Building a Shorty

[dusty]

Those appear to me to be Main Table Legs (probably left overs from a double tilt modification). This is real neat application for stabilizing the outer edge of the table while drilling (makes for a very stable drill press table).

I use those same legs with adjustable stop collars for all sorts of applications. One frequent use is to stabilize the table when table tilt lock seems unreliable or tilt angle needs to been "finely tuned" to a specific tilt angle.

[jsburger]

I cut 18" off to make my shorty. It works fine and I use it mostly as a sanding station. I used the left over 18" pieces of bench tubes to make my dedicated drill press.

Jsburger, what are the 2 verticle tubes in the picture of your dedicated drill press for, looks like a wooden dowel joining them at the top.

They support the front of the table. They eliminate all flex. You could sit on the table and it will not move.

They are the main table legs left over from a double tilt upgrade I did to my full size machine. They each have a 1/4" hole in the end that accepts a steel pin to attach them to the table. There is no way to raise both tubes and tighten the lock unless you have three hands. Hence the dowel. Raise both tubes up against the bottom of the table with one hand and tighten the lock with the other.

[tomsalwasser]

Instead of the EMT Conduit I used the Plastic conduit, about half the price to mock it up.

Hey, that's slick! Is it strong enough to use for more than mockup purposes? I actually use EMT in a permanent setup and may try plastic based on your results. Of course neither is as strong as a real SS tube, but maybe strong enough depending on the application.

[jjbuzard]

The plastic conduit tube may very well be strong enough for a shorty, especially if not using it for a lathe.

[robinson46176]

While neither of them are considered shorties the old Mark VII and the 10-ER (I assume the 10 as well) only use 5' of floor space as opposed to 6' for the rest.
The 10-ER would be an easy cut down but just sitting here thinking about it the old Mark VII would be a bit of a trick if you didn't have welding skills. I guess though that you could use wood or steel and bolts to cut the base of one down in length.

I bought an old Mark VII just to have one just like I did the 10-ER and expect to keep them original but I was wondering if anyone has done anything "imaginative" with an old Mark VII?


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[Steamdragon]

While neither of them are considered shorties the old Mark VII and the 10-ER (I assume the 10 as well) only use 5' of floor space as opposed to 6' for the rest.
The 10-ER would be an easy cut down but just sitting here thinking about it the old Mark VII would be a bit of a trick if you didn't have welding skills. I guess though that you could use wood or steel and bolts to cut the base of one down in length.

I bought an old Mark VII just to have one just like I did the 10-ER and expect to keep them original but I was wondering if anyone has done anything "imaginative" with an old Mark VII?


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You mean like this?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/5611225680.html
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[jjbuzard]

Sorry I haven't posted some health issues kept me out of the shop for the last week or so, finally back at it, got the Shorty Bench Tubes back from powder coat, had these done in Chrome Powder, the pictures don't do the finish justice. They look amazing in person, hopefully will get the final Soda Blast done tomorrow and on to primer and paint.

Chrome Powder Coat.jpg (726.69 KiB) Viewed 18525 times

Bench Tube in Chrome Powder Coat.

Shorty w chrome powder Bench Tubes.jpg (1.62 MiB) Viewed 18525 times

[jjbuzard]

Well the Shorty is done, the safety labels came today, that was the last thing I was waiting for. Now to put it on ebay.

Full view

Full on.jpg (1.1 MiB) Viewed 18481 times

Back side

back side.jpg (795.27 KiB) Viewed 18481 times

Close up front

Headstock closeup.jpg (926.33 KiB) Viewed 18481 times

Full front

full headstock.jpg (609.32 KiB) Viewed 18481 times

Chrome Pwder Coat Bench Tubes

Chrome Powder Coat 2.jpg (956.03 KiB) Viewed 18481 times

[JPG]

That really looks great!

Ya gonna confuse some folks with the table raising knob.

[ERLover]

What??? Ebay??? Use it yourself