King 12 x 36 question

[Brian H]

I have just ordered a 12 x 36 lathe from the local King dealer. I am hoping someone that has one of these can help me out with measuring the size of the "feet" on the lathe. I know it comes with a stand, but as space is of a premium in my shop I was planning to place two roller cabinets with a frame to tie them together under the lathe instead of using the supplied stand. I have a couple already in my shop but I want to make sure they will be deep enough to support the lathe properly.

The spec sheet on the lathe states it is 29" deep and 29" high. It appears in the pictures the footprint of the feet is less than that. Has any one done something like this? Are there any pitfalls that I might be missing? I don't want to have any issues with this becoming unstable from lack of a proper sized base.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DavidR8]

I have a 12x37 lathe and there's no way I'd put it on rolling toolboxes. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're thinking but I'd build a stand that supports lather and accommodates the boxes.

 

[Brian H]

I have a 12x37 lathe and there's no way I'd put it on rolling toolboxes. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're thinking but I'd build a stand that supports lather and accommodates the boxes.

Thanks for your reply. May I ask what reservations you have? I realize its creeping up on the 1000 lb mark and one of my concerns is the base being narrower than the lathe itself which may cause some instability, but since its a few weeks away I am just exploring my options.

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks for your reply. May I ask what reservations you have? I realize its creeping up on the 1000 lb mark and one of my concerns is the base being narrower than the lathe itself which may cause some instability, but since its a few weeks away I am just exploring my options.

I'd be worried about the ability of the thin sheet metal of the toolbox to support a 1000 lbs.
The stands that are designed for the lathe likely have some additional supports built in to the top.

 

[Susquatch]

Thanks for your reply. May I ask what reservations you have? I realize its creeping up on the 1000 lb mark and one of my concerns is the base being narrower than the lathe itself which may cause some instability, but since its a few weeks away I am just exploring my options.

It's funny that you should ask that just now. I just finished posting elsewhere that I should write something about the difference between strength and rigidity.

If you put your lathe onto two tool chests, they might be strong enough to hold it. That's all about strength. Strength is easy to achieve.

But, to work properly, you must be able to align the bed - very hard to do if not impossible mounted on tool chests. And you also need to build as much rigidity into your setup as possible. Tool chests can not provide any significant rigidity at all. They will shake, rattle, and roll at every opportunity and your lathe will never achieve its potential.

Will it work? Yup, it will work.

Will it work to its full potential? Nope, it will not.

 

[DavidR8]

Not saying my stand is the be all, end all of lathe stands but it’s stout.
I will build a cabinet to go in the opening.

 

[Brian H]

I'd be worried about the ability of the thin sheet metal of the toolbox to support a 1000 lbs.
The stands that are designed for the lathe likely have some additional supports built in to the top.

I was pondering that and my lower tool cabinet has a top box that has a significant weight to it (it is spread over the whole area of the box mind you...). Hence the thought of a metal frame between the lathe and boxes (1 x 1 sq tubing??)

 

[Brian H]

It's funny that you should ask that just now. I just finished posting elsewhere that I should write something about the difference between strength and rigidity.

If you put your lathe onto two tool chests, they might be strong enough to hold it. That's all about strength. Strength is easy to achieve.

But, to work properly, you must be able to align the bed - very hard to do if not impossible mounted on tool chests. And you also need to build as much rigidity into your setup as possible. Tool chests can not provide any significant rigidity at all. They will shake, rattle, and roll at every opportunity and your lathe will never achieve its potential.

Will it work? Yup, it will work.

Will it work to its full potential? Nope, it will not.

That hadn't crossed my mind... good point.

This brings a question to mind. I'm presuming (because we all know what assuming gets you...LOL) that the weight of the base adds rigidity versus just being strong enough to hold the object off the floor, correct? I'm not sure the weight of the King supplied stand but I'm nor thinking it of the utmost design available.

 

[YotaBota]

Without knowing what cabinets you're looking at it's hard to make call on whether or not they will hold up under the weight of that lathe and all the tools that will be in the drawers.

I had my SM9 (300lbs ish) on a Husky tool cabinet and ended up making a 1.5x3 tube frame for the bottom to mount the wheels on and added leveling jacks as well. The wheels were originally just mounted to the base sheet metal, not strong and very wobbly. I also changed out the plastic wheels for steel ones and added a 1.5" wood counter top to take the extra weight. I wouldn't go any heavier on a box store cabinet than what I did.

Check the specs on the cabinets you're considering and see what gauge the material is and what the loading is advertised to be.

 

[Brian H]

Not saying my stand is the be all, end all of lathe stands but it’s stout.
I will build a cabinet to go in the opening.
View attachment 40351

I do like that design. A person could design it the tool cabinets minus the wheels could fit inside...

How beneficial would it be to add a couple pieces of 1/2" plate below the areas the lathe bolts too? I couldn't tell by your pictures if you had done that.

 

[Brian H]

Without knowing what cabinets you're looking at it's hard to make call on whether or not they will hold up under the weight of that lathe and all the tools that will be in the drawers.

I had my SM9 (300lbs ish) on a Husky tool cabinet and ended up making a 1.5x3 tube frame for the bottom to mount the wheels on and added leveling jacks as well. The wheels were originally just mounted to the base sheet metal, not strong and very wobbly. I also changed out the plastic wheels for steel ones and added a 1.5" wood counter top to take the extra weight. I wouldn't go any heavier on a box store cabinet than what I did.

View attachment 40344

Check the specs on the cabinets you're considering and see what gauge the material is and what the loading is advertised to be.

That was what I had in mind, but I couldn't find one 66" wide so I was looking at two 36" boxes fastened together. My bigger issue was the depth of the box being too narrow. reinforcing the bottom hadn't crossed my mind tho. I do have access to 1" thick plywood that may help to stabilize things.

How do you find it height wise? Is it comfortable to stand and work at?

 

[DavidR8]

I do like that design. A person could design it the tool cabinets minus the wheels could fit inside...

How beneficial would it be to add a couple pieces of 1/2" plate below the areas the lathe bolts too? I couldn't tell by your pictures if you had done that.

The headstock is sitting on 3/16 plate, the tail end is bolted directly through the 3/16 wall tubing.

 

[YotaBota]

How do you find it height wise? Is it comfortable to stand and work at?

It was a couple of inches higher than I would have liked. If I'd have kept the unit I would have built a wooden base to stand on and make a better working height, I'm 5' 10".

 

[YotaBota]

My cabinet was a 52" model.

 

[Susquatch]

I do have access to 1" thick plywood that may help to stabilize things.

It isn't about stabilizing. It's about being able to bend the lathe bed in order to eliminate twist and align the axis of rotation.

To be honest though, most people don't do that. They just use it as is.

The strength part is obvious. But rigidity is something you really should try to optimize too.

 

[Former Member]

I have the BB version, this is a heavy lathe. The stand is part of the structural support and stiffens the lathe bed because the storage cabinets on either side are bolted to the bed and stiffener back plate is added. The storage they offer is ok.

Second the are heavier build than standard cabinets.

Size wise my Logan 200 took up more space had a smaller swing and bed length that the 12x36.

Best advice stick with the original.

 

[Brian H]

I have just ordered a 12 x 36 lathe from the local King dealer. I am hoping someone that has one of these can help me out with measuring the size of the "feet" on the lathe. I know it comes with a stand, but as space is of a premium in my shop I was planning to place two roller cabinets with a frame to tie them together under the lathe instead of using the supplied stand. I have a couple already in my shop but I want to make sure they will be deep enough to support the lathe properly.

The spec sheet on the lathe states it is 29" deep and 29" high. It appears in the pictures the footprint of the feet is less than that. Has any one done something like this? Are there any pitfalls that I might be missing? I don't want to have any issues with this becoming unstable from lack of a proper sized base.

Thanks in advance.

So the lathe has arrived and is ready for use. I'm quite pleased with the fit and finish of the lathe. I'm very impressed with the supplied chucks ( both Sanou), I have to check the run-out yet. However, a few of the
accessories are definitely very low budget, drill chuck barely turns and the MT on the live center is too small to engage in the tail stock. I will contact King after the holidays to get that sorted

 

[RobinHood]

Nice XMas present. Congrats.

 

[Dabbler]

Congrate, @Brian H

I also own a 12X37 lathe - the same as @Degen and @David_R8 have. I built a custom stand as well. It has a lot of nice features, and 40 years of use have suggested a few changes to make it better. I prolly should make a thread about it.

Your Toolbox stand should hold up, but I'm thinking tha reinforcing it for rigidity will give you better lathe performance/finsh/accuracy...

 

[Brian H]

Congrate, @Brian H

I also own a 12X37 lathe - the same as @Degen and @David_R8 have. I built a custom stand as well. It has a lot of nice features, and 40 years of use have suggested a few changes to make it better. I prolly should make a thread about it.

Your Toolbox stand should hold up, but I'm thinking tha reinforcing it for rigidity will give you better lathe performance/finsh/accuracy...

@Dabbler, thanks for your suggestion.

Adding reinforcements is definitely on my radar, as it was suggested in some advice on the original post. At the moment, the only cuts I have made have been to adjust the tool heights on the QCTP tool holders. I have a few items I need to address with King (mainly getting a live center that fits in the tailstock) so I can complete the setup/alignment of the tailstock.

I do have some box section I may add on the insides of the tool boxes should it be required.

As a note for anyone wanting to do this. When planning this build I spoke with my Dad (he spent 30 odd years as a structural steel fabricator/welder) for advice on choosing the correct material and design. I used 1 1/2"x 3/16" angle for the frame to completely encase the tool boxes (I wasn't comfortable trusting the boxes alone would support the weight) with 6 levelling feet on the bottom frame. I included 1 1/2" (2 layers of 3/4" multi-ply plywood) in the upper frame with 3/16" x 2" flatbar welded in for the hold down bolts for added rigidity.