The first little table for the vertical milling machine wasn't that good nor large enough, so I started to build a new table which still fits into the attic and is large enought to fit the milling machine and the small lathe as mentioned before.In the last month, I haven't done so much, due to health problems and working very long at the daily job.
However I started to prepare my mini-workshop for electronics work and small metal work in my homes attic in December and early January.
I bought a small milling machine (chinese made) in September last year, but it wasn't ready to use as I hoped. So I started to buy all kind of parts to make it usable. First thing was exchanging all the weak chinese screws and bolts and exchanged the machine support from 2 mm tube (!) to a solid pillar (from a hydraulic parts seller). The electric had to be fixed up too, as everything was quite loose-fitting.
Next thing will be a small lathe (anything below 300 lb weight), but I have time to wait for a bargain
I found some nice wooden beams for small money in the constructions area of a home improvement store. These beams are 3,15 inch x 3,15 inch and strong enough for the small machines.
On tuesday I had the chance to drive over to Luxembourg, where a machine dealer had his main outlet. My idea was to buy a 9" x 29" lathe, but when I saw that machine in front of me, I wasn't so sure if it still fits into my attic anymore. So I had chosen a smaller version of it ( 9" x 19" ). The lathe is a chinese origin ofcourse, as all other machines would have been out of my budget and maximum weight.
I asked a friend to help me to carry the lathe out of my little van to the attic and even though I removed everything I could inside the van, we still needed 1 complete hour and several pauses to get the machine to its new place. Again, I know that these very steep and narrow stairs into my appartment (and to the attic) are complicating such jobs.
To make a long story short: here is a photo of the lathe and the mini-mill on the new workbench:
I have to remove both machines again as I have to lay a new floor and I will add some crossbeams to support the table legs.
The working table just cost me around 40 Euros in material, but is much more stable than the table before.
Cheers,
Daniel
