Of all the stuff I’ve bought for my PM3520b lathe, one of the best was a Harbor Freight Hydraulic Table. It’s perfect for lifting and moving the fully assembled lathe, quickly and easily.
I was especially grateful for it last night. I’ve decided to rearrange the shop a bit and wanted to move the lathe into a corner with my grinder. I finally hit upon putting the end of the lathe in the corner at 45° and the grinder behind it.
While experimenting, I must have moved that lathe 50 times. At over 700 pounds, there’s no way I would have experimented that much or found this configuration without the hydraulic table. It comes in handy in so many ways. It’s normally $260, but HF often puts it on sale for $199 and frequently has 20% off coupons, so it gets down to only $160.
Be aware that they sell two models, the cheaper one only lifts 500 pounds and couldn’t handle this task.
Really, really worth it!
In Aug 2008, when I was researching cyclone dust collectors, I was intrigued by the systems from Clear-Vue Cyclones. They were made from clear polycarbonate and seems well designed. However, I had concerns about the durability of components and even bigger worries about Clear-Vue being around in the future to repair parts. Eventually, unable to get comfortable with purchasing from Clear-Vue and unable to see the value of going with the very expensive Oneida systems, I “settled” for a Grizzly 3HP cyclone that has been everything I could have asked for.
Well, it seems my fears were well-founded. Clear-Vue went out of business last month.
I decided to relocate my lathe and put my drill press in a different location than originally planned, which mean adding a new drop in the dust collection ductwork. When I set up my duct, I included a flexible section with the idea that it would make it easier to make changes in the future. If the ductwork is solid, you have no “give” or slack to move the sections so you can remove/replace them. I’m really glad I did, because without that flex section I would have been forced to completely disassemble the entire run starting at the far end.
In the future, I plan to incorporate many more small flex sections, this one episode has proven their value!
All the interior stringers are prepped and tenoned (is that a word?), next is a challenging glueup! See the Extension/Router Table page for details.
To borrow one of my wife’s favorite phrases, “life happened”. All sorts of insane things have been going down lately, including a new personal project (non-woodworking-related), to the point where I’ve hardly set foot in the shop for six months.
But with the arrival of summer, I think things are back under control and I can get back to work. I’m in the process of building a new extension table for the SawStop, extending my dust collection system, and revamping my mitersaw bench to include a refurbished radial arm saw. I’m also working on an extended review of my Festool T15 drill (it’s wonderful).
