Spec Grade
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Well, I finally finished building a ballast box for my Grizzly lathe.
It was a major PITA, because I had to engineer something for some machinery that was never designed to have this accessory on it to begin with.
It is built from 1/2" OSB, with steel reinforcement bars running along a double thickness bottom.
It is supported solely by the angle iron, and extra support was added in the form of all thread rod running from the support bars to the steel rails on the box bottom.
The box itself is also bolted to the side rails for added support.
It doesn't sit on the floor, it's actually hanging there so it can sway to absorb energy from the lathe.
It is built to contain 300 lbs of sand, and might hold more.
The finished size is 48" L X 14" H X 9" W.
Here's some pics of it being constructed, and the finished product.
You might notice I added adjustable leveling feet to my lathe before adding the box. Now, I can level the lathe, no matter how bad the floor is.
I got the feet from McMaster Carr, they support 300 lbs. each, and cost $45 or so for the set of 4.
On to the pics...
Inside of the box, showing side cleats for supporting the sides.
Close up of the cleats.
2 steel rails to support the sides of the bottom of the box.
Bottom view of box showing both steel rails installed.
View of support rail with leveler leg installed.
Notice the corners of the box are cut at 45* angles to allow for sliding it under the lathe. Also shows all thread supporting bottom of box, and how the box itself is actually bolted to the rails as well.
Completed box, installed, with lid on it. I haven't painted it yet, because it's been raining for a week here.
It was a major PITA, because I had to engineer something for some machinery that was never designed to have this accessory on it to begin with.
It is built from 1/2" OSB, with steel reinforcement bars running along a double thickness bottom.
It is supported solely by the angle iron, and extra support was added in the form of all thread rod running from the support bars to the steel rails on the box bottom.
The box itself is also bolted to the side rails for added support.
It doesn't sit on the floor, it's actually hanging there so it can sway to absorb energy from the lathe.
It is built to contain 300 lbs of sand, and might hold more.
The finished size is 48" L X 14" H X 9" W.
Here's some pics of it being constructed, and the finished product.
You might notice I added adjustable leveling feet to my lathe before adding the box. Now, I can level the lathe, no matter how bad the floor is.
I got the feet from McMaster Carr, they support 300 lbs. each, and cost $45 or so for the set of 4.
On to the pics...
Inside of the box, showing side cleats for supporting the sides.
Close up of the cleats.
2 steel rails to support the sides of the bottom of the box.
Bottom view of box showing both steel rails installed.
View of support rail with leveler leg installed.
Notice the corners of the box are cut at 45* angles to allow for sliding it under the lathe. Also shows all thread supporting bottom of box, and how the box itself is actually bolted to the rails as well.
Completed box, installed, with lid on it. I haven't painted it yet, because it's been raining for a week here.
