Rod's Lathe stand project

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Rob.Wilson:
:thumbup: you have made a cracking job of the new stand Rod :clap: :clap: :clap:

Rob

RodW:
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I am still not finished yet but I made a bit more progress today

I went shopping today and grabbed a couple of tools.

Tradetools had a sale on so I grabbed a 90 degree drill attachment and some hex drive drills so I can eventually finalise the mounting of the drawer slide. I was also going to get a set of tooling for my dremel but then saw the die grinder for only $33 which I decided would be a better option to sort out my Cr@ppy welds. And this is what I ended up with.

I know it is not pretty but but will be hidden under the splash guard mount and a coat of paint will do wonders! It is not obvious in the photo but there is still quite a dish around the drain. I went to a kitchen shop and they did not have anything like a conical strainer I liked so I grabbed a round strainer and shaped it round my finger and a metal rod for a while and poked it into the drain. The drain is well way from where I work so I don't think much cr@p will end up this end.

I enlarged the hole in the top of the coolant tank with a 32m step drill and the hose fits in nicely now.

I also finished off the plumbing for the outlets which are attached to the rear splash guard.

The mounting block came with the coolant kit but I had to mill 10mm off it and enlarge the hole as I ditched the pipe that came with it that it was designed to clamp to and now it clamps to the larger diameter pipe fitting instead. The slimming operations were required to allow the pipe fittings to screw together.

In case you are wondering about the two taps, the coolant will enter from the rear on the left had side and flow via T piece hidden inside the mounting block and up to the top tap and barb for for the lathe coolant. The bottom tap on the right exits to another barb at the rear to eventually run coolant over to the mill on the other side of the door.

So I think the next step is to paint the drip tray tomorrow night and the final plumbing can be done for the inaugural switching on later in the week! It is frustrating that I have had the coolant system for a month and it is still not operational!

Sort of part of this project is a bit of wiring I did while I was putting the lathe back on its feet. The top electrical box needed straightening so while I was at it, I added some power points wired into the lathe.

Shown here exiting the lathe control box

and the outlets themselves. The colour coding was deliberate and come from some cheap extension leads I cut down.

I decided the DRO power did not need to be switched but I added switches for coolant and the light to the front of the box.

I am really looking forward to baptising the system with coolant by flicking the switch soon!

black85vette:
Impressive amount of planning and fabricating. Nice that you have a custom result that is just what you want. Good job. :clap:

Meldonmech:
Hi Rod
Great job, and using all that valuable space. Nice to have all your tooling handy in the drawers.

Well Done Cheers David

RodW:

--- Quote from: Meldonmech on June 11, 2013, 01:44:16 PM ---Hi Rod
Great job, and using all that valuable space. Nice to have all your tooling handy in the drawers.

Well Done Cheers David

--- End quote ---

--- Quote from: Meldonmech on June 11, 2013, 01:44:16 PM ---Hi Rod
Great job, and using all that valuable space. Nice to have all your tooling handy in the drawers.

Well Done Cheers David

--- End quote ---

Thanks guys.

Well tonight was the moment I have been waiting a month to get to. Coolant is Live!

I was surprised how clear the coolant fluid is when it is mixed up.

The drain came up alright. It is always amazing how much difference a coat of paint makes

The 3/4" drain easily copes with draining the fluid back to the tank and the slight fall towards the back corner the drain is situated in works a treat so not much pools anywhere.

The drain is protected somewhat as it is located under the back splash guard mount.

Sorry, it was a bit late tonight so I have tried any cuts but I will over the weekend. There is a bit of splash when it is running but I found putting a small low plastic container under the bed where the coolant was hitting the deck helped to control this.

After I took these photos, I decided to put the chuck guard back on, I got a feeling I might need it! It is looking a bit worse for wear after the fall but it is still serviceable.

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