Who has their Mini lathe mounted to the top of a rolling tool cabinet?

Of course I didn't check the clearance until after the chest was right side up, all the drawers were loaded and the surface plate back on top (reciprocating saw and a file did a great job on the levers).
That ought to be on the front of a T-Shirt as a product in a merch shop.for this forum. I suspect they would sell out, over and over.:grin:

I'd buy one. ;)

In fact, a merch shop for this forum would be a nice addition. Mind you, I expect there are good reasons it doesn't have one. These things always sound like a great idea if you're not the one who has to sort it out.
 
That ought to be on the front of a T-Shirt as a product in a merch shop.for this forum. I suspect they would sell out, over and over.:grin:

I'd buy one. ;)

In fact, a merch shop for this forum would be a nice addition. Mind you, I expect there are good reasons it doesn't have one. These things always sound like a great idea if you're not the one who has to sort it out.
Trust me: if it hadn't have been that I really didn't want to move the surface plate again, I would have emptied the chest and turned it back over. Lesson (maybe?) learned.
 
Trust me: if it hadn't have been that I really didn't want to move the surface plate again, I would have emptied the chest and turned it back over. Lesson (maybe?) learned.
Oh, of course. I'm not suggesting you, or anybody else, for that matter, is as slapdash/idiotic as I can be sometimes :)

Mind you, I think it is good to have a chuckle and forgive ourselves for human frailty at the same time as trying to make the lessons our experiences are teaching us, stick. ;)

That bit of your post just made me ruefully chuckle and think to myself that how often it happens that when we make a mistake, it's often the case that rectifying it is a pain in the arse, not the quick course correction that we would prefer. :grin:
 
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Correct; the size of the lock matches the wheel diameter so that it just lifts the casters off the floor – depending on how you can mount the lock on the base of the chest you may need to shim it. I also had to trim the ends of the two release levers so that the casters would clear them when making turns (the lock is bigger than it looks, and the Kobalt cabinet is only 18" deep:

View attachment 481719
Of course I didn't check the clearance until after the chest was right side up, all the drawers were loaded and the surface plate back on top (reciprocating saw and a file did a great job on the levers).

Similar locks were on all of the mechanic's carts in the Hershey plant, where I first saw them 45 years ago.
i ordered a set without the wide release wires so should fit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B..._o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/UR great idea thanks
 
i ordered a set without the wide release wires so should fit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B..._o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/UR great idea thanks
Those are nice, and being more compact is a bonus.
 
just looking for pointers my main concern is that even with the casters locked there is still some rotation in them due to the design and worried that it will be problematic, so if anyone has done this i'm interested in your experiences / solutions

It depends on how much weight you have in the tool box. If you keep a lot of stuff in there, it's not gonna wiggle with a mini-lathe on it. Tool boxes ALL wiggle in the store. They firm up with weight in them. (unless it's too cheap and the drawer slides don't work any more... Don't go filling them with concrete.) But honestly, if it's loaded, the casters aren't going to wiggle under the crushing forces applied by your hand on the compound handle on a mini lathe. With any of them, you're going to want a heavy top. Or maybe a heavy base plate for the lathe. Probably needn't be the whole box top.

Do you have it yet? I've eyeballed that tool box, and I'd put it on par with the Harbor Freight Yukon line. If you could swing the extra hundred and twenty bucks, I'd suggest looking at the US General 42X22. All of these budget tool boxes, no matter where you get them, they'll hold a lathe. I am talking about the rest of it. That US general, that's a step up from that Home Depot box, and a step up from the Yukon box, but the drawer configuration is undoubtedly different, and it is more bucks, but once you load it up and have some weight on any of them, that's wen they don't all feel the same anymore. IMO it's 50 percent better box, at a 25 percent higher price, and a good return on those extra bucks. Or if you can't swing that, honestly any of them would hold the lathe. It's the drawers and slides that get better.

Anyhow.... If you've got some weight to put in the box, the mini-lathe isn't going to throw it around. Set it up, put it where it goes, and use it. I'll bet it's fine without doing much to it at all.
 
It depends on how much weight you have in the tool box. If you keep a lot of stuff in there, it's not gonna wiggle with a mini-lathe on it. Tool boxes ALL wiggle in the store. They firm up with weight in them. (unless it's too cheap and the drawer slides don't work any more... Don't go filling them with concrete.) But honestly, if it's loaded, the casters aren't going to wiggle under the crushing forces applied by your hand on the compound handle on a mini lathe. With any of them, you're going to want a heavy top. Or maybe a heavy base plate for the lathe. Probably needn't be the whole box top.

Do you have it yet? I've eyeballed that tool box, and I'd put it on par with the Harbor Freight Yukon line. If you could swing the extra hundred and twenty bucks, I'd suggest looking at the US General 42X22. All of these budget tool boxes, no matter where you get them, they'll hold a lathe. I am talking about the rest of it. That US general, that's a step up from that Home Depot box, and a step up from the Yukon box, but the drawer configuration is undoubtedly different, and it is more bucks, but once you load it up and have some weight on any of them, that's wen they don't all feel the same anymore. IMO it's 50 percent better box, at a 25 percent higher price, and a good return on those extra bucks. Or if you can't swing that, honestly any of them would hold the lathe. It's the drawers and slides that get better.

Anyhow.... If you've got some weight to put in the box, the mini-lathe isn't going to throw it around. Set it up, put it where it goes, and use it. I'll bet it's fine without doing much to it at all.
i picked up the husky last week when i started the thread, i looked at the hf and it was on sale for the same price but i liked the husky better, it will store more than i need. im building a set of leveling feet for the mini lathe that will allow me to diel the level of the lathe in independent of the stand wile giving me some space between the top of the tool box and the chip tray, im thinking about coolant in the future so space for a drain will come in handy
 
getting closer the floor lock will come in Monday so i got my adjustable lathe mounts built and on the lathe, i do not want to mount the lathe to the tool cart until i'm, finished working on the bottom of the tool box. the new mounts worked out great and even without being secured to the bench top the lathe is much more solid. the mount is adjustable for height, level and twist via 4 bolts. there is more space under the lathe and there is room to drain the chip tray for coolant. the chip tray is not on yet. it will be easier to mount the base plates to the top of the tool box first and then install the tray to the assembly after everything is positioned.
 

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Just a word of caution. Try not to get soft rubber cushions on the leveling casters. I bought some for my mini lathe on a tool chest and found the bench wasn't rigidly flat. The bench would sway with not much effort. It annoyed me enough that I removed the leveling casters and substituted spacers on the floor.
Just ran into that with my mill stand, I installed the very expensive leveling casters only to find out they were not any more rigid with the levelingfeet engaged, ended up just keaving the roolers down
 
just looking for pointers my main concern is that even with the casters locked there is still some rotation in them due to the design and worried that it will be problematic, so if anyone has done this i'm interested in your experiences / solutions.

I just bought one of these, its a nice box and 22" deep... https://www.harborfreight.com/42-in...ore=&msclkid=2bba915e187b1ad7b3f0f4aa64c1e711
 
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