"bob prohaska" wrote in message
news
I just acquired a wood office desk made in the 1930's which
looks
like it would make a good bench for my South Bend 10k
lathe. The
desk has lots of drawers, very helpful for all the little
(and some
not-so little) hunks of metal that come to roost around
metalworking
machines.

The top is 50 by 34 inches and about two inches thick.
Because of its
age I'm fairly sure it isn't ersatz wood, but rather
plywood or possibly
even solid wood. The joinery is well done, the cabinetry
straight-grained
and clear of knots. It's a smaller and less-ornate version
of this:
https://www.facebook.com/LincolnDesks

The obvious approach is to just bolt the lathe and
countershaft to the
top of the desk, that wouldn't be any worse than the table
it's on
now. The lathe is far stiffer than either and straighter
to boot.

I wonder if it might be better to bolt the lathe and
countershaft to
a sheet of half-inch or so plywood, just strong enough to
support
belt tension (which isn't all that great, there's a prop
rod 'tween
headstock and countershaft assembly) and place it on a
cushion atop
the desk. That isolates the lathe from irregularities in
the desk,
the cushion will serve to absorb at least some vibration.

Has anybody tried something like this? It's hard to
believe a bench
contributes much if anything to the stiffness of a machine
tool, but
it could contribute to vibration damping.

Thanks for reading, and any thoughts.

bob prohaska

My South Bend 9" Model A is on a similar table but I put a
sheet of 3/16 5086 aluminum plate between the lathe and
the table top. It makes for a brighter work area and is not
affected by swarf and cutting oil. And is easy to clean too.
phil k.