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Post by sachbvn on Jan 9, 2010 19:07:29 GMT -6
Spent about 5 hours hunched over the lathe today - I'm 6'2" - anyone else get a sore back after working for a while??
Zac
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Post by sdb777 on Jan 9, 2010 19:24:46 GMT -6
Wish you'd build your self a stool to sit on.
I suffer from some kind of weird nerve problem. My right leg will get in a certain position and my toes will go completely numb. Now this numbness can occur if I'm sitting or standing, but mostly when standing. It's been getting better, but now the cold weather is really affecting me....this afternoon at work I couldn't feel anything from the kneecap down.
The doc I went to see said something about spurs on my hip and the arch of my back is trying to straighten. He gave me some inflamatory and muscle spasm meds, which don't do anything....
Guess what I'm trying to say.....take care of yourself, or you'll end up feeling every little thing later on. Seem to remember my dad saying the same thing when he caught me jumping out of trees(maybe that has something to do with my current problem?)
Scott (hope you feel better) B
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Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
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Post by Doug B on Jan 9, 2010 20:23:02 GMT -6
Zac! Raise your lathe up right now! Don't wait another day. I put mine up on 4x4's attached to 3/4" plywood to get a little added height and weight. And I'm only 5'9". At over 6 foot, you really need to get your lathe up higher. You have to make it comfortable or you will regret it.
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Post by TDHofstetter on Jan 9, 2010 21:43:41 GMT -6
I'm just about that height... I get a WICKED sore back about halfway washing a sinkful of dishes. At the lathe (I haven't raised mine yet 'cause sometimes I have short visitors who want to learn to turn), I find it helps a lot to put one foot up on the braces between the legs. Sometimes for a long stint at the lathe I'll drag over my shop stool from its normal spot at the metal lathe.
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Post by Ruffnek on Jan 9, 2010 22:56:33 GMT -6
You need to raise your lathe, Zac. The middle of the head stock should be roughly at your elbow when standing erect. Like Doug, I put a 4"x4" plus a 3/4" board under mine...I'm barely 6'1".
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Post by maxwellsmart007 on Jan 9, 2010 23:02:54 GMT -6
I have to hunch over mine - and I'm 6'0 too....I'm all torso, though, so when my back hurts, there's a good bunch of real estate to ache!
Andrew
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Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
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Post by Doug B on Jan 9, 2010 23:17:26 GMT -6
You youngsters quit messing around and fix your lathe height! So many ways to mess up your back, but this one is preventable.
Lathes are made in China, where the average height is probably 4'9" and they don't know any better than to make something they are comfortable working with. Plus, I'm sure they figure it is a lot easier to make the lathe higher than to make it shorter...and they are right!
Save your backs and raise those lathes gentlemen!
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Post by sachbvn on Jan 10, 2010 7:17:28 GMT -6
Alright, alright - today I will work on raising my lathe up if I have enough scraps laying around.  Zac |
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Doug B
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[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
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Post by Doug B on Jan 10, 2010 12:57:59 GMT -6
Yeah, there are not very many 4x4 "scraps" laying around most shops are there?
I got the ones I used from where I buy my lumber - the wood gets shipped with some of these big "stickers" that allow them to unload the wood with a forklift. They give them to me free for the asking if there are any laying around. They usually look pretty rough, but sometimes they have some really nice wood hiding under the surface. But they are good solid chunks of hardwood that are well suited for this kind of use.
Maybe you can find a lumber supplier near you that would have something like that.
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Joe Lyddon
WoW Member
Banned.
Sam Maloof & I Dec. 2, 2005
Posts: 2,507
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Jan 10, 2010 13:36:46 GMT -6
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Post by sachbvn on Jan 10, 2010 13:48:40 GMT -6
Joe - that's the plan, just double up a couple 2x4's!! Zac |
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Post by TDHofstetter on Jan 10, 2010 13:51:57 GMT -6
Suggestion - don't run 'em end to end like skis. Run 'em front to back. That'll give the lathe more stability.
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Post by sachbvn on Jan 10, 2010 14:01:06 GMT -6
Yeah - I was going to run them.....well.... looking at the lathe, front to back - NOT left to right.
Really not much point in putting a set in the middle is there? All the weight is put on the far left or far right where the legs will rest. Right?
Zac
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Post by TDHofstetter on Jan 10, 2010 14:08:04 GMT -6
Yep, exactly. All the weight is borne by the four feet; a center support won't add anything.
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rhull
WoW Member
Posts: 422
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Post by rhull on Jan 10, 2010 14:43:33 GMT -6
Raising your lathe is definitely easier than shortening your legs.
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Post by Ruffnek on Jan 10, 2010 14:52:20 GMT -6
Zac, I added a short 1 x 4 to each end of the 4 x 4. That gave me some additional height plus it placed the support points back at the four corners of the stand where it's more stable...especially if your floor isn't exactly level. It would look like this, looking at it from the end of the lathe:  |
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Post by TDHofstetter on Jan 10, 2010 16:49:15 GMT -6
Excellent, Cody! FEET.
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Doug B
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[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
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Post by Doug B on Jan 11, 2010 14:58:23 GMT -6
Combining 2x4's is fine, but a 4x4 piece of hardwood is much heavier than 2 pine 2x4's. I was looking for the extra weight as well as the additional height - that's also why I added the 3/4 plywood which makes a nice shelf that I store the heaviest things I can find on  |
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