What sort of stuff to get with a 10x30 lathe?

Perhaps those would be issues with larger machines, but with a 1030, I don't see it being a problem.

Most house floors should easily be able to handle the 500 lbs (high estimate) of the machine, especially if placed near a load bearing wall. It would be worthwhile to double check where you plan to place it, but I wouldn't say a garage concrete slab is a must.

These machines will easily fit through a standard doorway, the garage door isn't needed. It might need a few strong guys to carry it, but fitting it wouldn't be an issue.

As for extra tools, again, not necessarily an issue. A standard 20 amp line can run these small lathes, small mills, and drill presses, etc. Just not all at the same time. I used a single circuit for all my machines and air compressor without any trouble, so long as I only run them individually.

Those are all certainly valid concerns to look into, and absolutely problems with larger machines, but I think putting a 1030 inside is doable.

My shop is on a wooden floor and I have a full size mill in it. Now the floor joists are 16” on center the supports are 6’ apart. The original floor was 3/4 plywood and under the lathe and the mill I added another 3/4 plywood. Both machines are solid and don’t cause a problem.

Now the building was here when I moved here, if I was building a shop I’d have concrete floors


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I don't want to track chips all over the house, wife would not be happy..lol

Maybe some sort of vacuum assist I can add on with my shop vac. What sort of mess precaution solutions you all use?

I have an oak dresser low top model that I am considering putting the lathe on. Maybe add a backsplash with a shelf and lighting. I see most videos show people standing when using the lathe and a few pics of chairs by them. Whats a good height for this lathe? I am 6'

Shooter, thanks for all the tips, I will limit my viewing to 1/4-1/2" tooling for now. I enjoyed your suppressor build, and may attempt a muzzle brake someday.

I am limited so far on tooling like mills , bandsaws etc. I have a hand drill and a 60 gallon compressor, but its in the hot garage. Maybe a grinder can be made with the 3/4hp motor I had planned on spinning a case trimmer for reloading.

I see great potential in the lathe for making everything from tools to jewelry to knife parts to RC parts for my helicopters.

Loving all the great threads here in the forum and thanks so much for all the kind replies!!
 
I have an oak dresser low top model that I am considering putting the lathe on. Maybe add a backsplash with a shelf and lighting. I see most videos show people standing when using the lathe and a few pics of chairs by them. Whats a good height for this lathe? I am 6'


I have a small 3.5x17" lathe that started out in a room. When I added a mill both were relocated to the basement. The lathe is sort of messy, but not too bad. I just put a 2x4' hardboard panel under mine and it caught most of the mess. The mill is another story, it is an oil and metal flinging slob.

I wouldn't think the weight of a 10x30 would be too much of an issue. I have a 100 gallon fish tank which is not a terribly uncommon size, and there are no warnings against putting those in a house. Just the water in the tank weighs more than 800lbs or about 1 1/2-2x the weight of your lathe.


As far as height, I set mine up on a large table and sit in a standard office chair. I'm not happy really with that arrangement. I find I frequently have to look over to the back side of the work which means I have to stand up. I'm planning on building a taller work bench for my machines, not certain on the height yet, but I've got the new 30" stool and will be basing the height around that. I had a similar work bench in the past and that height stool worked well for me because I can sit on the stool or stand at the bench and if sitting it is a handy height if you have to reach for something because it only takes a slight weight shift to go from sitting to standing.
 
I don't want to track chips all over the house, wife would not be happy..lol

Maybe some sort of vacuum assist I can add on with my shop vac. What sort of mess precaution solutions you all use?

I have an oak dresser low top model that I am considering putting the lathe on. Maybe add a backsplash with a shelf and lighting. I see most videos show people standing when using the lathe and a few pics of chairs by them. Whats a good height for this lathe? I am 6'

Shooter, thanks for all the tips, I will limit my viewing to 1/4-1/2" tooling for now. I enjoyed your suppressor build, and may attempt a muzzle brake someday.

I am limited so far on tooling like mills , bandsaws etc. I have a hand drill and a 60 gallon compressor, but its in the hot garage. Maybe a grinder can be made with the 3/4hp motor I had planned on spinning a case trimmer for reloading.

I see great potential in the lathe for making everything from tools to jewelry to knife parts to RC parts for my helicopters.

Loving all the great threads here in the forum and thanks so much for all the kind replies!!

Unfortunately, chips in the house will be inevidable no matter where the machine is. Even with thorough cleaning, they will get caught in socks, on the bottoms of shoes, in hair, etc and find their way inside. I have even found chips at my parents house 2500 miles away from my shop. They must have hitched a ride on me somehow. But by having a pair of dedicated shop shoes, making sure people don't walk through your shop, and cleaning up regularly, you should keep the mess to a minimum.

I am the same height as you and built a 42" bench for the 7x12 lathe I had, but now with the 1030, I need to stand on a stool to get a good view. I think dropping it down to 36" would have been better.

Stick with the half inch tools if you can. I have some 1/4" tools, and they are dwarfed by the half inch ones. Much more sturdy for sure. I am glad you liked the suppressor, its been a long time since anyone mentioned that one. The lathe is certainly capable of muzzle brakes and the other things you mentioned.

Good luck when it arrives!
 
Thanks, good info on the height.
I have a workbench in my room but its tall for standing and running a dillon 550 reloader.

Will look to get a set of 1/2" tooling soon, man this stuff really adds up.

So much to read, its like the difference of a picture is worth a thousand words vs a video must be worth 100k
Little things like difference in ER32 vs 40 I have looked up and what is a dividing plate..lol Takes a bit of research when you have never seen something or heard of it.

Having lots of fun learning, you all are a great group!!
 
Well I moved my room around, then measured the 2 spots, 33 1/2" and 30" to the top surface. Now I am thinking my current bench 33 1/2" already has power, light, shelf and pegboard. No brainer, I should reconfigure the bench for the lathe.

Received the 1/4" indexable carbide cutters today, wow they are tiny. The wooden box looked cigar box size in the picture and it fits in the palm of my hand now..lol:eek:

The packing company called today and I will take delivery tomorrow :applause 2:

Only slightly apprehensive about a big power tool and potential bodily harm from it.

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Lathe arrived yesterday and had some help setting it on my bench. We used the engine puller with 3 straps around the frame, avoiding the lead screw and handles. Balanced it with a 4th strap through the other 3 and hooked up to the puller. All went smooth:))

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When are you intending to "play" with the machines? Compressors, grinders, shop vacs and even lathes and mills can be very noisy. Setting up in the house, be it a room or the basement will limit play time, unless you live alone. For me, the hours between 5:00AM and 8:00AM are mine and when I tend to want to work. Hence my shop is in a converted old one car garage with some added sound insulation. Smells are another item that is often overlooked.
 
Wow, lots of pointers. And a chance to brag on my shop, too. I'm in a little different situation than you, I bought the house next door (after a fire) to use as a shop. After tearing down about half of it, and repairing the roof, and rewiring, and yada, yada, yada.

The most sensitive issue to me would be to reinforce the floor. I have a beam of 6 inch steel bearing the middle of the floor joists. Duly shimmed before any load was brought in, of course. And then an extre layer of 3/4 plywood over the whole mess. All the carpet came out to repair the(100+ y/o) floor. Since I am an electrical man with a conservative outlook, extra circuits were added to allow each machine it's own breaker. Pets are not allowed in. Period. Although I sweep regularly, the dogs are smaller than me and find places where chips fall but I don't reach sweeping. The chips still manage to get in the big house (residence) but wife is a good housekeeper. Noise isn't really an issue. I keep the window closed toward the big house when I work late. But being a shift worker has innured wife to noise anyway. Within reason........ Then too, I "play trains" in the same building. One room is taken up with my models. What got me started in machine work to begin with, way back when.

The machines have "grown" over the years. I started out with a 9X19 Taiwanese machine. Equivilent to Grizzly's G4000 in most dimensions. And a benchtop shaper. Since then, I have added a number of others. The lathe is now a(archaic) Craftsman 12X36 and the horizontal Atlas milling machine and it's stand were the heaviest.

The thing(s) I wanted to bring to your attention are mostly covered in the posts above. All I can do is confirm them through actual usage. My doors are 32 inch doors. For heavyier stuff, and my welding shop, I have an external building. The 100+ y/o wood structure is never exposed to any flame or flame causing instance. Or fuel oil or gasoline, or kero, or diesel... well you get the idea. I'd give my left ugh-huh for a basement. But in this part of the country, they're scarce. Since I inherited the house, I can't justify that sort of money.

What you will be bothered with more so is vibration. In the furthest part of the house from your shop, the subsonics will be felt. Over time, that can cause structural consequences. You may not spot it, but a good inspector could. I could babble on all night, but you have the gist of things. So, good night...

Bill Hudson​
 
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