How close to the wall is your lathe?

[Michael Cole]

I have to decide where to put the lathe when it arrives. My wood shop is very narrow (9') so I wonder if it can go in there as the other side has the table saw, assembly table, etc. It would be nice to have it in there so the sawdust would be in there. However, I can put it in the "man cave" but don't know how I could contain the dust. Ideas are welcome!

[Dennis Ford]

Mine is about 8 ft from the nearest wall, lots of people put their lathe close to a wall. My head-stock does not slide and I do quite a bit of hollowing while standing on the back side. If you put it near a wall, having a window nearby can help with the dust if you put a fan in the window pulling the dust outside.

[Mark Greenbaum]

I set my G0766 against my concrete block basement wall, but I keep a corrugated plastic bent cover under the lathe, on top of the crate cabinet I made, to keep the shavings consolidated. I still have to make some french cleated hangers for the tools, so I don't have to move them every time I clean up.

[Brian Kent]

I just got some advice that I will use for shavings, using a shower curtain set up to contain their spread. As for the dust, I have found a very helpful setup = a 20" box fan across from me on the other side of the headstock, bulling the dust into a 20" furnace filter. Huge different. Then I always use a 3M half-mask with p-100 filters.

[Jamie Straw]

My soon-to-be-gone Jet 1236 is right up against one wall, the splayed legs on the stand make the bed of the lathe perhaps 12" from the wall? Only "oops" from that set-up was the first time I turned very green wood and it sprayed water all over the drywall, now I put plastic up when working green wood. I keep a magnetic extension wand and a "reacher" to pick things up that fall behind the lathe. There's enough room to stick a vacuum hose back there when there are too many shavings built up. I keep some calipers and such hanging on that wall, but am very careful when reaching over the lathe, if it's running. New lathe is a smaller Nova Comet II (same swing, but much shorter), will probably go in the same area.

[joe marra]

Hi Brian, this is what I came up with help from Jack Sorvona, works great with sanding dust.

[John K Jordan]

Michael,

For 15 years now I've been happy with my lathes close to a wall. This is one of my current lathes, a PM3520b. I also have a Jet 1642 opposite the PM, also close to a similarly adorned wall.

337608

I turn more smaller things than large, although I can easily turn a 19" platter or large bowl with the lathe positioned this way. Like some, I have no need to stand on the opposite side of the lathe. I very much like having the tools I reach for the most within arms' reach or at least within a few steps - the wall is perfect for this. In fact, this is an 8' wall I built precisely to give me the tool space behind the lathe (and to separate the turning space from my office area).

I keep a tub underneath to catch a lot of the chips and a cyclone DC helps with the sanding dust.

JKJ

[Michael Cole]

Thanks that helps me.

[Reed Gray]

My lathe sits in a dedicated 8 by 12 room. Beauty is against the wall, and work bench on other side with grinder and 'stuff'. Not sure how table saw and other stuff will fit in. Covers would be needed...

robo hippy

[Doug Ladendorf]

I have my spindle just over two feet from the wall. That will allow me to turn a four foot platter outboard if I want. Think about the largest turning you might need/want and make sure the wall distance will accommodate.

Doug

[carl mesaros]

My first two lathes were placed against the wall. My new lathe sits in the middle of the room in front of my garage door. Access all around. I like this as I occasionally lose sandpaper or my sanding pad and would have to crawl under the lathe to retrieve it when the lathe was against the wall. Much easier to clean also.

[Stan Calow]

mine is currently against the wall. I thought that would help contain the shavings, but it just makes it harder to clean up.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I have my large lathe well away from the wall, actually I turn with my back to the wall where I have storage on the wall and can turn around and reach all of that, the small lathe can easily be placed where ever, but tend to stand right next or behind the big lathe.

As most of the larger turning is done on the end of my lathe, that is where I have the shower curtains to kind of corral the shavings.

As this was my second shop setup, I learned from the first one to stay farther away from the wall, as I had only a couple of feet between the lathe and the wall, now I can walk or stand anywhere around my lathes, I like this setup very much.

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[Justin Stephen]

Just far enough away that my dust collection hood on a stand thing can fit between the lathe and the wall comfortably, so maybe 2 1/2 feet? I am moving into a new shop soon and will probably give myself a little more room back there, but only because the shop is bigger and I can.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I had my jet 1642 close to the wall (about 2 feet) for many years. When I upgraded, I put the new lathe in the same place - mostly because the entire shop had been built and adjusted to that and it was the easiest solution. I did not really like not having ready access to the other side, and often found that everything I dropped wound up over there - a real PITA.
Now I've got the opportunity to build a new shop and the first thing I did was layout the floor space with the lathe centered and a fully opening wall in front. Good access and a great view. I found in the old shop - 2/3 of a 3-car garage - the tablesaw is way more table than saw these days, so it gets relegated to a corner and a mobile base.

[William C Rogers]

I had my lathe against the wall for years and just recently moved it out where I can walk behind it. I definitely like this much better.

[John K Jordan]

...and often found that everything I dropped wound up over there - a real PITA.

I don't understand the difficulty others have in cleaning or picking up things dropped behind the lathe. Are these lathes on stands that limit access behind? Mine are all on legs and it is easy to retrieve things and clean behind.

I do have a shop-vac style hose connected to my cyclone DC so I can clean all around without effort.

JKJ

[Jamie Straw]

I don't understand the difficulty others have in cleaning or picking up things dropped behind the lathe. Are these lathes on stands that limit access behind? Mine are all on legs and it is easy to retrieve things and clean behind.

I do have a shop-vac style hose connected to my cyclone DC so I can clean all around without effort.

JKJ

If by being "on stands", you mean "mobile" no -- mine (the 1236) is not mobile. This despite the fact that it's on a shop-built "mobile" base, which turned out to not be very mobile at all. Although I have full use of a 2-car garage-sized space, it's filled with machines, lumber, counters and a pellet stove, so there's very little room to maneuver. The lathe has a dust collector at one end and a SCMS on a stand on the other end, so a magnet and reacher are very useful for retrieving things with little angst. (Not to mention, bending over and twisting can be a shortcut to being laid up for a day or two.)

[Jamie Straw]

[Snip]... the tablesaw is way more table than saw these days, so it gets relegated to a corner and a mobile base.

I love the way you put that, Jeffrey. My Unisaw has the 52" fence and big table to the right. If I turn around from the lathe and take 2 steps to my right, there it is (the table). I had considered cutting the fence and table back to much shorter until I realized how useful that horizontal space is for changing out chuck jaws, making drawings, piling up spindle stock, whatever!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

My first lathe was against the wall. With it there I splattered curls and chips all over the shop. When I learned that most chips went behind me I decided to turn my new lath around so the wall is 4' behind the lathe. Now the chips hit the wall and remain in a tighter area and my table saw and other cast iron machinery don't get covered with wet curls.
faust

[john taliaferro]

Whats a table saw ? My lathe was straight to the wall and one of the first large logs came out of the tail stock and riped my 6 screws out of the faceplate , it landed between lathe and wall wedged tight . It broke the 3/8 anchor in the end and slid it out to 15 degrees to the wall . Thats when Mike showed up and ask how many screws did i have in it and recommended more . Any way the lathe still sits sideways , does cause problems sometimes turning long and stright but is easey to get back their

[William C Rogers]

I don't understand the difficulty others have in cleaning or picking up things dropped behind the lathe. Are these lathes on stands that limit access behind? Mine are all on legs and it is easy to retrieve things and clean behind.

I do have a shop-vac style hose connected to my cyclone DC so I can clean all around without effort.

JKJ
John, I have a PM 90 that is cabinet based stand, so yes (for me) the lathe mounting makes it hard to clean and get dropped things when it was against the wall.