Not a big project but took way too long. Drawer for lathe table

Inferno

Inferno

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When I built my lathe table, right before my lathe arrived, I built it with the intention of adding a drawer later.
It's 3 years later and now it has a drawer.

I built the table to span over the top of my greenlee work vault. I don't use it for anything currently but it has a future purpose. I wish it had wheels.

Anyhow, I started off with a drawer from an old tanker desk. I paid $5 for the desk at an auction, just to get the drawer.
This last week I picked up some triple telescope ball bearing rails for @9 per pair. They're rated for 100lbs.
I took some old metal pieces scavenged from an old decommissioned machine and started work.
The first part was to figure out where to locate the drawer slides on the drawer. I managed to find the only spot they'd work if I added a couple washers between the slides and the drawer. That wasn't too hard.

Next I had to ass a support beam at the back of the lathe table. I built it with a lateral stabilizer in the back about 8 inches off the floor where the front was high enough to clear the greenlee.
Adding the rear support beam was pretty easy. It's a piece of 1/8" aluminum angle 3 x 1.5, the 1.5" being the shelf the cross beam will rest.

I had to locate the drawer slides on the cross beams to fit inside the 3.5" "window" the drawer would fit into. The drawer has only about .030" clearance to the window. Basically, I was working with a pretty tight tolerance, all things considered.

I did end up having to mill the drawer slide holes on one side. I was off by @ .015" in my measurements so I oblonged the holes by .015"
It fits snug but with the weight of drill bits it will have .005-.010 clearance. That's better than I had expected.

I had to figure a way to attach the cross beams to the lathe table. The rear support was easy as there was ample room to drill. I tapped a pair of socket pane heads in each upright for that. The front, however, I wanted to secure without hardware sticking out so I wouldn't scratch myself when I wasn't thinking.

The pop rivet tools I have all were too tall for adding a rivet. I took one of them and shaved off the head of the anvil to get an extra 1/4" of room. Then, by bending the shaft of the rivet, I was able to snake it into the hole. It was a tight fit but it worked well.

I finished off with a pair of rivets in the back and all is good.

For the inside, I have these fancy little divider trays that came with the 100's of taps I got at a different auction.

I can finally organize the taps, drill bits and as I accumulate them, mill bits.

WOOT!

P.S. Don't pick on my welds. It was my very first time using a wire feed welder.


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I wish I could find those inserts you have in that drawer. Very cool!
 
benmychree said:
Wire welds? that is what they make grinders for ----
Click to expand...

Well, I'll tell you "the rest of the story"

I'd been wanting a lathe for a long time. I was finally financially OK to justify buying one. I needed a boost on my credit score anyhow.
Knowing I was going to need a table, I started to build one. At the same time I was working on a project car so splitting time between the two.
I was supposed to finish up the table on Memorial Day weekend but the universe had other plans.
My son and I had gone to a pick n pull to get a transmission for the project car. He said I wasn't looking too good. I KNEW I wasn't looking too good and wasn't feeling too good either. I was turning yellow and my urine was the color of coffee concentrate. TMI?
Well, I told him if things didn't clear up by morning, I was going to the hospital.
10AM on Memorial day, I was in the hospital. He took me. I needed some tests and I couldn't get them for a few hours so we went and saw a movie.
They called during the movie but I didn't hear it.
They wanted me back NOW!

Well, I was finally out of the hospital Saturday. And the table was outside with a transmission on it. I didn't have the ability to work on the table any more for a while. Something about abdominal surgery prevents you from wanting to bend a lot.
And the lathe arrived the following Wednesday.

The table sat under a tarp and my HOA finally pitched a fit so I had to get moving as fast as I could. I finished the transmission and engine combo and got them in the car but there wasn't time to dress the welds on the table because, as luck would have it, my landlord wanted to do an inspection. I needed to get the lathe off the floor and onto the table. I did all this by myself. I'm stubborn that way.

I never got the time to dress the welds.
Yeah, I know they look like dookie but they ain't hurtin' nuthin'.
 
Rusty wire on the spool will kill you if you have it, wrong diameter for the tip size can mess with you too. play with the heat and wire feed, when your there it's a cool sizzle. Find anything sizable to weld on before you hit the project just to see where your settings are. There should be a label in the cover that gives approximate settings. It's fun to play around with. I have a place to stick HOAs, and the board members, they are anti craftsman, but will call one when they break something, or need a repair.
 
That's how we learn to weld , by doing and practice. My first welds didn't look any better. Find some scrap and try different settings and techniques and see what works best for you.
 
Inferno said:
10AM on Memorial day, I was in the hospital. He took me. I needed some tests and I couldn't get them for a few hours so we went and saw a movie...

Well, I was finally out of the hospital Saturday.
Click to expand...

You were in the hospital for almost a year?
 
If you grind your welds you are not a welder but rather, a grinder. lol

The issue with terrible looking welds is that generally, they sometimes have terrible structural integrity. Most times it is not a huge deal, but something to consider.
 
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