Workbench footprint and recommendations for PM1340GT

[Tolerent]

I did not buy the stand... Description shows it 30x16x30 and I have to assume that is the shipping crate with an unassembled stand in it.
The lathe calls out 70" long by 29" deep by 52" tall and I am assuming 30" of the height is the optional stand.

I am building a bench for the lathe. Is there any advantage to having a bench deeper than 29 or 30" or wider than 70"?

Will I regret covering the benchtop with an epoxy coat?

If you have the optional bench and can comment on the height. Is it too tall for you or too short and by how much would you have adjusted it and how tall you are?

What features have you added or plan to add to your bench, stand, or table?

You are great.

 

[Alexander McGilton]

I will let someone who has that lathe to comment on working height. though I have some things you may like to consider. Make sure that the electrical box is accessible from the wall. I have burnt a few fuses and triggered the circuit breakers on the machine, and had modified the auxiliary units a few times. namely the work light, coolant and DRO. its great not having to drtag the machine away from the wall.

You are going to want to have some provision for leveling the bed or in my case contorting the bed straight. Do a google search of lathe leveling stand and you will find some forums of others who had built wood and or metal stands to level the machine. In my case, I tried putting a piece of steel pipe parallel to the bed under the stand trying to level it. Thinking that with the head stock square and stand at the tail stock allowed to twist that the bed will find itsself straight. I was wrong, the bed is has an inherent twist to it. Requiring me to have the tail stock end stand uneven to pull the bed straight. If I simply leveled the bed, I would be doing this unknowingly. In short have the stand able to twist the bed both directions, it will be only redundant should the bed be perfect.

Try to use as little wood as possible, I know its cheap and many people have great stands for their machines made of wood. though are they accurate? my granite surface plate is on a wood stand and it sways about .01" per foot out of level with the seasons.

For the table top, consider sheet metal. The chips are raze sharp and at times blue hot. Any paint will get scraped off, wood is a fire hazard or at least the hot chips will burn their way in.

 

[Tolerent]

Your thoughts on a sheet metal top make a lot of sense. A layer of diamond plate with the textured surface face down might be adequate. Sure would be nice to get it rolled down on the front edge. I planned to build the bench level and to shim between the lathe and the table.

I hope someone with a 1340 chimes in regarding clearance for access to the rear side maintenance ports.

 

[mksj]

A number of people have built bases, I would review what others have done. You need to make the base very rigid, so I would not consider anything other than a steel frame. Same goes for pan, and you also want to paint it with an oil and heat resistant paint. The hot chips with eat through the standard paints. I recommend sticking a baking pan or making a pan to catch the chips.

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Clearance depend on many things, You want to be able to get behind the lathe to clean chips and get in the control cabinet so probably a minimum of 18" behind the motor/control box.

 

[davidpbest]

Here are the drawings I used to make the stand for my PM1340. There are dimension here that might help you plan. I'm 5'-11" and this is a comfortable working height for me. I also detest lathe or mill stands that have storage behind doors in the base rather than pull out drawers. I also prefer a removable chip pan. The stand build photos are HERE.

 

[GL]

Spindle height - bent elbow to ground (your mileage is your own, high is better than low - I’m 6-4). Look at David’s stand as an excellent design example.