go. They're cheap to buy, cheap to fabricate on your own, and perfectly stable dimensionally, if designed well. They're also a nice place to heap up all your accessories, so long as you occlude chips and coolant from falling into the base.

That won't work, either, unless you're placing the lathe on a stable (say, concrete) floor. A wooden floor on wooden joists is as bad as a poor table.

LLoyd

Yep, I've also considered that. Weld a rectangle of 3" angle iron, set some bolts on end in the pattern or your lathe mounting holes, add rebar/mesh, pour concrete. May do that.

I found a dandy workbench at HD last month that is just perfect for this size lathe. Black sheet-metal stand with two drawers and two big shelf compartments, topped by a 1.5" hardwood top 60" x 20", on big casters. It was $117, $79 on sale. Wish I'd bought two of them. My Logan 9x17 will find it's way onto this one.

Rex B

Down here in Texas we just go to the local corner where the wetbacks gather looking for work and hire a couple.

Clif

Maybe some friends from church or work? Do you have a neighborhood kid who has a friend? Flag down a policeman with a dozen Krispy Kremes? :) Randy

Plan B might be to make an A-frame out of lumber (pieces you can lift), and use the local equivalent of the HF $20 come-along to lift the lathe. You will, of course, be lifting 2x4s bolted under the lathe bed to insure the top heavy lathe does not flip as you are tying to lift it. Equip the A-frame with wheels or skids to facilitate dragging the lathe over the intended bench. Disassemble the A-frame and store it in the corner until next time.

Kevin Gallimore

It really depends on what you have on hand or can get. I have used blocks of wood and a jack to get things up high enough to get pipe rollers under them. I have also made a tripod to use to lift things. Having a come-a-long helps. You can get one of those for about $10 in the States. Wedges, inclined planes all work for some occasions. Just be careful and think ahead. I tend to move one end, and then the other to slowly move things.

Dan

Andrew VK3BFA asked:

mounting bolts, and get it down onto the mounting bolts. Without killing myself, or needing to take yet another trip to the Chiropractor

to fix my back. (Again).<

Where do you live Andrew? Anywhere around here and I've "got you covered". What are neighbors for right? :)

On the MDF issue I'd agree with everyone else. It's coefficient of expansion is suprisingly high (at least to me). Something else more stable might be a sheet of thick phenolic. I'm not sure if linen or paper base might be best.

dennis in nca

I made an (sort of) A-frame crane out of 2x4s. My lathe was about $300. I would recommend a better lifting mechanism than the block and tackle in the pic however. Later on I added a cheap Harbor Freight winch. See pic here:

Cultivate younger friends and neighbors. 95 kg is nothing for a couple of younger guys. 100 lb (45.4 kg) was the standard 1-man carry in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers -- and that meant all day for a long day of bridgebuilding or whatever.

My neighbor periodically shows up with some bits of metal in his hand, says, "Hey, Don, I know how you hate to weld but......."

Those jobs get first priority because I know I can count on Con (and friends) when I need a little help with some heavy lifting.

I have a unit heater about 10 feet above the floor that needs to be replaced soon. I know exactly how I am going to get it down and the new one up. (Hey, Con........)

Great excuse to get a welder. You're going to want to weld up benches, tables and rawstock racks anyway. An inexpensive used buzzbox stick welder works great for that sort of thing. You can make a lot of useful stuff out of 1/8" to 1/4" angle iron, pipe, channel and rectangular tube -- including an A-frame or other sort of lifting arrangement.

I rented an engine hoist to put my mill-drill (about 300 kg) on the stand I'd welded up while waiting for the mill-drill to arrive. When I sold the mill-drill, the stand went with it.

I hired a professional rigger to transport and place my 15 x 50 lathe. That was a bit pricey, but I think it was worth it. He knew exactly what he was doing, does that sort of work every day, and he had the right equipment for the job. That lathe is still exactly where he set it up 15 years ago, gets used nearly every day. I don't know what that sucker weighs, but it's a buncha metal.

In another life, I had to design a new laboratory and one requirement was to weigh samples to 0.001 gram accuracy. I had a separate room with 2 concrete pillars, each 9" wide x 2'6" deep x 2' high with 3 anti-vibration mounts on top of each pillar supporting a cast concrete slab 3' deep x 5'6 wide x 9" thick, needless to say, it was extremely stable, despite having about 6 x 20hp pumps running a few metres away.

I moved my 12 x 36 lathe off my trailer, over my workshop doorstep using wooden rollers, then moved it on to the chip pan while at ground level, finally raising it high enough to slide the stand under, using wooden blocks and hydraulic jacks. I did not raise it more than

I did have a smaller lathe but my youngest son " borrowed " it. He came with 3 of his mates and carried it off. 6 months later I bought this much better lathe and it is too heavy to carry off !

Andrew, if you were a VK6, I could help you set up your lathe.

Alan in beautiful Golden Bay, Western Oz, South 32.25.42, East 115.45.44 GMT+8 VK6 YAB ICQ 6581610 to reply, change oz to au in address

Just make sure the reward beer is their first. I made the mistake of buying my first lathe on a friday, and trying to get it out of the car with the aid of a friend who'd had a few on his way home from work. Oh, and lock the carriage too, as when you tip the lathe to go up the stair and the carriage takes off cranking itself downhill towards your inebriated friend's end, the results might not be predicatable. (In this case, not predictable means he actually didn't drop it after all)

These days, calling the local high school and asking them to send some strong boys around is liable to get you in trouble.

If you're go> I'd just call around to the local high school or trade school, ask the

Andrew

I see by your call sign that you live in Victoria. If you live anywhere near Hampton, shoot me an email and I'll give you a hand getting it into place when you're ready.

Tom Miller "Andrew VK3BFA" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

Call the local fire station. Off-duty firemen will do it for a reasonable price