Lathe Height and Courses

[wizer]

Hi Guys

Well I don't think I am going to be able to resist the gravitational pull of spinney things for much longer. I have a wedding to pay for and then I'll be saving my pennies for a lathe. I wondered if there is a rule of thumb when mounting a lathe on a bed? I'm quite tall and have set my workbench quite high, so I think I'd want the lathe higher also. Eventually I may have to modify it so I can sit and turn, but hopefully that won't happen for a while. Any comments?

Also I have been looking at the turning course on the Stiles and Bates website. Seems quite reasonable for 2 days turning. Anyone been on this course or recommend an alternative. The good thing about the S&B course is it's only an hour's drive (Dover).

Cheers

 

[Doug B]

Tom.
Join a local club, I did a course when i first started & it was good, but i`ve learnt far more for free from the members of the local club.
The one i attend have hands on evenings, where they get lathes out & your free to try out different things, & as a novice the old boys like to show you how it`s done. :lol:
Also i would think you have enough friends on this site that would be only to pleased to show you ropes. I`ve found if you turn up with a few blanks as payment a very pleasant afternoon of learning can be had turning in friendly company.
Good luck with your turning & the wedding.

 

[TEP]

Hi Wizer.

The rule of thumb on lathe height is to have the spindle centre level with you elbow when standing upright with your arm hanging down and bent at 90deg. I prefer it to be a little higher than that.

So set it up on some blocks and try it out, before you fix it down. As with all things woodturning set it for your own comfort, your the one working there.

 

[wizer]

James: Allen and John.B have been very kind in introducing me to the lathe incline. However, I don't want to push me luck! I'm also nervous about damaging Allen's tools, he hasn't got many!

I did a quick google for turning clubs and couldn't find anything local. Tho sometimes these things haven't reach t'internet yet. I could join Allen and John's local, but that's a bit of a trek for me.

TEP: that sounds logical. My workbench is at elbow height so I'd have to build a bench lower than that. I was thinking of a large rolling cabinet. Perhaps like this:

 

[Deejay]

Hello Wizer

I mounted my lathe as TEP suggests with the centre of the spindle at elbow height and it seems OK.

The lathe is a Record DML with double round bars on the bed. The tailstock is clamped with a Bristol lever under the bars.

I made my own bench and there is one improvement I'd make if I did it again. I'd make the surface of the bench lower and pack the lathe with taller blocks. This gives you a bit more space above the bench to put stuff without the Bristol lever hitting it when you slide the tailstock up and down the bed.

Just a thought.

Cheers

Dave

 

[PowerTool]

I'm also nervous about damaging Allen's tools, he hasn't got many!

:^o :^o :^o :lol:


I find lathe centre height at 2 or 3 inches above elbow height more comfortable.
As Tam said,practice with blocks first,or if this is not possible,go for slightly higher than elbow height - it's easier to make a duckboard to stand on than to dig the workshop floor out..

Andrew

 

[Argee]

I was thinking of a large rolling cabinet.

Unless this is an absolute must, I'd avoid it.

Depending upon the size of the lathe and the piece mounted on it, you could be the first mobile turner here, chasing the lathe all around the floor!

Ray.

 

[wizer]

Well I'm torn between putting it in an already cluttered workshop or housing it in it's own 'Turning Shed' down the bottom of the garden. If it goes in the shed then it will rule out turning in the winter as I can't afford to properly insulate and heat it (and I'm a winter wimp). If it goes in the workshop then it, idealy, needs to be on a wheeled base to move it out of the way. I do see what you mean about vibration and machine dancing. I'd have to weigh it down considerably and have a good brake.

 

[bigjoe]

Could you not make a base that you can lift on wheels and then drop onto feet to work using a foot pedal (maybe a toe jack of some sort?)

Joe

 

[wizer]

yep, there is the design that Norm uses which jacks the whole thing up when the wheels are not needed. Still, that's a long way off yet.

 

[Happy amateur]

Wizer

There are at least two woodturning clubs in Kent

AWGB KENT BRANCH
Secretary: David Cheeseman, Kent,
Telephone: 01622 880615

E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: www.geocities.com/kent_awgb
Meetings: 1st Tuesday evening and 3rd Saturday all day of each month

Venue: The Brocard Room (next to the Pottery) The Friars, Aylesford, Nr. Maidstone, Kent

AND

Orchard woodturners who meet in the Village Hall Milstead Sittingbourne

Website www.orchard-woodturners.org.uk

Fred

 

[wizer]

Thanks for that Fred. Once I am up and running I will look into which one is best. They're both about an hour from me by car so certainly not local.

 

[Vulthoom]

I would agree about the wheels - my lathe is mounted on a piece of heavy 3 inch thick x 6 foot worktop bolted to a solid wood drawer cabinet flat on the floor with a hundred pounds of gravel for stability and it still dances around a bit when I turn something well off-centre....

 

[Jenx]

Hey Tom ! ...
If you can 'warrant & justify' doing so .. keeping it in its own 'bespoke' turning shed may be good .... a lathe can generate mess on a scale all of its own by comparison.

Its handy to be near your bandsaw / pillar drill / other machines though.. but by gawd, it can make a mess !

On the subject of 'winter' ...
I am in the Northeast of Scotland, and turn in a single-breezeblock un-insulated, corrugated-sheet roofed garage throughout the winter...
Just stick a 2Kw oil-filled radiator at the side of me, and put on a thick jersey.
Now -- I do appreciate that we are a much hardier breed than you shandy-drinking southerners ( :lol: :lol: ) but its definately not a problem, and I never feel cold or uncomfortable...
Sure it'd be great to have a top-notch insulated all-singing & dancing workshop.... but thats not going to happen in any great hurry....
So i thought I'd let you know, its enough of a physical activity to stave off the cold and not be inhibitive in any discernable way at all.
.. get the missus to keep a regular supply of tea coming, and you'll be all set !
Good luck in getting started ... keep us up to speed on your progress
8)

 

[wizer]

Now -- I do appreciate that we are a much hardier breed than you shandy-drinking southerners

I don't even drink Lemonade! Seriously, I freely admit to being a wimp, I have a strange aversion to the cold. Even my plumbed in brick-built attatched garage/workshop is too cold to work in atm. :lol: One day I will convince the missus that we should move to Oz.

 

[John. B]

Yup. I can attest to that, I've never seen anyone drink so much water ccasion5: ccasion5: ccasion5:.

John. B

 

[Jenx]

Know the feeling
I'm not allowed to drink anymore now
Anytime I'm out - its 'drown in a lake of diet coke' nowadays :lol:

 

[boysie39]

Wizer about the height thing, Iam not as supple as I used to be Hips are one of the Problems, I used the elbow height system for a while but still suffered. I have now raised the lathe to where I can rest my elbow on the chuck ,and it suits me fine .(less Pain) It doesnt make the turning any better but it gives me a few more hours making waste,
REgards Boysie

 

[wizer]

cheers boysie. I think it's going to depend on the lathe a bit. If I was to go for an old graduate or something like Allens Woodfast, then I don't think they can be bench mounted? So I'd have to think of a way to jack it up from the legs but still be solid/bolted to the floor.

 

[Bodrighy]

Wizer about the height thing, Iam not as supple as I used to be Hips are one of the Problems, I used the elbow height system for a while but still suffered. I have now raised the lathe to where I can rest my elbow on the chuck ,and it suits me fine .(less Pain) It doesnt make the turning any better but it gives me a few more hours making waste,
REgards Boysie

I presume you don't do that whilst turning or you will be looking for a new one of those as well :lol:

Pete