Rule of "Thumb" for Lathe Height

[Jason Morgan]

I have been busy practicing on the Jet Mini and am thinking that I have it set up too high. I just put it on top of a workbench and used it from there. I am not ready to build a stand for it and was wondering what the rule of "thumb" was for lathe height. I think it would be more comfortable lower down. The drive center is ~44" from the ground and I am 5'11" tall. Benches are supposed to come up to outstretched thumbs with arms straight down. Is there a similar guideline for lathes?

Thanks

-Jason

[Jim Ketron]

bent elbow hight is the starting point
also a lot depends on what type of turning you plan to do.
spindle and bowl turners usually like them around elbow hight.
Guys who do mostly hollow forms like them a bit higher

[Jeff Schutzman]

One guideline is the spindle height should be at elbow height. I pushed my lathe up about 3/4" from this and found a little less fatigue.

[Lisa Gilbert]

I'm certainly no expert, but Richard Raffan seems to be, and he recommends the center be about at the turner's elbow height. I'm vertically challenged ;) (almost 5' tall), so I actually stand on the wooden pallet my lathe came attached to, which raises me up about 4" and seems to be perfect. Since my boys are also using the lathe and aren't much taller than me, it works for them too. Then we can scoot it out of the way if my husband ever decides to use it (like we ever give him a chance).

[Jason Morgan]

Im planning on building a lathe stand with storage in it and will put the lathe center at about elbow height. Maybe a little less and then adjust up from there.

[Mark Pruitt]

Jason, FWIW, I switched from a lathe on a floor stand to a Midi Lathe on a benchtop a few months ago, and at first the height difference caused some discomfort and fatigue, but as I continued to use that setup I got used to it and after a few weeks it no longer bothered me.

[Jim Becker]

What kind of turning you do also affects comfortable height...

[George Tokarev]

Im planning on building a lathe stand with storage in it and will put the lathe center at about elbow height. Maybe a little less and then adjust up from there.

That's it. Easy to add a shim or two to play around later, PITA to saw off legs. I'm a above the elbow height myself, but I dummied up and didn't measure with my fatigue mat in place. I cut with about a 10-15 degree up angle on my tools most places, so it works out, but if I ever do another stand I'll try to remember the mat.