"Mark Spice" wrote in message
...
Hi

I'm thinking about starting woodturning (*) but space in my workshop (**)
may is at a bit of a premium. Do you need to be able access both sides of
the lathe when working or can you do it all from one side? If I do decide
to start I will probably go on a course with Craft Supplies first but if
there is no way to fit the kit in then there is no point in spending cash
on
a course.

Just look at the "footprint" of the lathe under consideration. You turn
from one side, the side that suits your hand and perhaps only one, as some
lathes do not reverse, making it safer for the user of chucks and such to
turn without pre-planning.

I'm turning up to 400 mm in diameter and 600 long in a space roughly 1.3
meters by 1.5, and that includes space for my girth to snuggle up to my Nova
3000. The "mini" lathes have smaller footprints.

You want to get as close as you can to the "front" of the lathe, and have
only as much space as you need to swing the piece or turn the head if your
lathe is one like that. Makes cleanup easier, too, because you can catch
the majority of shavings without sweeping. Just extend the legs of your
stand to the swing of your lathe plus perhaps 20% out front for stability,
and then hang a cabinet under and behind to store the things you displace.

Modest, and I _do_ mean modest example here :
http://groups.msn.com/NovaOwners/geo...to&PhotoID=452
Proof of concept in progress, as I never seem to get to the polished
cabinetry part. Sturdy and functional, though.
http://groups.msn.com/NovaOwners/geo...to&PhotoID=228