Machining In The Living Room aka A Lathe In A Desk

I am looking for ideas for how to design and build a desk/bench/storage cabinet for a Sherline/Taig lathe/mill (metalworking tools but this would work for small wood working tools also) that will reside in a living room.

I have seen the examples shown at the Sherline site

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but I am still looking for ideas.

I am trying to have a functional workspace when open and an attractive piece of furniture when it is closed.

Any suggestions, comments, links AND ESPECIALLY PICTURES are appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools
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rec.crafts.metalworking

AAvK

Reply to
AAvK

Modify this:

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Reply to
RicodJour

The AAvK entity posted thusly:

Dunno about the Sherline, but the Taig can be had set up for wood-turning, and can even be easily switched. While this does not make "Machining" on-topic, the fact that at least a few woodworkers have small lathes in similar situations, does.

Reply to
Oleg Lego

Look at foldout desks, bars, and spring loaded sewing machine platforms.

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Reply to
Lobby Dosser

"Dunno about the Sherline, but the Taig can be had set up for wood-turning, and can even be easily switched. While this does not make "Machining" on-topic, the fact that at least a few woodworkers have small lathes in similar situations, does. "

You will note that I made the subject on topic by mentioning that this could be used for woodworking also.

A wood lathe, carving, model building, doll houses, etc....they all need a work area and storage if done in shared living quarters with others.

Any recommendations for the furniture needed to make this happen?

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

"rec.crafts.metalworking

AAvK "

Thanks for the response but I am looking for ideas as to what to buy or build for the furniture to hold the tools (which can also do wood turning and routing).

Any suggestions as to what would work well for work surface and storage in a home living area?

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

"Look at foldout desks, bars, and spring loaded sewing machine platforms. "

I also considering sewing machine cabinets and armoires....any links or pictures to look at?

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

Any more suggestions?

Does anyone do any woodworking in their living quarters? If so, I would think the same requirements would apply.

Any suggestions for workbenchs that would live covetly in a living room so the SO is happy?

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

A drop-front desk or a cylinder desk could easily be made to house a baby lathe.

A sofa table with a removable "fancy top" and work top under would work - like the hay they used to make gaming tables for the parlor. Looks like a fancy table, but the top lifts off and there's the workbench. Make it with stout turned farmhouse legs and it will be plenty solid enough.

-- Timothy Juvenal

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Reply to
Hambone Slim

I don't know if you've done any machining with that lathe yet, but I hope you know how much of a mess it'd make in a living room. When I got my midi (wood) lathe, I kept it in a breezeway that was about 4' x

6' and that worked pretty well for chip containment, but when I bought my house and put it and my larger lathe in the shop, it was such a mess on everything that I ended up needing a separate room dedicated to turning, just so I could clean adequately without moving everything around every time I looked at the lathe.

I know that's not encouraging, I just have a vision of the coolant-covered swarf either stuck to the carpet or gouging up hardwood floors. Not to mention sitting down on nice curly razors stuck into the upholstry from time to time.

If you need to do it (and that's just how it is sometimes)- how about making a good-sized armoire with doors that lock open at 90* with a flip-up "ceiling" extension and one of those plastic mats they make for rolling computer chairs on carpet to protect the floor from the shavings? You could attach a bit of plastic to the edge of the flip up part so it would hang down and make a cover behind you. With coolant, they're a mess- without coolant, they're even worse! Anywhere a chip can get out, it will get out- and that includes stuck in the treads of your boots. If you're not sure what I'm describing, let me know and I'll e-mail you a drawing off-list.

Alternately, if you've got enough room in the living room and can modify the building yourself, the best solution may be to frame up a closet in one corner, and put a door with some weather stripping on it.

I used to- but it's really not the same as metalworking. Worst case senario, I usually would hang plastic from floor to ceiling to make a temporary work area, and put a box fan in the window to blow dust outside. The difference is that sawdust and wood shavings are fairly soft, and not very likely to wreck the floors or furniture. Though I haven't seen your place- for all I know, you have wooden walls and concrete floors. If that's the case, just put a dropcloth over the furniture and have at it.

As another poster suggested- a false top should work nicely for that one. Make a nice demi-lune workbench, and your wife can call it a sideboard.

Reply to
Prometheus

Thanks for the response...it is appreciated.

I am more than a bit surprised that there is so little interest in this subject....doesn't anyone do any craft type work in the living area of their homes? Whether it is metal/wood working, craving, modeling, etc. I would think there would be an interest in the challenge of designing furniture to meet the challenge.

the points you raise are good ones. I especially like the part...

"how about making a good-sized armoire with doors that lock open at 90* with a flip-up "ceiling" extension and one of those plastic mats they make for rolling computer chairs on carpet to protect the floor from the shavings? You could attach a bit of plastic to the edge of the flip up part so it would hang down and make a cover behind you. "

...very good approach towards containment.

With housing getting more and more expensive and the houses getting smaller and smaller, I would think more people will be forced to doing shopwork in the living room...it sure beats what is on television these days.

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

I don't think that there is little interest. There are conflicting interests. SWMBO being conflict numero uno. I have a hard enough time persuading that a TV can in fact go in the living room. Broaching the subject of bringing work into the living space would translate as, "I'd like to start filling the house with dust and if you wouldn't mind cleaning it up after me, that would be great."

If you don't have a SWMBO, well, hell, keep the motorcycle in the living room.

I posted the Wooton desk as an example of something that could easily be adapted to housing a small shop for craftwork and the like. A huge amount of storage in an unusual piece of finished furniture. You may also want to Google jeweler's desk as there are some interesting examples of that type.

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'd have to incorporate an efficient dust collection system into the desk to make its place in a living area feasible.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

When I was much younger I kept a 1978 Harley Low Rider in my living room . . . the first wife was not the domestic goddess type . . .There were some problems though . . . After a couple hours of riding the "cooling" down period tended to make the living room a tad bit warm . . . Also the carb tended to drip a few drops of fuel on the carpet . . . did you know that will melt right through to the padding . . . also oil will penetrate an old copy of Popular Mechanics eventually and that also is rough on the carpet . . . . But you know ten plus years later when I sold it still looked brand new . . .

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> You'd have to incorporate an efficient dust collection system into the

Reply to
Petrified Woodworker

I thought it was a troll. Where do you fix your motorbike? In the bedroom?

Reply to
Guess who

"When I was much younger I kept a 1978 Harley Low Rider in my living room . . . the first wife was not the domestic goddess type . . .There were some

problems though . . . After a couple hours of riding the "cooling" down

period tended to make the living room a tad bit warm . . . Also the carb tended to drip a few drops of fuel on the carpet . . . did you know that will melt right through to the padding . . . also oil will penetrate an old copy of Popular Mechanics eventually and that also is rough on the carpet . . . . But you know ten plus years later when I sold it still looked brand new . . . "

The house or the Hog? ;

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

">I am more than a bit surprised that there is so little interest in this

I thought it was a troll. Where do you fix your motorbike? In the bedroom? "

Nope, no troll....trying to get ideas before I build the furniture needed to be able to do work while watching television, listening to radio, etc.

Where do I fix my motorbike? Anywhere I want to. ;

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

Maybe most, like me, have found out that making or building or fixing stuff in the living room can often be fraught with disaster.

Lesson 1. A few years back, I bought a pair of Lee Valley Tools iron bench legs. (Somewhere I got the bright idea to set up a work bench in my living room that would temporarily be used with a computer and associated peripherals.) Very carefully I laid out about 40 square feet of newspaper and then proceeded to spray paint those bench legs with navy blue paint. It wasn't until I cleaned everything up, that I realized there was a dark blue tinge on *everything* in my living room, *except* where the newspaper covered the floor. And by *everything*, I mean walls, ceiling, entertainment centre, TV, me, and the window.

Curse, curse, swear, swear for the next two weeks.....

Lesson 2. Having mostly recovered from my spray paint incident, awhile later I thought I'd try something again. But this time it was just going to be plain old woodworking. No problem, I figured, a little sawdust on the floor can be vacuumed up with ease. I proceeded to build my self a wooden cart for my beloved laser printer that was taking up too much work bench space. Saw, saw, saw, hammer and screw and finally HAND-paint. Voila! I was all done. About an hour after moving the laser printer to the cart, it suddenly died on me and wouldn't restart. The printer is an 80 lb semi-commercial colour laser printer and the manufacture recommends leaving it running all the time since powering it up takes close to 30 minutes and eats up a prodigious amount of the inkstix toner. So, I did leave it running all the time except when it had to be moved. Well anyway, after calling in a service tech to fix the damned thing, he told me that the air intake in the printer was clogged with what looked like sawdust, so the printer had started to overheat and the automatic shutdown had activated. With an unwavering gaze, I handed over $225 to the tech for the service call and casually told him that I had no idea where so much dust could have come from.

15 minutes later, curse, curse, swear, swear.....

Lesson 3. Well, I haven't actually experienced Lesson 3 yet, at least not a major lesson. I know it's there waiting, ready to spring out and grab me by the short hairs. But, I have come to one inescapable conclusion. The pain one occasionally experiences doing fixit stuff anywhere such as hitting your thumb with the hammer or stapling your hand to your current project, is only one type of pain. Often more painful is the sudden realization of what you've done wrong and the accompanying realization that it's going to hurt your wallet even more.

Reply to
Upscale

Or the wife?

Reply to
Eugene Nine

Yup!

Truth is it's a struggle convincing SWMBO to let me keep machines in the garage. I'd be better off putting a bullet in my head before I go recommending the living room.

Reply to
A.M. Wood

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