He made the top out of what?

Yup, ya done did good.
I’m sooo glad you didn’t need my help….
Mixing concrete & placing the lathe into position!!!

When will we see the video of you working at the metal eating behemoth???

To improve your concrete floating skills….
Kitchen counter tops come to mind!!!

-- Randy-- I may not be good...but I am slow! If good things come to those who wait.... Why is procrastination a bad thing?

To improve your concrete floating skills….
Kitchen counter tops come to mind!!!
- DIYaholic

Ack! Don’t even go there :^o

-- Matt -- I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam

Very nice work
Nice lathe too bud

-- https://photos.google.com/b/114897950873317692653/

Very cool indeed.

This site and the things you guys do never ceases to amaze me! Good job. I never would have thought of that.

-- Campzeke, Tampa, FL

Now that’s a stout base

-- Larry in Hawaii,

Impressive work, great idea. To think some friends have seen my work in person and commented that I overbuild things!

LOL

-- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way.

It took a small cost for the cement, and yielded a great result. The thing to think about is the utility of the machine now that it has the basis it needs. I’ve set and leveled machinery, and the initial investment in time and labor pays dividends from that time forward.

-- Steven.......Random Orbital Nailer

Very unique and cool! I definitely like what you’ve done here.

-- John C. -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." George Washington

Gravitas!!!! You Sir , have it!!!!

-- "Not skilled enough to wipe jam on toast!"

Give a problem to a Sailor, and get out of his way, be impressed by his solution.

-- "Not skilled enough to wipe jam on toast!"

I must say I am impressed. I really like the application of concrete here, and you did a great job on execution. congrats on the new toy!

-- "Some get spiritual 'cause they see the light, and some 'cause they feel the heat." --Ray Wiley Hubbard

Nice base!
What are the pipe nipples for? In one pic it appears you’re leaving them exposed, but in the smoothed top pic they’re gone. At first I thought maybe you were going to run power thru them?

-- Perform A Random Act Of Kindness Today ... Pay It Forward

Matt, I don’t know if this tip would work for you but, to dampen vibration on a delta scroll saw, I made hockey pucks from 1” thick rubber floor matting. I cut them out with a hole saw and the resulting hole in the middle was perfect to bolt the machine down with. They really did the trick.
Of course, you would have better access than I to real Hockey pucks.

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

What are the pipe nipples for? – JoeinGa

The lathe has two mounting bolts, with matching holes in the drip pan. Though I have a hammer drill I hate the mess of drilling concrete and I don’t have a 1/2” bit. So the pipes serve as forms for bolt holes, and also add strength to the concrete pad at that location (though with 4,000# mix they’re hardly required). By mounting the pipes in the threaded flanges, I could keep them plumb and screw them in or out to make them flush. During the skim coat, I plugged the pipes with paper towel wads and leveled right over the top. Then after the concrete set, I poked that through.

I bolted the lathe down with 1/2” carriage bolts last night… went as tight as I dared, without stripping them.

I tallied up the cost and it was ~$75 (I had 1×10 in my scrap bin), with the most expensive component being a sheet of 3/4” CDX, which I still have half left.

I thought about painting the concrete, but opportunity knocked to have a friend (stoutly built guy in his later 20s) help me huff the lathe off the dolly up onto the bench, so I skipped the paint. I’ve dripped oil on the concrete already and yup… I wish I had painted it… but then again…. I’m not overly concerned with its appearance.

It was fun to build and I’m just glad it wasn’t a total bust.

-- Matt -- I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam