Bench hight

[Mathurin]

Hi! I have an Craftsman metal lathe 21.400, what is the best high for the bench. i am 5' 10''

Thanks

 

[Dave Paine]

Cross one hand to the other shoulder. The height of your elbow in the crossed hand is a good starting point for the height of the spindle centreline. Then subtract spindle to pan dimension.

Some folks may prefer higher, some may prefer lower.

 

[ch2co]

Cool, interesting measurement trick. My preference is for about 3" higher for my little 10" lathe.

 

[Rooster]

With your arm bent at ninety degree's, the cross slide screw should be at the under-side of your elbow.

 

[kvt]

Mine, I made where my arm is right at 90 degrees on the handle for the cross slide. Seems to work good for me. Higher my shoulders would cause problems. Also, if you have any medical like bad back, neck, etc take things like that into consideration and make it to fit you.

 

[Mathurin]

Thanks to all of you for the informations

 

[matthew-s]

Mine, I made where my arm is right at 90 degrees on the handle for the cross slide. Seems to work good for me. Higher my shoulders would cause problems. Also, if you have any medical like bad back, neck, etc take things like that into consideration and make it to fit you.

This is how I did it.

 

[mikey]

I prefer the lathe at a height that puts my forearm straight when my hand is on the saddle hand wheel. Quite often, you will feed manually and will need to keep a continuous feed on the saddle hand wheel by alternating hands so this works for me. It is also easier for me to get over the hand wheels and see the index marks but this is moot if you have a DRO.