Mini Lathe Bed Extention

The best way to accomplish the goal you have set out to achieve is to:
a) raise mini-lathe up about two feet off of bench. b) translate it to the right about 5 feet. c) install larger lathe in location previously occupied by mini-lathe.
Jim
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Why screw around. Just buy a 12X36 and be done with it. You can make a Gremlin from a Pinto, but....it's still a Pinto, only worse. JR Dweller in the cellar
David Heidary wrote:

Absolutely correct.
Gunner
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" -- Ben Franklin

Thanks for the comments everyone. I would have followed your advice if I could fit a 12x36 lathe into the elevator and get it up to my second floor apartment hopeing that the floor would not give in under the weight.
Regards,
David Heidary

There are some lighter 12x36 models out there. Generally this is not considered an asset, but in you instance it might be. I would not hesitate at all to drag an old atlas into an apartment. Shouldn't exceed the weight of a bathtub full of water, a refrigerator, or a piano, for instance. In fact, getting it into your apartment would not be unlike a piano. I can carry my 10-42 atlas(bed length, not center to center). You can certainly continue on the path you previsouly selected, but oddball approaches like thisgenerally do not pay unless you have a very specific job that you will repeat very often and no alternatives. You have already identified the issue of carriage travel. Additionally,once you line everything up, you have the issue of how to mount the two beds so that their relative positions remain the same. A wooden bench isn't going to do it, since they will shift appreciably the first night from moisture or temperature. Never mind, that even if your building is solid concrete it will move as well. The best way to counteract this is to build a very substantial steel support. This steel support would end up giving you pretty much the same issues as a small 10-36 bench lathe or 12/36 bench lathe. Thus the answers you have been given to date.
Charles
David Heidary wrote:

Hello, David,
Another David is already in the process of doing this. Perhaps you can trade notes. Here is his web site:
Michael
Michael Mandaville

In spite of my previous comment, I have to admit that's some pretty nice work there.
Jim
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... is a related yahoo group, "for those who have stretched their original 7x10 or 7x12 mini-lathe to 7x24, those who already have and those who are part-way thru it". Not a highly-active group in terms of messages but you can see additional files and pictures. -jiw

David, Go to and click on links. There are a lot of mini lathe sites, I remember someone had fastened two beds together. You should be able to find it through the links. Good luck
Paul in Ohio

David This is the link to the site of a guy that extended his bed and modified a lead screw to use the total lenght. Paul in Ohio

A 12x36 bench lathe will weigh under 1,000 pounds. There should be no worries about the floor handling that weight (less than a waterbed). The machine, minus stand, should be about 2 feet by 5 feet. Should be easy to stand it up on a refrigerator dolly in any elevator that can handle 4 or 5 people.
Gary

Actually I was gonna say... anyone who would tackle the job of grafting two lathe beds together (and that one web page I saw really was nifty) could *certainly* figure out a way to a) move a larger machine up an elevator and b) shoe-horn it into a tight space.
And yes, I was the person who had a 9" atlas lathe (four foot bed) in my kitchen when I lived in MA years ago.
Jim
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I've actually seen a machine shope extend their turning length capacity by setting two identical machines in precision alignment with eachother end for end. These were in the size of 20"x80" machines. Little bit bigger than the mini lathe. Same principal though. This was a hydraulic cylinder shop so I guess the extra length was neede on occasion.

Anyone with the werewithall to join two lathe beds like that can figure out how heavy something is. Getting a slightly larger machine like a 9 or 10 inch atlas, or long bed 9" model A south bend, would be a better approach IMO.
Jim
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Especially when 6 inch atlas machines are pretty common and pretty cheap. I saw a couple real nice ones at NAMES the last 2 times I went. Dick Triemstra might have been the dealer.
A 7x20 myford would be real nice too! Dick has one of those two. I even have a myford ML7 FS. 1950s vintage in real nice shape. chuck