Sitting Down At The Lathe

[gheumann]

I had knee surgery earlier this year and operated my lathe sitting down during recovery. Google "drafting chair" - basically an office chair on wheels but higher than a desk chair. A desk chair would have been way too low. Worked for me.

 

[flightace]

I use a stand chair or leaning chair as they allso are called at bothe lathework and att the millingmachine,here in sweden thats often standard in machiningfactorys like volvo powertrain and saab Aerospace for example,so if its allowed i comercial fabrication to sitt down i cant see why we hobbyist could not.
You can do your own by taking a office chair with telescopic undercarrige and cut of the seat brackets saving the adjust paddles,then weld on a pice of suitable length of steel tubing and mount a bicyclesadle on top to sit on.

 

[Jim Petridis]

I hope this is the right section to post this. I'm going to need to sit down at the lathe sometimes. I will need to sit down more as time goes on. I really don't want to wait until I need help and I'd like to get ready for the future now while I'm able. Does anyone else here sit down while running the lathe? Is it more dangerous? Any hints or ideas that will make things safer and easier? My son will use the lathe also so I'd rather me be uncomfortable rather than him, so I can't really modify it too much. It will be his one day. He is the main reason I got a lathe and mill. So we can be together as much as possible with a common interest . Thanks

Hello there, I too have a stool and a chair, and I seem to use more now that I am geting on. Of course there would times that you won't be able to use them, it all depends what you are machining. Good luck. Jim P

 

[jayman]

I hope this is the right section to post this. I'm going to need to sit down at the lathe sometimes. I will need to sit down more as time goes on. I really don't want to wait until I need help and I'd like to get ready for the future now while I'm able. Does anyone else here sit down while running the lathe? Is it more dangerous? Any hints or ideas that will make things safer and easier? My son will use the lathe also so I'd rather me be uncomfortable rather than him, so I can't really modify it too much. It will be his one day. He is the main reason I got a lathe and mill. So we can be together as much as possible with a common interest . Thanks

I often sit at my lathe and mill. The machine tools are located on benches at a convenient standing height. I purchased a stool with lever-adjustable height at Staples. It uses a pneumatic/hydraulic strut spring loaded to rise to maximum height when the seat is empty and the lever is pulled upward. To adjust my sitting height, I sit on the seat with my feet on the floor, pull the lever upward, raise myself to the height I want, and release the lever. Easy peasy.

 

[RJSakowski]

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.

Take a look at lab chairs/stools. They are made to be able to work at 36" high lab benches and adjustable downward. The newer ones have the pneumatic adjusters and are as comfortable as office chairs. They also can come with a footrest. The startup company that I was involved with got a number of them from a used office furniture store at a veery reasonable cost.

Bob

 

[mainspring]

Gents, I lean against the bench during long cuts, but I've been standing at machines for 50 years!
I like dense rubber mats on the floor for relief. I tend to trip over stools.

 

[benmychree]

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.

 

[benmychree]

What I have not seen thus far in this discourse is the use of a back bench, where in addition to storing tools and accessories for the lathe, one can prop up one's rear end on the bench, or at least partially, to ease the strain on your legs; In the shop where I apprenticed some 50 years ago, all the lathes in the shop (8) had back benches for storage and also with room for the three shift's machinist's tool boxes. If one had a long cut, one could prop up or sit on the bench. In my home shop, I made small cabinets about 24" long and 16" deep and placed them opposite some of the machines; they had double doors under to exclude chips and dirt and a drawer under the bench top for precision tools and small accessories used on that particular machine and a rack on the back of the lathe bench to store the Aloris holders vertically so that one can see easily which holder has a particular tool in it, and hooks for wrenches and a wooden block with holes drilled into it for such as drill chucks, etc. To my way of thinking and experience seem always to be in one's way; an obstacle to navigation.

 

[BigSpike]

I have a bad back & use a drafting chair at both my mill & lathe; as well as my workbench. I built a low base (24"high) for the lathe to allow for being seated on this stool/chair. The minimum height of the seat (which is the elevation I use) is about 20~21".
One safety issue is in regards to the casters. They are designed for short nap commercial carpet and can be dangerous on smooth floors like linoleum or smooth concrete. It is recommended that you replace them with rubber casters designed for smooth floors to prevent the chair from running away from you when you attempt to sit down. My shop floor is not smooth so I have not had to do this.
By resting one foot on the floor or something, you can push back away from the machine quickly if needed. I also sit to the right of the tooling at the lathe so hot chips or spinning ribbons are not aimed at me.
The suggestion to wear an apron is a good one too. Not that I would ever run the equipment in shorts & mocs. Nope that's my story & I'm stickin to it!

 

[stevemetsch]

Consider a leaning type bench like a weaving loom.
Woodworkers Journal of June 2014 had an article by Ernie Conover describing it. Plans are included.
It allows you to slide along to follow the tooling and get high enough to see your work directly. I can email you a copy if you like, but I cannot post it.
Your Public Library may be able to get you the magazine.
Steve Metsch in very dry Santa Barbara