Lathe placement

[Michael Handrinos]

Hi all. I'm getting a lathe delivered on Monday and need some advice. Do you have yours up against a wall or like a bench feel the need to be able to access the back.


Thanks


Mike

[Jamie Donaldson]

I have a lathe parallel to a wall, but open space of about 24" between to allow dust collector hood and cleaning space. Counter top space behind a lathe is not a good safety practice, tempting you to reach across the lathe, so don't even consider that space as functional for use.

[James Roberts]

+1 what Jamie said. I have mine roughly in the center of the shop and can walk around it to adjust DC hose and hood, sweep up (it happens occasionally) and have actually needed to present a tool to the wood from the back side on an occasion. It's nice to just be able to access that area in case I drop something too.

[Thomas Canfield]

It is nice to have access to the back of the lathe to clean up shavings, pick up dropped items, etc. I also recommend you consider having some shower curtins installed behind your back and at ends of lathe to drop the shavings in a control manner instead of scattering all over the shop. The shavings can be sent a long way and are hard to get out of open areas.

[Jon McElwain]

Mine is parallel to the wall and I work between the lathe and the wall. This gives me access to the back of the lathe, access to the outboard turning end of things, and allows a dedicated turning area. The area between the lathe and the wall has tools behind me, a set of metal shelves that hold all manner of turning accessories, a dedicated sharpening station, and a little bit of space for storing blanks and WIP's.

[Jim Underwood]

Well now... I'll have to consider Jon's placement... That's a new one on me. Keeps you from reaching across the lathe doesn't it?

[Greg Just]

I have mine perpendicular to the wall, with my work bench behind me. I used to have it parallel to the wall until I took a class and their lathes were perpendicular. It didn't seem as confining as up against the wall. My tools are on the wall to the left of the headstock. With that said, I think it is a personal preference and sometime is dictated by the amount of room you have. Try both ways and use the setup that make you feel the best.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I have mine set up like Jamie's... parallel and about 2 feet from the wall. Need to get back there to clean up and also to tighten wheels when using a steady rest. My tools are located to the left of the headstock and about 3 feet away - so no reaching across the lathe for anything!!

[Robert Newton]

The shower curtains work great!

[Ryan Baker]

I think it's pretty important to have some room behind the lathe if at all possible -- especially if you do hollowing (because you need room to position tools). In my shop, I don't have the option to move the whole lathe out from the wall, so mine actually sits at an angle from the wall, with the tailstock end out farther.

[Alan Trout]

I keep my lathes in the open middle of my shop for access and the ability to clean. I have mine walled off with curtains around the lath area that are hanging from the ceiling when I am really hogging on pieces to keep stuff from flying all over the shop. When not hogging stuff I move the curtains to keep a nice open feeling to my messy shop.


Alan

[James Combs]

Both of my lathes are perpendicular to the wall, one is tail-stock to the wall the other is head-stock to the wall. This allows me to work between them working alternately on either one simply by turning around. The larger has it's head-stock to the wall, my tools are on the wall to my left when working on it and of course to my right when working on the smaller of the two. Both are inside a shower curtained area. By pushing all the shower curtains to the wall I have a very open work area with ready access to the back side of either lathe for clean-up or the occasional reverse tool presentation.

[Josh Bowman]

I like mine where I can see someone coming in the door. I find that I get so caught up in things, I get startled if someone comes in behind me.

[james bell]

i roll mine to an overhead door and turn so the shavings are aimed outside - unfortunately my aim ain't quite so good, but my blower gets them outside and blows the stuff off the lathe when finished.

not sure what i am gonna do when winter comes next year - just started turning late last year and thus far global warming has allowed this set-up.

[Russell Neyman]

This discussion brings a smile to my face. My wood shop is on a hill above the house, and I have a view of Seattle and Blake Island, so I couldn't resist placing the lathe under a window with a view of it all. Yeah, I know one of these days a chunk of wood will crash through the glass, but the inspiration is worth it.

My lathe certainly isn't mobile -- 500 pounds of machine loaded down with 600 pounds of sand ballast -- so I carefully tried several locations. My thought is that parallel to a wall but about 12-18" away is best so that the wood chips strike something and fall immediately instead of scattering all over the shop. It also helps to sheet the wall with something slippery (masonite or a piece of thin plastic) so that the chips slide down. In my case, I mounted a piece of lighting plastic and bent it at the base of the wall, creating a cove. The debris simply hits the wall and slides down and under the lathe, where I can collect it with a small leaf rake. I also added a substancial ledge to the aforementioned window sill, decreasing the chances of something sailing through that window. Yes, I have things up above I reach for, but because my lathe isn't two feet away I'm not leaning over the moving parts. I also shut it off when I change tools.

The other thing to consider is the proximity to your dust collector or shop vacuum system.

Congratulations on the new lathe.

[Thomas Canfield]

Adding to curtain comments - you can get oversized shower curtains from Amazon. I had to buy a 8' long curtain for my old shop, but in my new shop I can only use 7'6" or step on the curtain on the floor. I do recommend using the highest curtain you can while have it touch the floor for best chiip control.

[Russell Neyman]

Shower curtains? In a woodworking shop? Are they designer and color-coordinated with the towels and wallpaper?

Sorry, couldn't resist a sarcastic remark. My shop is dedicated to woodworking (haven't had a car stored inside for 35 years) and I suppose if there were non-woodworking items kept in there amid the dust my better half would be pretty crabby, and a containment system like that would make things a bit more peaceful in the house. Even now I find wood chips in the pockets of everything I own, and that tracks throughout the house and gets into every piece of fabric. Ah, the joys of a turner.

Anyway, it's interesting to see how we all improvise. I suppose that's why every woodworkers' magazine has at least one feature a year about How To Set Up A Shop.

[Alan Trout]

The shower curtains for me have worked great. It really helps contain the debris flying around the shop.

Here is a pic of my curtain setup.

Alan

[Russell Neyman]

Here is a pic of my curtain setup.

Alan, that makes good sense now that I see it. I apologize for the previous cryptic remark. I was imagining a claustrophobic opaque arrangement, about the size of the curtains around my antique clawfoot tub. Those look to be the industrial curtains they use in foodplants; hardly for showers and much taller.

Now, tell us -- and be perfectly honest -- is the floor always that neat at the end of the day?

[Alan Trout]

The floor has not been that neat since the photo was taken. But I have been trying to do a little cleanup from last weeks turning frenzy.

Alan


Alan, that makes good sense now that I see it. I apologize for the previous cryptic remark. I was imagining a claustrophobic opaque arrangement, about the size of the curtains around my antique clawfoot tub. Those look to be the industrial curtains they use in foodplants; hardly for showers and much taller.

Now, tell us -- and be perfectly honest -- is the floor always that neat at the end of the day?

[Russell Neyman]

This whole discussion about "lathe placement" is really about cleanup, isn't it? There are times, especially when I'm rough-turning next year's madrone blanks, that I feel like I'd be better off wearing showshoes.

[Jamie Donaldson]

The plastic shower curtains work very well for a small investment, but leave breathing room at both top and bottom like Alan's image shows.

[Denny Rice]

I love the idea with the sheet of masonite! I never would of thoought of that. Thanks for sharing.