Howdy

[SomeGuy]

KW Area, just picked up a used Craftex CX-701 and working my way into this machining world. No previous experience with machining but have done welding and other building/tinkering/fixing for years self taught, so shouldn't be too much of a stretch. In the middle of building a stand for the lathe and re-doing some shelving to make space for it. Then need to find a mill

First big project I'm planning is to build a fairly hefty RC skid steer vehicle of some sort....long term goal is to build a full size buggy of some sort.

 

[YYCHM]

Welcome from Calgary. What does KW stand for?

 

[SomeGuy]

Welcome from Calgary. What does KW stand for?

Kitchener-Waterloo area

 

[YYCHM]

We like pictures of projects here, so post a few more times and then show us what you're building.

 

[140mower]

Welcome aboard, you'll find that there's plenty of us here to help enable your metal addictions. And pictures.....we love pictures of what you are up to in the shop.

 

[DPittman]

Welcome to a great hobby and forum.

 

[SomeGuy]

I suppose I can share some pics...

1. The lathe when I went to pick it up, a bit messy but working.
2. Got it home...
3. Came with a DRO already, kinda nice....also had a milling attachment, small rotary table, QCTP with a half dozen holders, and a bit of other tooling beyond the standard stuff.
4. Tearing it down and cleaning it up
5. Mostly back together and mostly clean, still have a bit of work to do but was enough to get started on the next thing.
6. Starting to buld a new stand (welder is a Miller Multimatic 215, cart I built myself)
7. Basic frame, built out of 2" 0.125 wall tubing, leveling feet are 1" bolts which I'll put 1/4" plate on the bottom still.
8. Inset a couple intermediate tool boxes for tooling.
9. 1/4" 22x58" plate steel for the top....this is where I left off.

Still need to do some grinding, painting, affix the top, make some removable casters for the stand so I can move this thing when necessary. Then on to the shelving (not pictured) on the other side of my garage that needs to get rebuilt so I can fit the lathe somewhere permanent. Basically going to build some metal shelving 8-9 feet tall, but only with shelves starting around 6 feet up, so the lathe can go underneath.

 

[trlvn]

Welcome from Oakville!

Craig

 

[6.5 Fan]

Welcome from SK. You did a good job on the cleanup of the lathe.

 

[Canadium]

Welcome from Hamilton ON!

 

[Susquatch]

Welcome from Farm country south of Chatham.

I get to KW once a week or so. My wife visits her Mother who is in a long term care home up by the university. If you ever need help, give me a shout or PM me.

Nice job on the cleanup and the bench. If I were you, I'd start trying to figure out how to put a screen up between your lathe and the boxes behind it, and a drop skirt of some kind over the drawers under it.

In the real world (not the fancy marketing photos we all see), cuttings and cutting oil end up going everywhere when you use a lathe. You will need a way to protect things and make it easier to clean up.

All of us want to use that space under a lathe and we all want the tools handy too. But it's not as easy as just putting them there. Some jobs on harder steel make teeny tiny steel springs that get into everything! Also, everything in line with spinning work gets cutting oil flung onto it. It's just the way it is.

Best to think about all that now before you have a mess to clean up later. Just a heads up.... Ask me how I know..... You will thank me later.

 

[Susquatch]

Don't forget to use a precision level on that lathe when you mount it.

 

[gmihovics]

Welcome from London, Ontario. My office is in kw and I go in twice a week normally so if you ever need anything let me know.

 

[SomeGuy]

Welcome from Farm country south of Chatham.

I get to KW once a week or so. My wife visits her Mother who is in a long term care home up by the university. If you ever need help, give me a shout or PM me.

Nice job on the cleanup and the bench. If I were you, I'd start trying to figure out how to put a screen up between your lathe and the boxes behind it, and a drop skirt of some kind over the drawers under it.

In the real world (not the fancy marketing photos we all see), cuttings and cutting oil end up going everywhere when you use a lathe. You will need a way to protect things and make it easier to clean up.

All of us want to use that space under a lathe and we all want the tools handy too. But it's not as easy as just putting them there. Some jobs on harder steel make teeny tiny steel springs that get into everything! Also, everything in line with spinning work gets cutting oil flung onto it. It's just the way it is.

Best to think about all that now before you have a mess to clean up later. Just a heads up.... Ask me how I know..... You will thank me later.

Thanks for the advice. I'm planning on needing something behind the lathe, though it does have its own splash shield thing. Towards the front, I doubt much will get in the drawers, they close pretty well and are slightly inset from the actual front edge, so anything should fall to the ground. I fully expect to have to move anything I keep underneath frequently to sweep up. We'll see how it goes though, the two tubes open in the front are sized to accept a slip fit tube so I can attach "accessories" that way. See the folding metal work bench in the welding pic and how the vise is inserted there. If I need to, I'll do a quick frame and some lighter gauge sheet metal that can slip in to seal it all up.

Welcome from SK. You did a good job on the cleanup of the lathe.

Thanks!

Welcome from London, Ontario. My office is in kw and I go in twice a week normally so if you ever need anything let me know.

Appreciate it!

 

[SomeGuy]

Added removable casters (they will come off when it's in position but gives me an option to move it around if I need to), stand painted, tool boxes screwed in, and lathe put on top and bolted down.

 

[DPittman]

Looks great.

 

[Susquatch]

Bet you are a happy guy!

 

[PeterT]

Nice job on the stand. Another consideration is utilizing the lower volume for the clunky lathe accessories: chucks, face plate, steady rest, arbors, tooling... things that don't fit in your drawers. As long as you have toe room to get close to the machine which kind of appears you do. I've seen people use simple slide/track doors on the front to keep debris out. I'm not the shelf altitude is necessarily great for lifting heavy things out from. You & your back should decide LOL. But your gear probably wont be too heavy on that size lathe. if machine vibration is an issue rattling things, you can probably incorporate a rubberized mat surface. Anyways, food for thought.

 

[Tecnico]

Hi Someguy, I just saw your post, welcome from another new guy!

Nice stand you built for your lathe. The drawers are great for small tooling etc., the casters are a great addition too it's something I did as well. I just put up a few photos of mine in my first post in this section.

One thing I'd suggest is some kind of tray under the lathe to help contain chips and oil either from cutting oil or from the machine itself. If your Craftex is anything like my Myford it'll leak some oil. ...Or maybe the Myford is just living up to the stereotype of it's origins.

D

 

[SomeGuy]

Just to finish off the journey here...I removed my old wooden shelving and built new bolt together (sides to shelf pieces) out of 1.5"x0.100 steel with plywood inserts that I could fit the lathe underneath. I also built a small chest for under the lathe to put heavier tools and got the DRO/Electrical done and mounted.