Lee Valley/Veritas cast iron legs for lathe stand

[ear3]

For my shop reorganization, I'm going to construct a sturdier stand for my Rikon 70-100 lathe (which has one extension giving me a 36" length capacity -- with a total tool length of slightly under 5 feet).  The current one is not stable enough when I'm turning large diameter stock.  I was looking into the cast iron legs made by Lee Valley, since they have a wall mount version, which would allow me to economize space, and also free up some storage underneath.  I figure if I make a solid butcher block type of top, which can be secured to both the legs and the wall itself, and then have the legs secured to the concrete floor, this should do the trick.  But i was wondering if anyone had tried these legs or comment on possible similar alternatives, keeping in mind that I have space constraints, and have to run it against the wall.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,41637&p=40578

My fall-back would be some free standing legs, like the Nova models.  My reticence to go that route though is that I would have to put in a bottom shelf to tie the legs together (sacrificing some underneath storage space), as I wouldn't be able to secure the top to the wall:

http://www.amazon.com/NOVA-25054-Stand-Lathe-Accessory/dp/B0064JIWO2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EE84XW91ATRGX2KTZ53

Here's the current set-up with the stand that came with the lathe:

[attachimg=1]

 

[upscale]

But i was wondering if anyone had tried these legs or comment on possible similar alternatives, keeping in mind that I have space constraints, and have to run it against the wall.

I've got a pair of the shorter LV legs on my work bench. LV legs in the front attached to wood 4x4 legs in the back. They're solid and sturdy. They also hold paint well if that interests you. Can't really say much else about them.

 

[rvieceli]

If you want metal, I'd think about drawing up what you want and taking it to a local welding/fabrication shop and have them fab it for you.

If you can be ok with a wooden base there are a lot of images of similar projects on the web. you can make it yourself.

 

[ear3]

Thanks.  I think I'm going to order them and construct my own top then.

But i was wondering if anyone had tried these legs or comment on possible similar alternatives, keeping in mind that I have space constraints, and have to run it against the wall.

I've got a pair of the shorter LV legs on my work bench. LV legs in the front attached to wood 4x4 legs in the back. They're solid and sturdy. They also hold paint well if that interests you. Can't really say much else about them.

 

[scoffelt]

Why not just build a cabinet with understorage? I need to remake mine someday when I  don't have something else pressing.  I store turning tools and supplies in drawers and the stack short lumber scraps in open storage spaces.  It weighs plenty, so don't worry about it walking around on me.  You can also attach that to the wall.  I have a small shop 13x26 so I focus on utilizing every bit of space I can and use cabinet based designs everywhere I can.

 

[mwildt]

+1 on the under storage cabinet, or you could also make a long flip stand so you get an assembly table.