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

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 -

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

Mon, Oct 30, 2006, 7:28am (EST-3) doth say:
I picked up my lathe snip
Cons: Vibration.
-Overall quality
- An enormous footprint in a very small garage
- The danger of having a motor on the side. snip

Mine is a HF, 37" between centers, had it maybe 10 years, made the
stand out of 1/2" plywood.
Vibration - doesn't.
Overall quality - as good, or better, than most of the store-bought
stands, and a whole lot less expensive.
An enormous footprint in a very small garage - my shop is 8'X12'.
The danger of having a motor on the side - what danger? That's where
mine is and I've had no prob.



JOAT
If you're not making a rocket, it ain't rocket science.