charlie b wrote:
Along the lines of the woodworking bench I built, the lathe bench in

Snip

Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism appreciated.

charlie b

Charlie,
It sure looks like it will be a heck of a bench. I'm also looking
forward to reading this thread, so I thought I'd help generate some
discussion.

Here is some info about my bench and lathes, in no particular order.
Hopefully it'll give you more ammunition for designing "Das Bench".

My large Vicmarc lathe spindle height is the same as the measurement at
the inside of my elbow (top of my forearm when bent 90 degrees). My mini
lathe on a bench is 2 inches below that (47 and 45 inches). I find the
larger lathe more comfortable to work at for long periods. I personally
wouldn't want to go much higher than the inside of my elbow, I have
tried the lathe at a taller height and some cuts feel like I'm really
stretching...but that might be because I was really stretching

You might want to consider a pad for the floor in front of your lathe
when thinking about the center height. I set the Vicmarc center height
(using vibration dampening machine feet), so that it is right for me
when I stand on a rubber floor cushion...It sure makes the concrete
floor much friendlier to the feet.

I made my mini lathe bench a few years before I bought the lathe and was
just lucky that it fit reasonably well. Some of the things that I
learned about the table.

It's long enough to mount a 6" grinder on the table at the tailend
of the lathe (or add an extension if you wish). I can sharpen a tool and
be back to turning in no time. If you decide to mount a grinder, make
sure to leave room to get the tail stock on and off.

The bench is mounted on casters which makes it portable. It's
rather heavy so I haven't had a problem with it rolling around. The
goofy thing has become our turning club's portable demo lathe, having
the grinder attached really helps in this respect.

I have two drawers under the table top for all of the stuff that I
use while turning or doing a demo, they are very handy.

I often put the tools that I am using under the mini lathe or to the
right of it. (I miss this on the Vicmarc...but built a little table that
will sit on the bed to hold stuff...but things fall over to the other
side more often)

I do start to loose tools on the bench if I allow the shavings to
accumulate too much. For me, it's less aggravating to vacuum the floor
than hunt for the tools in the chips...

Leo is exactly right about light, I would design some way to mount a
light that can shine into a vessel that's being hollowed, or the inside
of a bowl. For me, those are the hardest things to get bright enough.

Good Luck with your bench,
Keith Hughes