In the home stretch on Das Lathe Bench. Got the conflict
between the piano hinged debris chute and the shelf
worked out, added a rosewood knob the the hinged dust
chute so I don't have to push it up from under the bench
and came up with a way to
- put a lip on the back of the bench top to keep
things I don't want falling off the back while
having the option of sweeping / air blasting
stuff I do want off the bench top
- keep debris from falling on to my shelf below
the bench top.

Good thing I'm using the Build / Design As You Go
Approach for this thing. I thought I'd worked out
just about everything before I started building -
but I knew an unforseen or two would pop up
somewhere along the way.

So here's the next two pages on Das Lathe Bench

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/...thebench7.html

As always, comments, suggestions, questions and
constructive criticism are appreciated.

charlie b

Hi Charlie

Good idea using the sliding stop ledge/lip, but does not seem very user
friendly if you have to loosen 4 knobs every time you want to clear the
deck.

Of course maybe one will do the job, still it's a clever setup, so you
don't have to catch that falling skew with your shins.

How long before you can start turning wood, life is short, GG

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

wrote:

Hi Charlie

Good idea using the sliding stop ledge/lip, but does not seem very user
friendly if you have to loosen 4 knobs every time you want to clear the
deck.

Of course maybe one will do the job, still it's a clever setup, so you
don't have to catch that falling skew with your shins.

Some things to consider

The "lip" is only quarter inch ply so it's bendy over its
36" length. Had to go with quarter inch because the "
male" knobs readily available, that would fit the T-nuts
I had, have short threaded lengths. Because of the
bendy nature of 1/4" ply, I need multiple connection
points to keep it firmly against the back edge of the
bench top.

The "lip" also covers the back of the shelf below
the bench top - keeping debris off the shelf
AND stuff on the shelf from escaping out the
back

In retrospect - and given my attraction to rare
earth magnates - the "lip" part of this thing
could've been done with magnets. They'd allow
the "lip" to be moved up and down easily while
resisting being pushed back by tools etc.

But there;d still be the back of the shelf
and debris issue. A spring loaded "flapper"
arrangement would hold it shut enough
to keep debris off the back of the shelf
but could be blown open by compressed
air for shelf cleaning out the back. Of
course that would be more complicated.

However, since the bench is easy to
take apart - there's always future options.

How long before you can start turning wood, life is short, GG

A buddy was over yesterady and helped
me move the 7' long shelf cabinet that
was occupying the space for this bench.
Good thing I had the foresite to put that
sucker on wheels. Easier to move but
requires two people to navigate it to
its new home.

Doug also helped, and that's an under-
staement, get Das Lathe Bench
off Das Woodworking Bench and over
to its new home.

Should've glued the 80 grit sandpaper
to the bottom of the leg leveler feet
while it was still on my workbench
but he was pressed for time. Will have
to do that before firing up the lathe.
Smooth steel feet and an epoxied cement
floor don't make for good footing. I DO
NOT want this thing walking while I'm
turning - I've got enough trouble
controling the cutting tool as it is.

Should have the lathe up and running
on the new bench by this evening.
Then I can turn some rosewood pins
to hold the dust chute up when needed
and work out the moveable plex
ends vertical extensions / debris
containers.. THAT's going to be a
bit tricky because I'm going to
add a shelf to the left / head stock side
of the bench for the Tormek.

Having the Tormek on the left side
of the bench and the gouges and chisel
case/holder on the right should make
for a good turning set up.

Still have the lighting to work out.

I'm basically a furniture making
enthusiast. The lathe is just one
more tool towards that end. It's
also a relatlively instant gratifier
- most of the time.

Fun this woodworking thing - if
you're carefull.

charlie b

Hi Charlie

I lost you there, you are using t-nuts ???, seems like the wrong
hardware for that application.

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,41306,45375

A cross dowel would seem more appropriate, that way you could use
longer threaded rod and a cam clamp would make for a real fast hold
down.

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,41306,45375

Also a set of this kind of bracket on the bottom end would make that
more secure I think,

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...914,50427&ap=1

Just a thought.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

This is the cam clamp I was trying to get the link for.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,43576,52799

" wrote:

This is the cam clamp I was trying to get the link for.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,43576,52799


These are very good. I have a couple pair of the Rockler version.

wrote:

Hi Charlie

I lost you there, you are using t-nuts ???, seems like the wrong
hardware for that application.

Well if you recess them - and then gorilla glue around the outside
they don't pull out easily. And since I'm not going to have to
really torque things down much they should be fine.


A cross dowel would seem more appropriate, that way you could use
longer threaded rod and a cam clamp would make for a real fast hold
down.

That page shows what I call a barrel nut - a section of steel rod with
a threaded
through hole through its side. If you've used them you know that the
hole
for the barrel bolt must be almost perfectly square to the hole for
the
bolt that is to thread into it. Be off a little and it's trouble in
River City
time. There's also the issue of holding the barrel nut at the right
height
and orientation relative to the bolt that's to thread into it. An
earth
magnet on the end of a dowel helps a lot for positioning and rotating
the barrel nut down in the hole Bottom of the page - last two
illustrations
show a barrel nut application and the magnet on a dowel trick

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/CBbench22.html.

In addition to all that, because the knob/bolt/cam levered bolt is
down an inch from the top of the bench top, the hole for the barrel
nut would have to be 2 3/4" deep in from the bottom. If I drilled
in from the top of the bench top I'd have a nice holel - filled with
debtris. I don't want to create things that trap crap.

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...=3,41306,45375

Also a set of this kind of bracket on the bottom end would make that
more secure I think,

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...914,50427&ap=1

These flush mount clips - are a modified french cleat. Problem
with them is that you have to attach the part that goes on the
"lip" with wood screws. Only have 1/4" thick ply for the "lip".
could use a nut and bolt or glue a screwing strip on the back.
But it still leaves the back of the shelf to enclose to keep
debris out, but open to allow debris to be blown out the back.

The problem with the "flush" mount clips is that they aren't
flush - that is to say that the two things being clipped together
won't actually touch each other, leaving a gap - for debris
to get into - something I'm trying to avoid.

Just a thought.

Thanks for the suggestions. Will keep the flush mount clips
in mind for some future project. Might come in handy for
securing the fireplace mantle that's on my to do list.

Got the riser blocks for raising the lathe for underneath
it clearance attached to the bench top and the lathe lag
bolted to them. Glue some 80 grit to the end of the bench
top to increase the grip when the bench sides are pulled
into them with the nuts and all thread - and then it's "final"
assembly time. I've got black and english walnut, apricot
and almond ready to rough to round and all the tools are
sharp and ready to go. Anxious to try the 1 1/4" skew.

And now that I found and removed the plastic cup stuck
in the blast gate of the dust collector drop next to
Das Lathe Bench, clean up should be a breeze.

Have fun and take care

Ditto.

charlie b