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mill and lathe room

3K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  youngladdy 
#1 ·
I'm planning (PLANNING :laughing: ) to get at least a mill and maybe a lathe in the distant future-maybe a year or more. I'm setting up my shop now with better benches, tables, outlets and power. So I want to know how much room I need and how much room I should reserve.

My question is, where is your mill in your garage/shop? (against the wall or in the corner) and how much room does it take up? With some mills on ebay I've seen, they list the width, height and length, but thats just the machine. How much more room do I need around it, to work comfortabily and not be crowded. yet at the same time not waste space. Also, what size is your mill? (i'e 9x42 or something) and the brand.

Also, where is your lathe in the garage/shop. What size of space does it take up to work comfortabily and what size is it? (ie 13x36)

Thanks
 
#4 ·
I have a CNC mill that is 25x16x20 and fully enclosed. it is sitting with enough room to full open the back door and room on both sides for long pieces to fit through the sides if needed. also have a 24x72 manual lathe that will be sitting with the tail stock in the corner so I have room to run bars through the spindle if needed. I will have just enough room to walk behind it and thats it.
 
#5 ·
Lathe... make sure you have room on both ends. Feed stock through the head, ditto for anything "handing off the end". My old LeBlond is a work horse, but 13" swing witha scant 18" between centers. Yes, 18" Seems way too short, but that tail stock is almost 12" long.... A few times I've have something way too long hanging off the end of the bed. Don't rush it, good chuck, three jaw steady rest, and managed to turn things 4' long. :D

Milling machine. My drill press has a full knee table. (Old 1920's drill press), so I've machined the end of a 8' long beam... with the back end supported on the drill press. My Mill is 48" x 12" (??) Index machine.

Set up your work area so you have "lathe mill setup table" all within a few steps of each other. Sometimes it makes more sense to put the mill back towards a corner. Still nice to have room around for projects that hand off the end. My drill press acts like a nice "feed table" with the adjustable knee. Slip a sheet of teflon over the table and a long (i.e. the 8' beam) will just slip around as you move the mill's table.

Another thing to keep in mind... keep all grinding operations as far away as possible. You want to keep the ways as clean as possible. Oil + griding dust = big friggin mess. Covering when not in use is one option, but I like setting up the mill with a power feed and working on something else. Might take 10 minutes to mill something on the slowest feed, watching it is like watching a pot of water starting to boil... too damn boring. Hence the mill and lathe being next to each other as I use both at the same time.

Walls around the machine tools... you'll end up with a bunch of dedicated tooling. Best when you don't have to walk across the room to grab something... so that area becomes critical to getting things done.

I was going to set up a small dedicated machine tool room... but with 12' x 10' it really didn't work... so I'll set up a 8'x10' "welding area" with a seperate exhaust fan, and use the extra 4' for a/c office space (making that area 14 x 10)

Only thought... tell your self you'll move everything around in 12 months, only way to know what will work for you. For me it was getting a SMALL three drawer tool box and putting it right next to the milling machine and buying a few extra wrenches that stay with the mill... rather than walk 20' to grab a wrench out of the big tool box.

Damn, I need to stay away from Red Bull! :)

Tom :usa:
 
#6 ·
fj40guy said:
Set up your work area so you have "lathe mill setup table" all within a few steps of each other.

Only thought... tell your self you'll move everything around in 12 months, only way to know what will work for you. For me it was getting a SMALL three drawer tool box and putting it right next to the milling machine and buying a few extra wrenches that stay with the mill... rather than walk 20' to grab a wrench out of the big tool box.

Tom :usa:
Setup table-I have a big stainless steel workbench with an aisle between it and the lathe. My surface plate, measuring tools and sketch books are on the bench. It's really nice to be able to turn around and see what I just measured/sketched, etc. My measuring tools boxes are in the center of this bench so I have some work space and the boxes delineate the area from the rest of the shop.

Tools that are dedicated to the lathe are in hanging bins screwed to the front of the bench the lathe is on (ashtray too). They fill up with chips, but at least my tools are immediately within reach. The lathe in my basement (which gets NO use now that I have the shop) has a drawer beneath it with the tools that are needed for it (the drawer doesn't fill up with chips!). As much as I hate to admit it, the backsplash area of both of my lathes is very cluttered with chucks, centers, etc. Certainly not the best way to do things, but it happens :flipoff2:

As far as planning to move things is concerned, I spend too much time leveling things and running power to them that I make damned sure I like where things are before I set them up.

When/if I get a mill, I'll likely have to completely rearrange the entire shop with the machine tools in it to accomodate it. Personally, I like the mill against a wall rather than in a corner. If I need to work on something on the back of the mill, I don't like being cramped. But, I have the luxury of lots of room to fill with trash :D

Peace,
PT
 
#7 ·
I have my little 9" swing lathe on a bench against the wall :D

If I need more swing/distance between centers I take it to work where I've got a 14" x 120" between centers, yes 120"! Or I have a 48" x 60" between centers for the big stuff. Bridgeport and CNC mill round out my choices and since I'm the only machinst I don't have to wait!

As for placement, it depends on frequency of use and types of work. I agree with leaving room behind the lathe's headstock for thru the spindle work. As for the mill if you think you'll be doing long work >6' you can set your mill at a slight,~15*, angle against a wall. I wouldn't put a mill in a corner unless your doing shorter stuff.

One more thing consider future machines if they are even a remote possiblity. I am rearranging half of my shop because I got a 13" X 60" (perfect size for a home shop ;) ) from our Mississippi shop (it was even dry).
 
#8 ·
Wow great replies. Answered all my questions so far...will have more later.

Honestly, is a double car garage to small for what i'm planning with the mill/lathe, plus the rest of the wrench/fab misc stuff? :confused:
 
#9 · (Edited)
youngladdy said:
Wow great replies. Answered all my questions so far...will have more later.

Honestly, is a double car garage to small for what i'm planning with the mill/lathe, plus the rest of the wrench/fab misc stuff? :confused:
it is too small if you want to store a vehicle in there too :D just have to be creative and able to work in tight spaces
 
#10 ·
How much room should I leave behind the mill and lathe? Or can I just have them close to the wall? I'm thinking I should leave a small space behind the mill just in case I have to do maintenance or something?

When/if I get a mill, I'll likely have to completely rearrange the entire shop with the machine tools in it to accomodate it. Personally, I like the mill against a wall rather than in a corner. If I need to work on something on the back of the mill, I don't like being cramped. But, I have the luxury of lots of room to fill with trash
So its wiser to wait until I have the machines to rearrange. So I actually have space for them? good suggestion.
 
#11 ·
Another thing...it'll depend on the lathe you get, how far it sits from the wall. My ol' South Bends would almost touch the wall. My new 14X40 however has a big electrical box hanging off the back. This lathe is bolted down so you don't just swing it out of the way if you need to work on the panel. It's a pain. I had to sit it slaunchways in the shop with the tailstock end in a corner and the head end sticking out 3 feet.
My mill is fine sitting parallel with the wall. I wouldn't want it in a corner. Had to mill the ends of some 10 ft long shelving beams for a guy. Never would of worked if it was in a corner.
 
#13 ·
youngladdy said:
Alright I don't think I will be putting it in a corner then. Just in case I have to mill something long.

Any other opinions?
Nope. :flipoff2:

After placing my lathe I relized what the box of "odd ball parts" were... a taper attachment. Way too cool to make up a bunch of my own tooling. Caveat is the taper attachment really needed the lathe to be 10" from the wall. Just one of those "uh oh" things. :)

Plan ahead for overhead lighting over mill & lathe areas. Walls next to the machines should be prime real estate for tooling, drills, etc. Stuff that is small and light, but you need to reach constantly. I have about a dozen quick change tool holders, so they need to be reachable withing arms length... and NOT over the lathe. :)

Tom :usa:
 
#14 ·
I won't be updating the lighting until I get the mill/lathe for that purpose-put the fixtures where I want, so I get maximum lighting when working with the machines.

Thanks.
 
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