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Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
Tom D
 
Posts: n/a
Default woodturning from a wheelchair- potential obstacles and solutions please!

I myself am a disabled woodturnerI can manage to stand at the lathe for
short periods so it is much easier for me. I attend Sheffield Northern
General spinal injuries hospital once a week for occupational therapy which
is where I got started on woodturning. The lathe there is mounted on a
metal table with adjustable sliding legs and a hydraulic car jack is fixed
at the back. In this way it can be adjusted to any height to suit those in
wheelchairs or those who can manage to stand. I have seen many people in
wheelchairs use this lathe (Myford Mystro) and they make a very good job of
it. Hope this may be of some help to you and a happy new year to you and
all the N.G.

Tom
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello everyone. I'm brand new to this forum. I'm a 55 Y.O guy and a
fall from my roof 5 years left me in a wheelchair for the rest of my
life. I'm what the doctors call a T-8 complete paraplegic which means
there's no real feeling and no motor response to or from any nerves
below my 8th thoracic vertebrae. In laymen's terms, I'm paralyzed from
my mid chest down but I have full use of my arms and hands.
I was a decent woodworker before my accident and I've tried to work
in my shop from the wheelchair, but it's not working out too well.
Simple things like feeding stock thru a table saw is really difficult.
Four hands are needed to push the stock and push the wheelchair. I've
never done any turning before and I've been thinking that woodturning
may be more easily done from a wheelchair since there's not a lot of
moving around required. It's a hobby that I'd like to take up if the
obstacles are reasonably easy to overcome. One problem I can foresee
right away is that a lathe on a stand is way too high for me to work at
comfortably. I would need to build a lower height stand of some kind.
No real problem. I could handle that. Any advice would be helpful.
Is it worth it to try this out? Thanks.