Lathey Station
Some tools in the workshop are all about speed and chaos, but the Lathey Station is the opposite. This metal lathe is where the pace slows down. The name is a play on both the tool and the feeling of getting lost in the slow, deliberate rhythm of turning metal. It's a place for patience and perfection, where a raw piece of stock is methodically transformed into a perfectly precise part.
The Lathey Station is a place of absolute focus. Unlike other tools, where sparks fly and things happen in a blink, this is a slow, methodical process. You can lose yourself for hours, shaving away a little bit of material at a time, watching as a raw piece of metal slowly takes shape. It’s where you can turn a mundane bolt or a scrap piece of steel into something flawless and functional, all with the hum and gentle thud of the machine. It's where the creative chaos comes to rest, and the perfectionist in me takes over.
May 12, 2013
Just like so many other projects, the photos of this station's construction are lost to the digital void. The plan was brilliant, though—the side panel was designed to be removable for easy tool maintenance and expansion down the road. It was a forward-thinking idea for a workshop that was always growing. Of course, as you'll see, that brilliant idea never actually came to light.
November 21, 2018
Five years later and, as you can see, not a whole lot has changed. The main difference is that I just cleared off the clutter and took a picture of a nice, clean station.
July 21, 2020
Pretty much another two years passed. Over those years, this station has been cluttered and decluttered more times than I can even imagine, let alone remember. It's a cycle of chaos and brief moments of sanity that seems to be a permanent part of the workshop's story.
Oct 29-31, 2021
The Lathe Station is a mess yet again, but over the years, it’s definitely earned enough XP to level up a bit. It got a nicer top, some color, and a major functional upgrade: a recessed back that lets the toolbox sit all the way against the wall and still open the top lid. That’s a pure, satisfying XP gain in workshop efficiency.
