The problem with fixing one problem in the shop, is that the solution to the perceived problem leads to the discovery of another unrecognized problem. The completion of the Carlisle Lynch long-bed lathe solved one problem, my long time reliance on an old Sears lathe. The Sears lathe did yeoman work for me, cranking out turned parts for over thirty years. I have used that lathe to make something over 500 chairs. And, the old lathe still has years of life left. The problem was/is an internal head-space one. Sears just says 'hobbiest'  to me, not 'professional.'  The other eye-sore was the original steve-built 2x4 bench holding the lathe. Again, that bench was the best I could build thirty-four years ago, but hasn't been something I would want to show off for a long time. Now that the new long-bed lathe is holding pride of place along the front wall of the shop, I am confronted by my jury-rigged lathe tool storage system, with the tools set on one of the window ledges behind the lathe. That has suddenly come into focus as both unsightly, and unsafe. Leaning over a long turning spinning in the lathe to grab another tool.....Hmmmmm!  I could make another wall-hung tool box and place it behind the lathe. But that runs into the safety concern I just voiced in the previous sentence, and since I have over a hundred sample turnings already hanging on the wall behind the lathe, no space to hang a new tool box without having to find another home for a lot of turnings.

So now I am working up drawings for a simple, rolling tool cabinet that I can set either to my left or right, but will stand in front of the lathe as I work. Then there is that stupid word again, simple. I have a history of over complicating things. As always the fun stuff has a way of intruding on the paying work. The box I have in mind will look a lot like the saw-box I built last year. It will sit on a base similiar to the one I made for the out-feed table for the jointer. Pictures of both can be found by scrolling back through this blog. Thanks for stopping by. STB