Sitting at the Lathe

[sooty]

Hi
Another problem this time its not the lathe or wood blanks Its me

I find that standing at the lathe all day extremely tiring so much so that the next day I have to stop myself from using the lathe and potter about doing other jobs.

I usually work for about 1/2 hour on lathe then sit and have 10 mins respite, I find the most tiring part of all is hanging over the lathe bed trying to hollow the insides of the workpiece, at such an awkward angle to work at (being tall I have to bend really low to see inside the workpiece) and the amount of concentration needed I find this part the most tiring of all.

When it comes to sanding and final finishing its OK I do all this sat on a stool which is much much easier.

I have been thinking seriously about lowering the lathe so I can do all operations from the sitting position.

Have you heard of anyone using a lathe this way?
Are their any safety aspects I should consider?

I would love to hear your opinions of working at the lathe from a sitting position (good or bad )

Phil

 

[Johnboy]

Hi Phil, how high is your lathe? I raised mine so the centre of the chuck is at elbow height. I find this comfortable standing up. Never thought about turning siting down. Might be OK for bowls but I think it would limit your movement for long spindle work.

John

 

[jasonB]

Sitting may be OK for small items but I like to get the handle of a gauge ud against my body for extra support when turning large irregular work or to counteract the tool overhang when deep hollowing.

Thats the good thing about having a lathe with a swiveling headstock, you can rotate it 20 degrees or so making it easier when deep hollowing, you are then also standing in a more rigid position so can control the tool better.

Jason

 

[sooty]

Hi Phil, how high is your lathe? I raised mine so the centre of the chuck is at elbow height. I find this comfortable standing up. Never thought about turning siting down. Might be OK for bowls but I think it would limit your movement for long spindle work.

John

Hi john
I raised my lathe 6" when I first got it as I found it quite low, at the moment I have only ever thought of turning bowls the only spindle work I have done is to make a couple of chisel handles which are quite short so no problem

JasonB
The head on my lathe does turn but I think it only rotates in 45deg steps

 

[Argee]

I find that standing at the lathe all day extremely tiring so much so that the next day I have to stop myself from using the lathe and potter about doing other jobs.

Is working at your lathe generally tiring (aside from the concentration), or does it affect specific parts, e.g. legs or back? I've found that now I stand on a set of anti-fatigue mats, I'm much less affected. I should add that I'm also retired and have just turned (no pun!) 61.

I usually work for about 1/2 hour on lathe then sit and have 10 mins respite, I find the most tiring part of all is hanging over the lathe bed trying to hollow the insides of the workpiece, at such an awkward angle to work at (being tall I have to bend really low to see inside the workpiece) and the amount of concentration needed I find this part the most tiring of all.

I'd say that there will, inevitably, be some bending, as (as said by Johnboy) the ideal is to have the turning centre at elbow height. Being above that height will give you the best choice of movement with the tools and I'd suspect that such movement would be quite severely restricted if you were sat down. Also, the ability to support the tool against your body (as mentioned by JasonB) would practically disappear - an advantage I wouldn't want to give up.

When it comes to sanding and final finishing its OK I do all this sat on a stool which is much much easier.

Fair enough, as sanding can be done from one position quite easily, as can most spindle work. However, this is probably because of the much lesser need to access the work from the sort of angles you need to when turning.

I have been thinking seriously about lowering the lathe so I can do all operations from the sitting position. Have you heard of anyone using a lathe this way? Are their any safety aspects I should consider?
I would love to hear your opinions of working at the lathe from a sitting position (good or bad )

I know of one or two turners who work on their lathes from a wheelchair and do so successfully. This may not be a good analogy, however, I just mention it to point out that it's far from impossible to work sitting down.

I would not want to do it, for a variety of reasons. I think it may put you in a more awkward position when working at the outer range of tool movement, which could compromise safety to a degree. Where would your legs be - if they're beneath the lathe bed, this may restrict your movement in the event you had to "abandon ship" in a hurry if a piece became suddenly unstable.

I would rather leave the lathe at your elbow height and make a tall stool that I could perch on frequently, as a rest from standing, rather than try to use it to turn from. If the most tiring task is "hanging over the lathe bed trying to hollow the insides," I can't see how you would improve (or even replicate) your access to, or view inside, the piece, if sitting down.

Ray

 

[Russell]

Tony Wilson is a turner who turns from a wheel chair on specially lowered lathes. On full height lathes he uses a bench seat with a sliding mechanism to allow lateral movement . This slide can be locked to prevent it moving accidentally.

I also have a customer who has adapted an office chair which he scoots around his workshop. He just made it high enough to reach his lathe.

I am quite tall and suffered back ache at first when I started turning, I found by raising my lathe about 4 inches made all the difference.

What lathe are you using, some lathes such as graduates have a lower centre height than most lathes often because they came out of school workshops.

 

[PowerTool]

I've found that now I stand on a set of anti-fatigue mats, I'm much less affected.

Same here - my workshop is concrete-floored,and the mats make it a lot more comfortable.

Andrew

 

[sooty]

Thanks for all your answers.
After giving the matter some more thought I realise that I would be restricting my range of movement somewhat!

The lathe I have just bought is the Perform CCL its a very nice lathe and I am very happy with it but it seems to have been designed for midgets (I am 6'3" so I tend to think average height is 6' or over) when I first assembled the lathe I noticed how low it was and phoned my friend who has one of the large JET Lathes and asked him to measure the height from the floor to the centre spindle then raised mine to the same height.

Since reading some of the answers in this thread I have decided to raise the centre spindle to elbow height and I spent most of Saturday making a purpose made bed for the lathe to sit on (instead of having bricks under the legs) I made the bed 7" high and have bolted the legs to the base with M10 Coach Screws I also intend to fit some wooden strengtheners around the frame as the legs being sheet steel are quite flimsy and should have the job finished by Sunday I will let you know if it is any improvement or not

Argee wrote:

Is working at your lathe generally tiring (aside from the concentration), or does it affect specific parts, e.g. legs or back? I've found that now I stand on a set of anti-fatigue mats, I'm much less affected. I should add that I'm also retired and have just turned (no pun!) 61.

I too are of a similar age 62 and retired, I originally took up woodworking (which I find really addictive wish I had started 40 years ago) to exercise my arms as I am just getting over two Frozen Shoulders and have been told I may never get 100 percent movement back in them, I have got about 80 percent movement back at the moment and find woodworking a great help, so it affects my arms mainly but also legs and back to a lesser degree.

What is an anti fatigue mat? I have never heard of this and where would I obtain one from?

Phil

 

[Alf]

What is an anti fatigue mat? I have never heard of this and where would I obtain one from?

Here's one source.

Cheers, Alf

 

[paulm]

Can also get them from Costco if you have one handy, about the same price but I think you get more per pack, though not 100% sure.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Taffy Turner]

What is an anti fatigue mat? I have never heard of this and where would I obtain one from?

Here's one source.

Cheers, Alf

I have covered my entire workshop floor with those. Since doing so I have found that the shop is warmer, my feet, legs and back don't ache half as much at the end of a long day, and if you happen to drop one of your expensive toys, they bounce rather that breaking!

Well worth the money in my humble opinion!

Regards

Gary

 

[wheelie]

Hi,

I sit at the lathe all the time, due to the fact that im in a wheelchair, its very awkard somtimes, but i get by,

the worst thing about it is the build up of shavings on your lap

 

[DaveL]

Hi Wheelie,

Welcome to the forum.

 

[twister]

Hi sooty,
glad you're getting this sorted. I noticed earlier in the topic that you said

The head on my lathe does turn but I think it only rotates in 45deg steps

.
I don't have this lathe, but looking at the description in Axminster it says

The headstock can be swivelled and locked in position to allow bowls to be turned in front of the lathe; the 45° and 90° positions are indexed for ease of selection.

I also think that having a high stool to "rest" on would be a good idea. you could also sit on the stool while sanding & finishing.

Twister