Lathe Height

[procrastinator]

Using the rule of thumb for lathe height to hold your arms at your sides and bend your arm from the elbow 90 degrees, your hand should be level with the center of the spindle. In order to achieve this height I would need to raise my SS about 6 inches. Have any of the turners out there built platforms to raise their SS's? I do have a mini-lathe at that level and find it very comfortable to use.

[Old Salty]

I have found the SS too low for any in-depth turning. Over the years I managed with short term projects, but know I am beginning to turn more. I tried raising the SS but it was difficult to manage and can become a little top heavy. I upgraded to the Mark Pro a few years ago and therefore had a spare SS standard motor I made a stand for it and found this to be a real plus in my shop. Not only do I use it for lathe turning but also as an auxiliary stand, I still do a lot of flat work. The metal tubing I bought from the Metal Supermarket for $20.00. In summary it was just too much effort to raise the SS when I wanted to turn and then have it ready for my other projects.

Yes a Midi Lathe...Delta 46-460!

Old Salty
Salt Spring Island, B.C.

[2centsworth]

Have you considered the 10ER ? You can make your base any size you need. It was designed to have the end user make his or her own table. Yes there are plans available but are easily modified. IMHO it makes a darn good lathe and you can pick one up pretty cheap now days. Just a thought.

[old wood guy]

Most of us cannot afford another SS, even a 10er. A better solution is to excavate a 6 in. depression in which to stand.

[procrastinator]

Space for another lathe in my shop does not exist. I upgraded my SS to a Power Pro and would like to use some of the added features when turning. I am getting the impression that serious woodturners look at the SS as a basic lathe for an occasional turning project. I believe the height issue is a major factor if one is leaning towards devoting more time to the wood turning aspect of woodworking.

[procrastinator]

Most of us cannot afford another SS, even a 10er. A better solution is to excavate a 6 in. depression in which to stand.

I appreciate the humor in this solution, which would actually work. My belief is that if a person is going to spend any amount of time turning wood on a SS he or she needs to address the spindle height issue. A turner will experience aches and pains from bending over while turning and the quality of work will suffer because of it.

[algale]

This issue has been raised before and while no solution has been found, I encourage you to think outside the box.

In all seriousness, I encourage you to ignore the jokes (including mine) and work toward a solution and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

If I were going to do something, I would take the legs off the shopsmith and mount the headrest/base arm (or whatever they are now called on the Mark 7) directly on an adjustable height bench using the mechanism and design of the "Jack Bench" http://www.jack-bench.com/ Proportions would need to be changed, but the general idea I think would be suitable.

Good luck,

Al

[greitz]

I just put sections of 4x4 under the legs when necessary. Quick and easy. For a 6" height increase, you might want to build 6x6" (x 30" long) boxes to put under each end.

Gary

[Old Salty]

Maybe a few pictures would help

[algale]

Pretty slick! And I've never seen anyone put the tool rest in the base arm like that in order to get a better angle for bowl work.