Minimum clearance in front of lathe and mill?

[stioc]

So I'm trying to better organize my 2 car garage where one bay is dedicated to automotive work (with a lift on that side). The second half (approx 16ft x 7.5ft) has to accomodate my lathe and mill, as well as other garage tools, welders etc. Is 3ft isle size wide enough to work in front of a lathe or a mill? Any other thoughts as to the layout?

The welding/work bench will be flat top so I can access it from either side of it (from the yellow isles).

 

[JimDawson]

3 feet is more than enough. My lathe and mill face each other and I have 3 ft handle to handle. Two people can actually fit into that area and work.

 

[stioc]

That's good to hear Jim. Right now I have 4ft and it feels about perfect but it's what I've gotten used to.

Also, I tried angling the mill as many folks do but didn't really seem like I was gaining much if at all, at least on paper.

 

[Latinrascalrg1]

The only thing i can see that would drive my wife crazy would be the location of your grinding/sanding station being so close to the laundry area! That mess will find its way into the that "Clean" area eventually!

 

[kb58]

Agree^ How about swapping the positions of the toolbox and grinding/sanding station. And while you're at it, consider moving the saw over next to the same grinding/sanding area, since it's fairly high up on the "messy scale" as well.

Also, you show the mill as a large rectangle - they're actually more like a "T" as seen from above. Reason I mention that is that you may be able to tuck the lathe in closer.

Since we're all piling on with advice, I also recommend keeping your welding setup near the door. That way, it's much more convenient to move gas bottles to/from your truck.

Lastly, review your final layout with an eye on material size. For example, if you buy steel in 20-ft lenths, where's it going to be stored; how will it get moved to that storage area. The next issue is moving the material to the saw; consider which way the material has to be fed to the saw and whether it's the best orientation. A good way is to place the saw so that long material extends out the door.

 

[stioc]

The only thing i can see that would drive my wife crazy would be the location of your grinding/sanding station being so close to the laundry area! That mess will find its way into the that "Clean" area eventually!

Not to worry, the divorce care of that problem 12yrs ago

Kidding aside you're absolutely right, thanks for pointing it out. The sander/grinder grit is a big nuisance, messes up any metal surface too i.e. machine ways, toolboxes, car paint etc. It's just convenient to have it in the garage though for those quick touch ups. I will need to figure out a way to move the grinder/sander etc closer towards the roll up garage door even if I have to run some new electrical outlets.

 

[stioc]

Agree^ How about swapping the positions of the toolbox and grinding/sanding station. And while you're at it, consider moving the saw over next to the same grinding/sanding area, since it's fairly high up on the "messy scale" as well.

Also, you show the mill as a large rectangle - they're actually more like a "T" as seen from above. Reason I mention that is that you may be able to tuck the lathe in closer.

Since we're all piling on with advice, I also recommend keeping your welding setup near the door. That way, it's much more convenient to move gas bottles to/from your truck.

Thanks, please keep the advice coming. This is the view today (there used to be wall cabinets behind this equipment. I got rid of those and built that one shelf to keep most of the household junk. This way I'll be pushing this stuff back against the wall and creating a second row of equipment/welding table etc.

As for the mill...you're right if I move the table full left or full right I need a footprint of approx 4x4.5ft. I'm taking advantage of the wasted space under the table by having a craftsman toolbox (casters removed to fit) of machining tools.

The gf says I have too much stuff in the garage, I don't think I do

 

[Nogoingback]

As it turns out, I have exactly 3 feet between my lathe and the cart behind me. No problem at all.

 

[Aaron_W]

I like the plastic sheets, I assume to help contain the chips? If so how well does it work, and how heavy of plastic? Maybe shower curtains would work.

That is an issue I'm finding with a small shop and full size (even if still on the smaller side) machines, the chips get everywhere. That wasn't so much of an issue with the mini-machines.


On the grinder, what I did was build a quick release grinder base on my outdoor workbench with carriage bolts coming up from below. The grinder fits over the bolts and is secured with wingnuts. When I need to do some grinding I take the grinder out and set it up, takes just a minute and keeps all the products of grinding outside where it is less of a bother. The grinder comes inside when not being used to keep it out of the elements and away from thieving hands.

 

[stioc]

They're in fact shower curtains (two of them) from Amazon. They definitely help by keeping the flying chips within a small area. They hit the curtains and simply fall down where I can sweep them up or vacuum them up using my Oneida cyclone hooked up to my remote controlled shop vac which is mounted on the wall with a 20ft hose. It's not perfect but between the two sheet metal swarf shields I made for the table, the magnetic acrylic sheet that I attach on to the back part of the movable jaw on the vise (or the table) and the shower curtains it's the best I could do short of building a full enclosure.

I like your idea of the detachable grinder but the outside of my garage is literally the driveway and the street and the front entrance to the house so I can't build an outdoor workbench (though would love to see a pic of your setup). Also, I have some big plans for the grinder in that I will be building a Harold Hall's tool rest etc for it and learning to sharpen all sorts of tooling. I also have a Yuasa knock off endmill grinder that I want to use with it so it really needs its own dedicated workbench.

In the interest of machining/metal working/automotive stuff I've pretty much given up on any woodworking until I can build a 8x10 shed in the backyard and use that as my wood shop