Advice on a hypothetical space saving idea

[antalog]

In the ever ongoing challenge of making more room in my garage/shop I came up with an idea today that I was hoping to get some advice/insight on.

I currently have a little Atlas horizontal mill that doesn't see a ton of use, but is handy and I just cant bring myself to sell. I also have a south bend lathe (model 117-E 16x8) that has an 8 foot long bed, the last ~2 feet of which also doesn't see much use. My thought this morning was, what if I mounted the atlas mill onto the end of the lathe bed, just over the tailstock side leg? I guess my hypothetical concern being if it created some odd imbalance over time, or twist? Although if the lathe is mounted level I cant see why that would happen? Really, I cant see why it would be an issue, but....

Again, Im just in the hypothetical stage here and was looking to get some advice from people much more experienced than me. Thanks in advance.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Other than needing to remove the tailstock if the need arises, sounds like a plan.

 

[Batmanacw]

I don't see an issue. Protect the lathe bed. Have a plan to remove it easily.

 

[C-Bag]

How about finding a cheap used hydraulic table and putting the mill on it and letting down and storing under the lathe when not in use?

I have everything on castors and my Atlas shaper is much like how you describe your horizontal mill. I have an alley of sorts at the back of the shop where my portable scaffold, then 3n1, then shaper and last 2tn arbor press are all in a line. All of them are in that same category and all of them were such good deals they can’t be replaced. It’s why I call it the Tetris garage. It’s quite a dance when I need something at the back but it’s there if I need it!

 

[great white]

How about finding a cheap used hydraulic table and putting the mill on it and letting down and storing under the lathe when not in use?

I have everything on castors and my Atlas shaper is much like how you describe your horizontal mill. I have an alley of sorts at the back of the shop where my portable scaffold, then 3n1, then shaper and last 2tn arbor press are all in a line. All of them are in that same category and all of them were such good deals they can’t be replaced. It’s why I cal it the Tetris garage. It’s quite a dance when I need something at the back but it’s there if I need it!

Lol! Tetris garage, I’ll have to steal that.

my shop is a two car garage. Its about 6 feet deeper than a standard two car.

Tools: Atlas 10”, benchtop mill on stand, 10” table saw, 10” chop saw, Lincoln mig, 250 amp tig, plasma cutter, drill press, exhaust gas analyzer and a plethora of smaller tools. Tool boxes, two 8’ benches.

Thats not all either. There is also: 1988 corvette, 1983 Mustang, 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman and a John deere tractor.

Its all in there, but I keep shuffling hoping there is more room than there actually is….

 

[woodchucker]

no issues, like others have said protect the ways, maybe even get a steel flat bar large enough to hold the horizontal and match the V's so it locks on and the put a bolt and fasten to the bottom of the ways and mount the atlas to that. It protects the ways, and provides a rigid base.

 

[jwmay]

I think it’s a decent idea. Especially if you don’t use the space.

 

[C-Bag]

In the ever ongoing challenge of making more room in my garage/shop I came up with an idea today that I was hoping to get some advice/insight on.

I currently have a little Atlas horizontal mill that doesn't see a ton of use, but is handy and I just cant bring myself to sell. I also have a south bend lathe (model 117-E 16x8) that has an 8 foot long bed, the last ~2 feet of which also doesn't see much use. My thought this morning was, what if I mounted the atlas mill onto the end of the lathe bed, just over the tailstock side leg? I guess my hypothetical concern being if it created some odd imbalance over time, or twist? Although if the lathe is mounted level I cant see why that would happen? Really, I cant see why it would be an issue, but....

Again, Im just in the hypothetical stage here and was looking to get some advice from people much more experienced than me. Thanks in advance.

In my experience of stuffing 10tn of machines(no cars, no room) in a 2tn space(standard 19x20 2car garage) I personally have not been able to stack any machine on top of another because I’m vertically impaired. Which means I have a pretty narrow window of optimal work height. But if you can build a ridged table for your mill to set on the lathe bed somehow and it ends up the right working height you have hit the jackpot. I would think the mill and table resting on the lathe end legs wouldn’t cause a problem as the mill is only like 300#’s isn’t it?

 

[C-Bag]

my shop is a two car garage. It’s about 6 feet deeper than a standard two car.

Man I’d kill to have an extra 6’. As it is we are working towards either a cargo container or a well sealed shed in the backyard for the stuff like the scaffold, 10” table saw storage racks and my priceless engineering stockpile(junk) to reside unmolested by the salt air until needed. There has never been and probably never will be a car in the garage. Just no room.

My list of machine treasures is too silly to list but to be able to do machining(lathe/mill/shaper/UniDrill), welding(mig, OA, plasma cutter), mechanics(full toolbox accumulated over 40yrs), full size English Wheel, bead roller, shrinker stretcher, planishing hammer, 3n1, old Devilbiss compressor and tons of weird hand tools along with a stove dedicated to doing powder coat along with all the stuff to do that process. Just to name a few. There’s a bunch of cabs dedicated to metrology under the surface plate.

I have no stationary work benches, everything is work stations with cabinets underneath each one pertaining to its function. My lathe, surface plate and three cabinets are the only things not on castors. The Tetris garage floats around them

 

[Nutfarmer]

Being single the shop is slowly migrating into the rest of the house. The metrology has found its way into the kitchen. The granite plate was just perfect for candy to cool on. The drafting table and such is in the upstairs office. The grinders ,sanders ,and sharpeners found a home in a large enclosed entryway that wasn’t being used. Have been looking at the upstairs extra room for the electronics. Good thing there isn’t a basement.