Thread: Turning from a wheelchair

Good idea on tilting it like that. I imagine this is because the bed is higher than normal (in relation to your body) to give you clearance in your lap for the chisels? That's what we found with my old man, anyway.

No practical suggestions from me, I'm afraid... just curiosity. We had more problems with the fact that he was one-handed than that he was in a wheelchair, so my ideas probably wouldn't apply to you.

Can you explain your limitations and difficulties you have. Are you able to use your feet to move a rail mounted lathe.

I've a friend who turns from a wheelchair. He's also a member of this forum, but probably at work right now. Maybe he'll have some info to add a little later. As Jigger said, it would be better to know your limitations, besides sitting down, in order to give you some more useful info.

Hey Macca,
Thats a very interesting adaptation you have devised there.
I'm thinking I can learn a few things from you as well.
I'm the woodturning wheelie that my mate OGYT is referring to.
I turned last night until the wee hours and overslept.
I need to haul carcass and get to the job before they fire me.
I'll respond later or you can email me at [email protected]
Yawn,
tm aka John

Thanks for the replies. As to my limitations, I have developed a spinal cord problem that effects me from the waist down,and have little use of my legs.
I can stand to get in and out of the wheelchair etc, but cannot use them to any degree.
It is difficult to do the turners hip swaying thing in a chair.
I pretty much do every thing with my hands, arms and shoulders, so a rail mounted lathe would not be an option.
The tilting of the lathe certainly improves the angle of attack without lowering the lathe down so far could not get my knees under the bench.
It has certainly been a steep learning curve since Nov 2006.
Getting into a wheelchair, surrendering my drivers licence, sitting for a modified vehicle drivers licence, buying a new vehicle, modifying the vehicle to hand controls, modifying the the garage roof to accommodate car roof mounted wheelchair hoist.
But eh, life is good when you have a shed and a lathe and a forum full of good advice.
And of course SWMBO


Thanks again for your interest
Macca

Good on ya Macca for giving it a go.

I don't have any personal experience to offer but just a thought, is it possible to come up with some way of raising the back of your chair a bit once you are at the lathe?
A jack, hydraulic, lever or pulley operation on a platform?
You could stop the chair from rolling forward by having chocks at the right position.
I guess you couldn't tilt it too far 'cos if you don't have any use of your legs then you wouldn't be able to hold yourself in the chair without a seatbelt.

Like tilting the lathe towards you a bit, why not tilt you towards the lathe a bit?

It would help to get your knees under the bench.

Just another idea to think about.

Originally Posted by macca2

It is difficult to do the turners hip swaying thing in a chair.

I'm wondering if a stool with a swivelling seat would help, if you are able to access it, and get it at the right level?

P

CNC controlled seat on rails?

I don't know how practical this idea is, but it seems to me that one of the most difficult things to do in a wheelchair would be to move sideways.

Perhaps a bench seat frame with a sliding seat running on a couple of bars or tracks could work. See if you can sabotage someones old rowing machine for parts.

With more money, possibly a threaded bar could be incorporated, which runs off a small motor, that you could use to power the seat sideways at a not impossibly fast rate. It would allow you to keep a constant distance and angle going as you work.

An alternative to the bar could be a small to large pulley arrangement or a built in speed adjuster at the motor that could wind the seat back and forth in a similar way to the way we pull curtains back and forth on their cords. Obviously, a reverse gear would be a must.

I hope this is not too stupid and or expensive.

Hi Macca.
I know Vicmarc have a model (VL 175) that they designed fordisabled use (perhaps the base). They may give you some advice? Do a search for Vicmarc, and take it from there.
Cheers

A powered seat slide? No offence, but I think that'd be overkill and totally ineffective. How well do you think you'd turn if you stood on a skateboard and relied on someone else to move you from side to side? [shudder]

My ol' man simply set his 'chair at a 45° angle to the lathe. For three reasons:

1. It's almost impossible to get your knees under the lathe bench when all's set to a correct and comfortable working height.
2. He could sway back'n'forth in the chair to approximate the hip thing.
3. Something we all do (or should) but seem to have forgotten about: it set him off to one side of the piece, so that in case of UFO he wasn't in the line of fire!

Admittedly he was only using a small Leda midi lathe, with a 600mm bed, so it's not like there was a lot of sideways distance to travel. But even if 'twas a long bed, it's not that hard to reposition the 'chair every time the toolrest gets moved along... there's no "race" involved, after all.

Yeah Midge, I have spent the last 5 years turning from a stool but now find I need the extra support of a wheelchair.
As you say Skew, I too have my chair at approx 45 degrees to the
lathe,faceing towards the tail stock. This seems to work pretty well and I move the chair as required.
My lathe is only a Woodfast 280S with a 450mm bed.

Thanks for all the ideas, keep 'em coming

Macca

Heya.
I've been in a chair since 78 and been turning that way for about 4 years,
judging by your setup you've been turning longer than me.
The tracking seat idea from above is an interesting one that never occured to me. I have a 12 volt tracking seat in the van i drive.
Its a 6 way adjustable , up & down, swivels left & right and forward & backward.
For turning I think it is a bit overkill & expensive at between 1000 to 2000 seppo dollars. (no offense to the person who posted it) You can do the same thing by raising or lowering the lathe bed like you have and changing positions in your chair.
You just learn to not work beyond your reach.
The other advantage to staying in your chair is measured in time...
what if swmbo calls on the phone, you need to change to a finer grit
or the dog needs to be let out?
Not only that it could take months to assemble components and build,
I'd rather be spinning wood.

I find that having my tires inflated properly ( 100 psi, no idea what that converts to in kg/ ) theyre rock hard and my brake really grabs when its set...
Very important when youre power cutting not to have your stable pony
start to move away.
While I'm thinking of it insist on the very best wheelchair you can get.
Problems with comfort, stability and balance dont only affect the quality
of your work but your safety and duration of turning sessions as well.
If nothing interrupts me I can work at least 8 hours at the toolrest.

Another thought on angle and position...
Floor mats or a bevel cut sheet of plywood under you or perhaps just
your front casters can alter
how you will present the tool to the work as well as remedy or
create neck & shoulder problems .
Beveled foam seat and back cushions for your chair can also help.
A physical therapist should be able to help if you explain what you
have trouble with or are trying to do.

I have a Nova DVR XP and a Craftsman variable speed, built benches for both of them with spindle height and knee clearance in mind.
I like being able to prop my left elbow on the bench and tuck the right
one in close for the side to side leaning motion or prop it too
on ways, bench, banjo or even tailstock depending on what im doing.
When im in close to the headstock ( at the foot of a faceplated bowl for
example ) I lean forward and push my left shoulder against the front
of the lathe headstock area. Whatever type of work youre doing
again, being balanced and stable is very important.
Most of my worst catches and exploded workpieces have been caused
by loss of balance.
As the Skew says remember to stay out of the line of fire.

Now that your head and air intake manifolds are much closer to the workpiece, always wearing a faceshield is a must and avoiding dust becomes even more important.
I'm using a Trend Airshield and dust extractor and I'm working on a box fan
setup behind me to push away even more.

One of my minor problems is being covered in woodchips and dust.
I wear double aprons and tape my sleeves closed.
The chair just seems to be a magnet for particles.
A small price to pay for such a rewarding way to spend my time.
I just bought a small compressor to blow off with , that should help.

I'm pretty sure that my level of spinal injury is different than yours
and I know that because of that we function at different levels
and that equates to what might work well for me may not work for you.
Its a learning process and just the fact that youre here seeking advice
from your fellow woodies indicates you are headed in the right direction.
On your grinder...
do you approach it straight on or work to the side?
Keep turning and stay safe.
Email me anytime,
tm

Hi Macca,

Some time ago on the woodworking channel I saw a video of a Japanese guy at one of the symposiums Turning that may be of some interest to you.

Anyway did a search found this info so far from a forum the guy saw the same video that I did, I am thinking the way they turn maybe easer for you.

I stole this from another forum but I don't think they will mind.

I saw a video on Woodworkingchannel.com that was from the 2005 AAW Symposium featuring a Japanese woodturner, Yoshinobu Kakizawa. I was fascinated to see the differences in technique compared to conventional woodturning techniques. These included using a sliding mobile tool rest made from a sliding wooden beam, using primarily scraping tools (as opposed to gouges), using a ring chuck without a tailstock, frequent reversing of the turning direction, and placing the turning tool below the center of the piece. It seems that Japanese woodturners make their own tools (oil hardened high carbon steel) almost without exception.

Been looking for the Japan Association of Woodturners or something like that so we can find some more info but not having much luck so far maybe STU could help us out.