Lathe has a home of its own

[brian Rupnow]

Well, the lathe has a home of its own!! I have been drywalling, painting, and wiring for the last 3 weeks, and I'm done!!! I got up early this morning and hooked up all the electrical wires into the main panel, and that was the last thing I had to do. It is very difficult to get a decent picture in the lathe toom because of all the light coming in through the window, but as you can see I have added a galvanized steel backsplash to protect the drywall behind the lathe, and a chip guard behind the chuck just to keep chips from flying in that direction. All the walls and ceiling are painted with an oil based enamel paint (latex based paint soaks up splashed oil or cutting fluid like a friggin sponge). The room is virtually air tight when the door is closed, with rubber gasketing all around the door to keep the lathe smell out of my office. I am very pleased with how it turned out---Now hopefully I can get back to my REAL job---the one that pays money!!!

[airsmith282]

nice set up man well done ...nice lathe to i got the same one ,well looks like mine 10x18 any how pretty decent lathe..wish i had room in the house to use mine be alot better then my small shop...ill have to build a bigger shop eventually ..

[brian Rupnow]

Airsmith---Yes, thats the same lathe, from BusyBee Tool. I have wanted one all my life, and finally got around to buying one. My garage is unheated and very damp, so I partitioned off one end of my engineering office for the lathe room. I don't really know yet how much use I will get from it, as it is for a hobby, not a production machine. I build hotrods as a hobby, and although I am not currently building one, I am sure that I will find things to use it on.---Brian

[rockrat]

I am sure that I will find things to use it on.---Brian

You just wait. All sorts of things will pop up for you to make. And they may or may not have much to do with hotrodding. But it will be fun and thats the key. Also, enjoy your photo of the clean backsplash shield. It wont be clean long!

Have fun.

rock~

[Evan]

Excellent idea with that splash guard. I should put one on mine but I am afraid it is far too late. At least the marks on the wall, floor, ceiling etc serve as a hazard zone indicator...

[GrahamC]

Hey Brian,

That looks real nice. I have many times argued with myself about making a splash guard but I never do. I see a need but in the end I don't. I think I spend about 1/3 of my time on the back side of the lathe for cleaning and set up purposes. I have it set up right dab smack in the middle of the workshop with lots of walking room all round.

I notice you also have a board across the top of the spindle. Would never work for me. I have a mag light mounted there plus a spot for my chuck key and quick change tool holders and a cutting oil bottle and and.... Just the way I work and everyone has different habits.

I think if you took a census you would find that to have a splash guard or not the group is probably split with a slight favour to the having side. I could be wrong (and often am). I just like lots of room all round the tools. Different strokes for different folks.

Not trying to take anything away from what you have done as it is well done and something that will prove handy.

cheers, Graham in Ottawa

[Doc Nickel]

I'd already been thinking about putting a splashguard behind my Logan, as I kept having to sweep piles of chips out of there.

I finally did it after parting half a dozen thick washer/spacers, and having five of them pitch themselves right down that slot.

'Course, the next time I had to part like that, I used the WD-40 straw trick that somebody had in either HSM magazine or maybe here on the board:



And, I'll be putting a similar guard behind my new Sheldon later this week- I just spent half an hour sweeping about sixteen pounds of swarf out from behind it.

Most of the time I've seen someone with an un-splash-guarded machine (and one other than a modern machine that comes with at least a partial sheetmetal enclosure, like Grizzlies and Jets) they have it somewhere other than next to a wall, so inaccessible swarf isn't much of an issue.

Doc.

[brian Rupnow]

This is a big house we live in, and in another 3 years when my wife and I retire, I will probably sell this house and buy a smaller place. Since its highly unlikely that the next person to buy this place will require a "lathe room" I am trying to preserve the drywall as much as I can. I don't mind filling a few screwnail holes and painting, but sure as heck don't want to have to rip out oil saturated drywall and go thru that hassle.---Brian

https://www.rupnowdesign.com

[brian Rupnow]

GrahamC---when I built the room for the lathe, I drywalled the side that shows (it is off my engineering office), and on the side where the lathe is I intentionally didn't drywall it.---Makes a perfect spot to build shelves for all my lathe related "junk". The concept of having a lathe out in the middle of the room is appealing, but I was trying to squeeze space out of an area that is included in my central heating. The main basement of my house is carpeted and finished, so I squeezed a 6 foot by 7 foot space of the end of my office to make the lathe room---at least the floor is only peel and stick tile over concrete floor.

[A.K. Boomer]

Its good you got a picture, it'll never be that clean again very nice, will you be wearing shoe's while your machining or do you plan on taking them off first -----

[brian Rupnow]

Its good you got a picture, it'll never be that clean again very nice, will you be wearing shoe's while your machining or do you plan on taking them off first -----

Hell, I'm in Canada---we wear snow shoes when we're machining!!!

[GrahamC]

I like the layout of your work room, neat and tidy and looks like everything (so far) has it's own place. I am luck in that I can put my lathe right out in the middle. I had considered placing it against a wall near a window for the light but went the other way and mounted a spot light above the lathe for extra light. We each made do as best as we can. Bottom line is what ever works.

cheers, Graham

[RobbieKnobbie]

...The room is virtually air tight when the door is closed, with rubber gasketing all around the door to keep the lathe smell out of my office...

You're not serious about it being really air-tight, are you?

I can just picture you going in there with a big lump of aluminum and a stack of drawings only to collapse in front of the machine half an hour later for lack of oxygen!

[brian Rupnow]

Well, actually, yes it is relatively airtight. I don't plan on working in there with the door shut!!! I have an outside wall with a slider window in it that can be opened. The reason I made the room "airtight" is to keep the smell of varsol, grease, and cutting fluid out of my office and the rest of the house. I like the smell of a machine shop, but not in my living room and bedrooms. I set in the office on the other side of the wall from the lathe room 8 hours a day designing machinery and automation, and I don't want to smell it all day setting there.

https://www.rupnowdesign.com

[Walter Svandrlik]

To Quote Elmer Fudd "Be cawfull, vewwy vewwy cawful".

5 years ago I bought a cheap stick welder to do a project and just to have around for the odd job.

Now have aquired another welder (mig), metal cutting band saw, 9x20 lathe, assorted tooling and a milling machine with lip marks all over it at the local dealer's just waiting for me to get my shop painted....

You will have a lot of fun - enjoy and welcome to the addiction