Lathes and mobile bases

[Rounder]

Can, of should you, put a lathe on a mobile base? I need to free up the space my HF lathe is sitting it.

[Bruce Platt]

I dont see why not, I have a shop fox mobile base on my band saw. It seems very sturdy and stable. Although I guess we would all rather have the equipment bolted to the floor. It is not procatical for many of us. If the question comes down to are you better off with the lathe on a mobile base , or not being able to have it at all. Then the answer is obvious.

Bruce

[smc331]

George,

I have my Ridgid lathe on a Woodcraft mobile base - tuck it in the corner when I'm not using it - works great. I think I'm gonna beef up the base and add some ballast to it. It works fine so far, but the extra weight would make me feel a bit better for larger turnings.

[Jim Boyd]

My HF lathe is on a HF mobile base. Real easy to move around and the base often acts as a foot rest Go for it!

[bmyers]

Did you see this one? Prett cool, and it's the HF.

http://www.bt3central.com/forum/topi...TOPIC_ID=18850

Bill

[RayintheUK]

quote:Originally posted by Rounder

Can, or should you, put a lathe on a mobile base? I need to free up the space my HF lathe is sitting in.

George,

I'd say it depends on what you're intending to turn. If you're not going to be spinning big slabs of wood, should be OK.

However, if there's any likelihood of a large lump being mounted (big bowl or large leg), then you might consider having some screw-down levellers so that the lathe won't walk about all over the shop. The link Bill provided shows a good design, chosen deliberately to get the lathe up off the wheels before use.

I've gone to some length to ensure absolute stability on my lathe and have never regretted it - but it stands in one spot. Just as well, I couldn't move it now - it weighs a heck of a lot!

Ray.

[kwgeorge]

I have seen many lathes on mobile bases at numorus demonstrations. I like others feel the only problems would be turning outboard or turning large pieces that are not balanced. I would think that several bags of play sand would aid in that problem.

[DaveinFloweryBranchGA]

I think one of the Woodcraft mobile bases that use the 3/4 inch plywood would be ideal, especially on a HF, Jet or Grizzly lathe. You could bolt the lathe to the plywood and use the plywood of the mobile base to place sandbags to add additional weight to the lathe, allowing you to use the area where a shelf can be placed to put plywood for a shelf to store things , even create a cabinet within the lathe.