Woodturning Lathe
A while ago my dad asked me if I'd like to have his old wood turning tools. Of course I said yes. Because free tools, right? So I ended up with a big box:
Now this was cool and all. But I did not own a lathe. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if I should get one. Not because I didn't want to give wood turning a try, but because I wasn't sure how to fit such a large tool into my small workshop.
But when I saw a good deal on the local classifieds, I couldn't resist. The machine I bought is a Holzmann D460FXL with a 770W motor and variable speed control. It was a bit rusty but otherwise fine. The seller also added a set of wood turning tools.
The first thing to do was to clean up the machine and remove the rust. I also gave the tools a good soak in Evapo-Rust.
Next was the question of space. The only sensible place was the wall in front the window. But that space is usually occupied by my miter saw cart.
After thinking a bit about it, I decided to try to hang the machine on the wall, making the space under it available to stow away the miter saw. However hanging a 40kg machine from a wall needs some planning.
The idea I came up with was to utilize my french cleats. This way the bulk of the weight would be very close to the wall. My first design worked very well.
The height was very comfortable, everything was stable and all parts of the machine were still accessible. Unfortunately I had failed my goal. The shelf was slightly too low to fit the miter saw under it.
I thought a couple of days about what to do. I really liked the work height, but the wasted space was unacceptable. Ideally I would have a way to heighten or lower the machine. But I couldn't come up with a good solution - especially one that wouldn't be more expensive than the lathe itself.
In the end I decided to simply move the lathe up by 8cm. The resulting height is a little less ideal, but still workable. But most importantly, the miter saw can be fit under again.
