I am facing an indefinite period of non-weight bearing activity and am thinking of getting a wheeled height-adjustable drafting stool for lathe work. Has anyone tried this, or do you have any other suggestions? A wheelchair is too low and I am not ready to invest in another lathe at this point.
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stool for seated turning
- Thread starter Kevin Jenness
- Start date
Kevin, there are several threads related to seated turning on the Woodturning Health and Safety section of the forum. I'm pretty sure "what kind of seat do you use?" has been covered at least once.
I use a bench mounted midi lathe and have a drafting stool from a previous life. It works for non critical work,(roughing) but not detail work. As I have a weak back I can use it for some work but then I have to stand and move with the tool.
Due to the bench I cannot get to close with the stool. Don't know the lathe you have.
It may work better for spindle work rather then bowels or hollow forms.
Stu
Due to the bench I cannot get to close with the stool. Don't know the lathe you have.
It may work better for spindle work rather then bowels or hollow forms.
Stu
Thanks for the replies. The recent thread on seated turning led me to this article I can't stand turning. I wonder if anyone here has built a perch bench as shown in photo 3. I think a wheeled drafting stool would be disabled (heh) by chips on the floor, and this might better allow side to side movement. I am thinking about building a stepped platform with such a bench to make it easier to hop up on it. (My spindle height is about 46") Thoughts?
That's a great article. I've found if you're going to switch to seated turning you need to accept the fact you have to change a lot of things, not just slide a stool up to your traditional lathe. Spindle height is a big issue, no more swinging the hips rather mostly arm movements to control gouges. One continuous cut may be impossible depending on your limitations. You simply have to make the necessary adjustments and do the best you can. Getting your legs under the lathe is really important too. Reaching too far from your body is tiresome and hard on the shoulders. The last thing you want is to make new problems for your body. Lastly I've found smaller items work best and as has been suggested spindle work may be easier as it requires less gouge movement and no reaching to get down inside a bowl or hollow form. Just some of my personal observations.
I just took a brief glance at the article you linked, but it seems to me that a perch seat still has you doing some weight bearing.
To Dave Fritz's point you might want to take a quick look at this thread I posted in using an articulated arm as a turning aid.
www.aawforum.org
Standoff Arm for Hollowing Rig
A few years ago I bought an articulated arm hollowing rig. While using it for that particular hollow form project I was struck by how versatile it could be for other aspects of turning. For tools that are held level such as NRS and carbide scrapers (or even Hunter style carbide tools) the rig...
Mark, thanks for that. I do have a home-made articulating hollowing rig that I could use if necessary, and the standoff arm seems a good idea to extend its use. I will just have to see how things go. I agree that larger work will be more difficult if seated. I have been meaning to make some small turned boxes so I guess now is an opportune time.
The perch seat shown appears to have an angle adjustment for the seat, so that one could put all the weight on it.
I posted on the local Front Porch Forum for a loan of crutches and got an offer to borrow one of these iwalk. Worth a try.
The perch seat shown appears to have an angle adjustment for the seat, so that one could put all the weight on it.
I posted on the local Front Porch Forum for a loan of crutches and got an offer to borrow one of these iwalk. Worth a try.
Kevin, having been through several bouts of non-weight bearing, I highly recommend an IWalk (
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWRXPV_BlvM
. It does take a little getting used to but having your hands free while gaining mobility is wonderful. One note of warning though; be careful turning around as your foot swings a wide arc behind you.
. It does take a little getting used to but having your hands free while gaining mobility is wonderful. One note of warning though; be careful turning around as your foot swings a wide arc behind you.
Phil,
I just strapped on my borrowed pirate leg and staggered around a bit. It is going to take some getting used to but shows a lot of promise. Thanks!
Have you spent considerable time turning with this item or did you use some type of seat?
I just strapped on my borrowed pirate leg and staggered around a bit. It is going to take some getting used to but shows a lot of promise. Thanks!
Have you spent considerable time turning with this item or did you use some type of seat?
A couple of thoughts:
Perhaps a marine-style leaning post arrangement of some sort would work as a compromise solution? They do take weight and strain off and can be supplemented with knee/back braces, of course.
A second option would be a weaver's bench. A lot of models are height-adjustable, allow for seat tilt (fixed or floating), and you can move side-to-side.
Perhaps a marine-style leaning post arrangement of some sort would work as a compromise solution? They do take weight and strain off and can be supplemented with knee/back braces, of course.
A second option would be a weaver's bench. A lot of models are height-adjustable, allow for seat tilt (fixed or floating), and you can move side-to-side.
Kevin, I used it all the time when I was turning. I found that the thing you want is always out of reach from my perch on the stool. Hopping around on a floor covered with shavings is really a bad idea! The only problem I had was the aforementioned turning radius of leg stuck out the back. I can't tell you how many time I whacked my foot just turning slightly while reaching for something.