Is there a rule of thumb for what height to put your grinder for sharpening?

[David Cramer]

Hello Turners

I was told that a lathe should be placed at close to the same height as when a person stands with their arms hanging down and then bending at the elbow and putting their arms straight out at 90 degrees. If I do that with a lathe, do I do the same thing with a grinder?

Just curious as I only want to do it once:).

Thanks in advance!

David

[Bernie Weishapl]

David I have my lathe 2" higher than my elbow so I don't have to bend over so much. My height measured 45" to my elbow so I ended up putting my lathe at 47". My grinder just sits on my bench which is I think 36" high. It works good for me. I don't see any reason it should be the same height as the lathe.

[Richard Madison]

David,
Have never seen such a rule, in the same sense as the "elbow spindle height" guidline for lathe spindle height. I think most folks just mount their grinders on whatever surface is available, typically a benchtop about 36" high. Have seen one video that suggests a much higher elevation, about mid-chest height, as I recall. The reason for this elevation was to provide a closer look at the contact point between the tool edge and the stone. Probably ordinary bench top height works for most folks.

[Reed Gray]

I never thought about it before, but after going out to the shop to check, mine is almost the same height as the lathe. I would think this is more important if you sharpen by hand, as the sharpening cuts are almost the same as your turning cuts.
robo hippy

[Steve Schlumpf]

David - I'm somewhere around 5' 10", have my lathe height set at 46" and built the grinder stand so I could see what I was doing while sharpening without having to bend way over. The grinder height is set at 51" to center of the wheels.

[Doug Thompson]

Richard, your right when a person grinds free-hand the grinder should be raised so you can see what's going on. A milk crate on a work bench is perfect.

[Gordon Seto]

A milk crate on a work bench is perfect.

Doug,

Is that the set up you use for your production grinding, consuming 4 wheels in 12 days?:D

[john taliaferro]

once i cranked the blade down its perfect. only took 2 hr to clean rust off.