Sitting Down At The Lathe

When doing long tedious operations on any machine I sit on a stool, just make sure your left knee clears the carriage handwheel. Keeps me from constantly stepping on chips, which drives me nuts after ten minutes.
 
Thanks everyone. All very helpful and encouraging information. My lathe is the typical imported 12x36 and the stand is "hollow" between the posts similiar to the pic posted above. If others can do it, SO CAN I !
 
I spent several years in a wheelchair and need crutches to stand. It was difficult running a lathe this way, but not impossible. Through technology and good doctors, I can now get out of the wheelchair and need it only for long tasks or long walks. I still need crutches or a walker at times, but get around the house pretty well on my own. I sit on a stool most of the time now in my shop. I first thought it impossible to machine from a chair, but ingenuity will win out. It can be done.
 
Boy, I have wanted to sit on several occasions, but I'm not comfortable doing this on the lathe. A low end (costco) fatigue mat helps the lower back and knees. I plan on spending on better quality mats in the future.
I will say this, if I had no choice, I would train myself to be seated to run the lathe rather than give up.

Paco
 
When I'm taking long winded cuts, I have a stool I sort of sit on to rest my bad legs a little.
 
I got thinking today. I think my problem is finding a chair that would work at both the lathe and mill. Used office chairs are cheap enough so I think I'll get two eventually. I think a chair for the mill would be good if it was tall and if it had no arms and allowed me to get a leg on either side of the mill. A chair for the lathe will have to be shorter and maybe narrower to fit between the stands uprights. My fear is that the chair could slide out from under me when I lean causing me to stick my face in the wrong place.. Maybe some steel plate down low and wheels that don't roll as easily would help to make me feel more stable. For now I'm not too bad imo so a stool and stall mat (heavy rubber) should help and also be large enough to roll around on when a chair is needed, without dropping off an edge. Sounds like a plan. Thanks again.
 
A lathe really requires you to be able to look over the top and straight down onto the work.
The two pedestal machine pictured above is not designed for sitting, it just has cabinets to replace the legs. A lathe intended for sitting at will be very low to the ground, or be a table top machine like a mini-lathe or jewelers/watchmakers lathe. If you watch someone use a watchmakers lathe, they work with the spindle below the sternum when sitting, they either have no cross slide at all and are used like a wood lathe, or have very small wheels on the carriage.

I would not operate an engine lathe sitting unless I had some really compelling reason (like being wheel chair bound). The wheel can do serious injury and pull you inexorably into the work and you might not be able to reach the emergency stop when sitting.
If you are really committed to sitting, I would pull the speed handles off the carriage and mount a camera linked to a tablet over the work. I am sure there are plenty of sensible things that out wheel chair bound brethren do that could make this safe and fun.

Honestly, if you can stand, you should stand to get things going, then sit to one side on a tall stool. Stools give you a place to rest, occupy minimal floor space, require less effort to stand up from, and work as a mini work surface in a pinch.
 
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