On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:49:47 +0000 (UTC), lid (Drew Lawson)
wrote:


And my shoulders say that I need to adjust the height of the lathe.
But then, a little knowing what I'm doing might reduce the clenched
muscles as well.

Drew.. Depends some on your height, assuming that the lathe is about "standard"
height...

I'm about 6', I guess, used to be 6' 2" before gravity took hold.. *g*

I raised my lathe about 2" and like it there..

Other factors can be tool rest height and the angle that the chisel is
contacting the wood at...

Sharp tools, which you'll have soon, and a light touch take a lot of the stress
and tension out of turning and with a little experience you'll find that a death
grip on the handle isn't needed...

I always suggest that before you "make" something on the lathe, play with it..
Throw a 2x2" or something between centers and make shavings...
Get a feel for the tools and what they can and can't do..

If I had it to do over again, I would get books/DVD's/whatever and learn the
basics correctly... Being self taught, I had a lot of re-learning to do when I
finally got a few DVD's and lots of advice from this group..

Wear eye protection, avoid excess dust and most of all, relax and have fun..


mac

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