Well,
I picked up my lathe from a friend and it is a 4 ft old delta (sorry I
didn't write down any serial numbers. It is basically the lathe and a
motor with a belt that goes between four pulleys on each to control the
speed.

Now.... My friend had it set up so that the lathe and the motor sat
next to each other on a giant piece of plywood. I could just build some
legs and a brace for that piece of ply wood.

Pros: -The distance between the motor and the lathe is already there
so I don't have to worry about the spacing (belt tension is a concern).

- It would probably be easier.

Cons: Vibration.
-Overall quality
- An enormous footprint in a very small garage
- The danger of having a motor on the side.


Obviously I would rather build mine own stand. I realize it needs to
be heavy and stable. ( I am thinking 6 legs with rubber screw
adjustments for leveling. However, I am worried about a few things.


1. How do I know how far below I need to mount the motor. How can a
measure the correct tension for the belt?

2. How can a set up a guard so parts of my body aren't ripped off in
the belt? (I was thinking about building a hollow wooden column with a
door that opens for belt changes. Also a protective guard on the top
side)


3. What is a good overall design. Compared to the lathe, how much
wider/ longer should the stand be?

A free lathe is sweet but I don't want to make it worthless with a
crappy stand.

Thanks in advance


Robert Ward

wrote:
Well,
I picked up my lathe from a friend and it is a 4 ft old delta (sorry I
didn't write down any serial numbers. It is basically the lathe and a
motor with a belt that goes between four pulleys on each to control the
speed.

SNIP

A free lathe is sweet but I don't want to make it worthless with a
crappy stand.

Thanks in advance


Robert Ward

Hello, Robert. I would start here, http://tinyurl.com/y9kz5r

It is a search of this NG for lathe stands that are home or shop built,
along with some great discussions about weight, strength, and vibration
dampening. Some threads even have pictures of the work on them. I
even found a pay site in one of the threads with a set of plans on it
if you don't want to design your own. I would pay particular attention
the threads that discuss height of spindle when building your stand.

I'll bet the Delta you have is the one that has been serving faithfully
for many decades now. With a nice stand, it should serve many more.

Robert

Almost forgot. Check out the pics he http://tinyurl.com/ybwyr8

The image search is a rarely used function of Google, Dogpile, etc.,
and sometimes it gets me to what I am looking for more reliably than
the normal search.

You will see stands for all manner of lathes including metal lathes and
mills, but a lot of good pics on shop built stuff for wood spinners.

Robert

I am also concerned about being able to move the motor closer and
farther from the headstack end of where it is mounted. I think I need
to do that to change the speed of the lathe. Or don't I? With a four
pulley set up, can the motor just sit in one place?

Thanks for the help

Rob

I am also concerned about being able to move the motor closer and
farther from the headstack end of where it is mounted. I think I need
to do that to change the speed of the lathe. Or don't I? With a four
pulley set up, can the motor just sit in one place?

Thanks for the help

Rob

wrote:

Well,
I picked up my lathe from a friend and it is a 4 ft old delta (sorry I
didn't write down any serial numbers. It is basically the lathe and a
motor with a belt that goes between four pulleys on each to control the
speed.

Now.... My friend had it set up so that the lathe and the motor sat
next to each other on a giant piece of plywood. I could just build some
legs and a brace for that piece of ply wood.

Pros: -The distance between the motor and the lathe is already there
so I don't have to worry about the spacing (belt tension is a concern).

- It would probably be easier.

Cons: Vibration.
-Overall quality
- An enormous footprint in a very small garage
- The danger of having a motor on the side.


Obviously I would rather build mine own stand. I realize it needs to
be heavy and stable. ( I am thinking 6 legs with rubber screw
adjustments for leveling. However, I am worried about a few things.


1. How do I know how far below I need to mount the motor. How can a
measure the correct tension for the belt?

2. How can a set up a guard so parts of my body aren't ripped off in
the belt? (I was thinking about building a hollow wooden column with a
door that opens for belt changes. Also a protective guard on the top
side)


3. What is a good overall design. Compared to the lathe, how much
wider/ longer should the stand be?

A free lathe is sweet but I don't want to make it worthless with a
crappy stand.

Thanks in advance


Robert Ward

Robert, the stand you build depends on your resources. When I built the one
for my Jet 1442, I had a couple 5' lengths of 4" drill stem (you did not
want to pick up both at the same time). That and some 1/4" x 6" steel
plate and off to a parishioner's shop to get it all welded up, along with
some 2 1/2" angle iron he had and I had a nice, heavy and steady stand.

If you don't have a place to get steel welded, without paying an arm and a
leg. Bolt one together out of 4 x 4's and 2 x 6's, using liberal amounts
of glue in the process. Then weight the sucker with about 3 bags of 80lb
Quickcrete (depending on where you live you will have solid blocks in about
6 months from the humidity) The real advantage to building your own is you
can make it to fill YOUR needs

As for plans. The base needs to extend beyond the lathe and the legs by at
least 4". The height is what is the correct height for you - standdard is
that the centerline should be at your elbow when you have your arm bent.
Other than that, it needs to be long enough for the lathe to bolt to,
solidly.

As for the motor, do what they do on contractor table saws, let the motor
pivot. The weight of the motor will keep tension on the belt. If that
doesn't seem to be practical, build a tensioner from a pulley, fairly
strong spring and a pivot, like the used to on on older garden tillers.

Good Luck - you will do great.

Deb

"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
...
wrote:
If you don't have a place to get steel welded, without paying an arm and a
leg. Bolt one together out of 4 x 4's and 2 x 6's, using liberal amounts
of glue in the process. Then weight the sucker with about 3 bags of 80lb
Quickcrete (depending on where you live you will have solid blocks in
about
6 months from the humidity) The real advantage to building your own is
you
can make it to fill YOUR needs


Disagree and then agree. Bolting together is inferior to fully glued sheet
goods. Much more mechanical rigidity in sheet goods than in even glued lap
joints where it's cross-grained and where the softer wood works against the
harder steel. Spread the load, loading proportionately less at any point,
making it more difficult to overwhelm by additional applied forces. I used
a frame versus full monocoque, but that's just me. Used no frame on the
previous, which took some heavy prying and hammering to dismantle, and
turned on it fifteen or so years. Since you'll double your top thickness as
a minimum, and should strongly consider it on the sides, you'll have lots of
mass, not that you'll need it if you counter the over-the-top thrust with
slanted legs. Your only problem will be keeping the rear of the stand on
the floor, something I compensated for by extending the tabletop and hanging
the cabinet to the rear. Built in places for sandbags, but realize now that
I needn't have. Stuff stored aft and below, plus the mechanics of having
the base against the wall take care of that for me.



As for plans. The base needs to extend beyond the lathe and the legs by
at
least 4". The height is what is the correct height for you - standdard is
that the centerline should be at your elbow when you have your arm bent.
Other than that, it needs to be long enough for the lathe to bolt to,
solidly.

When you build it for yourself, you don't have some large chunks of iron or
some formed sheet metal designed for the guy with a 32" inseam when yours is
30 or 34. Easy to elevate an existing stand, of course, but lowering it can
pose problems. Extra mat on the floor, perhaps, or perhaps a built in
factor by using elevating blocks under the attachment points of the lathe.
These give you cleanout room too.

As for the motor, do what they do on contractor table saws, let the motor
pivot. The weight of the motor will keep tension on the belt. If that
doesn't seem to be practical, build a tensioner from a pulley, fairly
strong spring and a pivot, like the used to on on older garden tillers.

The motor will jump on start, and the belt will take a memory and cause
initial bounce until it warms up if you just hang it there. You can help
your case with link belt, help even more with a cam and lever to tension
whatever belt you use.

You'll want to look for the number 46-XXX, then check back in with that if
you're looking for something more specific. My old one was a 46-202. Goes
to the big kid when he gets back to the 'States. Too much lathe to let it
out of the family.

On Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:20:47 -0600, Dr. Deb wrote:

As for the motor, do what they do on contractor table saws, let the motor
pivot. The weight of the motor will keep tension on the belt. If that
doesn't seem to be practical, build a tensioner from a pulley, fairly
strong spring and a pivot, like the used to on on older garden tillers.

Good Luck - you will do great.

Deb

Dear OP,

Let the weight of the motor against a hinge pull it down. If you need
additional tension, add a bolt & wingnut to draw it down slightly further.
The bolt & wingnut is a good idea in any case as a stop nut on the opposite
side of the mounting base can be used for positive positioning, thus
eliminating much vibration.

Technique: Run the stop nut down a bit, adjust the tension using a wing nut
and then run the stop nut back up to wedge the mounting base in place
against vibration.

Thanks for all the advice....

My big question now is " Which way should the motor hinge?"

I am assuming that the hinges should be more on the tailstock side but
a few pictures I have seen online make it appear as though it is on the
side of the motor. That really makes no sense to me but I am
definitely totally inept when it comes to motors and the like.

Rob

wrote in message
ps.com...
Thanks for all the advice....

My big question now is " Which way should the motor hinge?"


Parallel to the axis of rotation. Since you'll lift it to change speeds,
hinging up front is a bit more clumsy than hinging behind, where you'll have
to reach farther. Same with the pulley if you're reducing with a secondary
shaft.

"Dr. Deb" writes:

Robert, the stand you build depends on your resources.

And your ability.

For my first lathe, I used 2 2x12's and mortised 4 legs into the
bottom piece. I bolted the two pieces together after the legs were
added. I then put a tray on the bottom, and put cheapo plywood on the
sides.

I was surpised how solid the mortised joints were, especially with my
neubie skill at the time.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

In article . com,
wrote:
I am also concerned about being able to move the motor closer and
farther from the headstack end of where it is mounted. I think I need
to do that to change the speed of the lathe. Or don't I? With a four
pulley set up, can the motor just sit in one place?

Thanks for the help

Rob


If the pulleys are matched, as they would have been when originally
supplied, you shouldn't need to move the motor. The sheaves are sized
so that the velt length will be the same for each pair.
--
For every complicated, difficult problem, there is a simple, easy
solution that does not work.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland -

On Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:14:54 +0000, George wrote:

wrote in message
ps.com...
Thanks for all the advice....

My big question now is " Which way should the motor hinge?"


Parallel to the axis of rotation. Since you'll lift it to change
speeds, hinging up front is a bit more clumsy than hinging behind, where
you'll have to reach farther. Same with the pulley if you're reducing
with a secondary shaft.

Yeah ... what George said. If you put the hinge at either end of the motor
you louse up the pulley alignment ... which is another way of keeping the
beltmakers in business -- on your dime.

Mount the motor on a rectangular piece of wood or metal. Make certain that
one edge is parallel to the motor shaft. The existing orientation already
works. Maintain it.

Get the motor shaft parallel to the headstock spindle. (Hint: use a
straightedge from the face of one pulley to the face of the other.)

Line the pulleys up with each other (biggest pulley on one lines up with
the smallest pulley on the other)

Affix the motor mounting plate hinge to its mounting location. Let it fall
naturally. Drill a hole big enough to clear the tensioning bolt. Enlarge
that hole into a slot on the motor mounting plate. All-thread works just
as well as, if not better than, a bolt. Double nut the head in place with
the other end through the adjusting plate slot and a nut above and a nut
below the adjusting plate.

Loop the belt over any matching pulley combination. Add a FEW pounds force
to the motor and secure the two loose nuts.

Have a long hot cuppa joe and marvel at your genius!

(It will take some genius from you because I may have simplified too much
for a non-machine-head and I definitely gave too much detail for someone
who IS a machine-head.)

Bill

Dear Rob

Just seen your message of October - I've got a Delta stand complete
with lathe bed, tail stock and tool stand - they are in my trailer
ready for dumping - my delta 48 lathe gave up the ghost, the variable
drive discs and belt gave up - so I'm about to dump the old and get a
new lathe. If it's any use to you - you're very welcome to what youy
need. I live in Epping, Essex and you can call me on 01992 574943 if
you want to talk.

Regards
Martin Higham

wrote:
Well,
I picked up my lathe from a friend and it is a 4 ft old delta (sorry I
didn't write down any serial numbers. It is basically the lathe and a
motor with a belt that goes between four pulleys on each to control the
speed.

Now.... My friend had it set up so that the lathe and the motor sat
next to each other on a giant piece of plywood. I could just build some
legs and a brace for that piece of ply wood.

Pros: -The distance between the motor and the lathe is already there
so I don't have to worry about the spacing (belt tension is a concern).

- It would probably be easier.

Cons: Vibration.
-Overall quality
- An enormous footprint in a very small garage
- The danger of having a motor on the side.


Obviously I would rather build mine own stand. I realize it needs to
be heavy and stable. ( I am thinking 6 legs with rubber screw
adjustments for leveling. However, I am worried about a few things.


1. How do I know how far below I need to mount the motor. How can a
measure the correct tension for the belt?

2. How can a set up a guard so parts of my body aren't ripped off in
the belt? (I was thinking about building a hollow wooden column with a
door that opens for belt changes. Also a protective guard on the top
side)


3. What is a good overall design. Compared to the lathe, how much
wider/ longer should the stand be?

A free lathe is sweet but I don't want to make it worthless with a
crappy stand.

Thanks in advance


Robert Ward