Help me think on this. Concrete plinth for benchtop machines.

[RaisedByWolves]

Face it, small machines are small, I am not. This makes me bend over to be able to see what I'm doing and this puts my face in the line of fire with chips and Id like to avoid both issues, bending to see and chips in my face.

Here's the space I'm working with.






For the sake of this discussion, lets work around the fact this end of the workspace looks like a meth lab/stereo repair/fencing operation/Ammo dump (Hey, I have a lot of irons in the fire and meth is harder to make than I thought) and focus on the space its self.


Would it be a bad idea to make a 4-6" thick cement slab to mount my machines on?

Initial calculations tell me a 6" thick slab would be 800lbs and as 4" would be roughly 540lbs. Roughly half of this weight would be held up by the kitchen cabinets I saved from our remodel and the rest would be supported by a yet to be determined structure. If you look you can see the end of the butcher block is unsupported as of now, and I might extend this another foot in that direction.

Is this a crazy idea? I need the extra height, but most methods I have looked at for something solid like butcher block or granite are just too expensive.

Anyone see a downside?

 

[Jim F]

Maybe some 6x6's under the cabinets ?

 

[matthewsx]

I doubt the concrete will buy you much, raising the cabinets will bring the height up probably most economically. I've used subfloor from home depot as well with pretty good results.

1-1/8 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. T&G Sheathing Plywood 724092 - The Home Depot

Every piece meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. Our specially designed smooth surface resists punch-through damage and is touch-sanded for uniform thickness. It wears well

www.homedepot.com

Maybe some 4x4's and a couple of layers of plywood.

John

 

[cathead]

Back in the WWII days, lathes were actually cemented into concrete for rigidity. Setting a lathe on top of a concrete plinth
wouldn't be of any advantage unless it were firmly affixed to the pad somehow. I see where you are going with this. I think
of how much more useful even a shop vise would be mounted on concrete versus on a wooden table.

 

[tghsmith]

as for the chip thing something along this line works nice, easy out of the way during set up.

Milling Machine Chip Shield | Milling Vise Chip Shield

This milling machine chip shield uses strong magnets to mount to the front or back of a vise. Shop this milling vise chip shield at LittleMachineShop today!

littlemachineshop.com

 

[OTmachine]

as for the chip thing something along this line works nice, easy out of the way during set up.

Milling Machine Chip Shield | Milling Vise Chip Shield

This milling machine chip shield uses strong magnets to mount to the front or back of a vise. Shop this milling vise chip shield at LittleMachineShop today!

littlemachineshop.com

I made a little 4 sided box out of wood that fits over my vise for my little mill to reduce the amount of chips radially thrown all over the shop when using flycutters.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Back in the WWII days, lathes were actually cemented into concrete for rigidity. Setting a lathe on top of a concrete plinth
wouldn't be of any advantage unless it were firmly affixed to the pad somehow. I see where you are going with this. I think
of how much more useful even a shop vise would be mounted on concrete versus on a wooden table.

I would be bolting things down, but mostly to keep them in place. The mill in the pic is almost 200lbs at this point, but even at that it still moves around when cranking the handle to raise/lower the head.

I doubt the concrete will buy you much, raising the cabinets will bring the height up probably most economically. I've used subfloor from home depot as well with pretty good results.

1-1/8 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. T&G Sheathing Plywood 724092 - The Home Depot

Every piece meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. Our specially designed smooth surface resists punch-through damage and is touch-sanded for uniform thickness. It wears well

www.homedepot.com

Maybe some 4x4's and a couple of layers of plywood.

John

Whats the cost on this? Link says not available.


ETA: Found it at lowes $64.58 and I would need at least 4 sheets, at $260 before tax Im not sure this helps on price, but then again I haven't priced out concrete.

as for the chip thing something along this line works nice, easy out of the way during set up.

Milling Machine Chip Shield | Milling Vise Chip Shield

This milling machine chip shield uses strong magnets to mount to the front or back of a vise. Shop this milling vise chip shield at LittleMachineShop today!

littlemachineshop.com

Wont catch me dead using one.

Our safety geeks forced these on us and one got caught up in a guys work and caused us our first recordable in the 35yrs Ive worked in this shop.

 

[mmcmdl]

If any type of 80/20 would help you out I have loads of all kinds . You're close also . I have tables to mount things on also .

 

[projectnut]

It sounds like the load on the cabinets would be in the 1,000 lb. range before you put any stock in the mill. I'm sure that's far over what they're expected to hold in a kitchen scenario. I started out with a set of kitchen cabinets in the shop for a work bench and mounting platform for a small drill press. They started out fine, but after a couple years they started to wobble.

I replaced them with this homemade bench. It's 14' long, 36" deep and 36" high. The legs are 6x6's. The top is 2x6's. It's probably more than you need, but with all the metal stock on the shelving I would guess it's holding around 2,000 lbs. and is steady as a rock.

 

[matthewsx]

Good point about kitchen cabinets, they’re made for chopping onions and holding plates.

Check Craigslist or FB marketplace. I’ve gotten most of my machine stands there free by being patient and creative.

There are also some great DIY stand plans on here that incorporate toolboxes. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks and have welding gear.

As for the subfloor. I was thinking if you blocked up the cabinets on 4x4’s, one or two layers of it will give a stable top. Still have to think about the overall integrity though. Some cabinets are built like tanks while others not so much.

John