Casting Bench Height

[Nimbus3000]

What would be the proper height for a casting bench for casting in a standing position? Thanks

[Ben]

Depends on your height ?
A person 5' 4 " and a person 6' 4 " wouldn't need the same height.

[Czech_too]

I couldn't very well change the height of the bench I cast off of, so I made a stand for the Lee pot instead. Nothing real elaborate, just something large enough for the pot, and tall enough so that I don't have to crane my neck down and over to fit my needs.

[georgerkahn]

Working as a technician building behavioral equipment for many years (before I :) retired), our "rule of thumb" re working height was to have user stand "normally" -- most folks do slouch a few inches after a bit of time -- and measure the distance from the floor to the elbow; then subtract three inches. The person would be, again, standing in "working" position with dominant arm bent 90 degrees -- e.g., like someone with a hurt arm in a sling. The "dominant arm" is the arm with hand used -- e.g., the right elbow to floor minus three inches for a right handed person. Very few people stand up exactly perpendicular from floor -- so this, too, is important. Also, do not forget to remember the thickness of a carpet or mat, if you employ one of these...
BEST!
georgerkahn

[hc18flyer]

When I cast I set a wooden box on my table, raising my Lee pot up to nearly eye level. It is MUCH easier to see exactly what you're doing, without craning your neck. Rest of my stuff stays at table level. Not hard to spend all afternoon casting up a bunch. Flyer

[pworley1]

You are the only one who knows. Everyone has a different comfort zone. Mine is 42". Good luck finding yours.

[Nueces]

In designing several personal benches for different uses, I would mock up a work arrangement using a table, wood and boxes to raise the vise, casting pot or whatever to a comfortable height. Leave it in place for a bit and keep coming back to it to see if that height works for you, then measure it. No single height will work for all things, so the bench height will be for the lowest tool mounting and the others shimmed up.

[NavyVet1959]

Not only is this going to vary with the height of the individual, but it could vary with the casting pot and whether you are using a bottom pour pot for casting or ladle casting. I have a pair of steel saw horses (with adjustable legs) that I use with a table top made from 2x4s and plywood as a casting table in my garage. I've been *meaning* to build a more substantial one, but just never seem to "get around to it". While seated in a typical metal folding chair, it's about the right height for casting from my Lee bottom pour pot while seated, but if I'm wanting to ladle cast, I have to stand. It's about the right height for ladle casting with the bottom pour condiment ladle that I "designed". If I wanted to be seated while ladle casting, the table would need to be a lot shorter.

I've built a wooden table top and set it over the top of two 30g or 55g plastic barrels and it is about the right height for the bottom pour pot while standing up.

If you have one of the wire metal adjustable shelves, you could cut a piece of plywood to fit over the metal and easily adjust it to whatever height you need. If it is not large enough, get two of the shelf units and build a table top that stretches between them.

This is the type of shelf I'm talking about:
http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/672763/672763103160.jpg

One advantage of this is that it allows you to easily mount a light above your work area. It also gives you the framework to enclose the casting area into a fume hood if you so desire.

Originally, I was a bit skeptical about those shelves since they use a plastic insert to lock the shelves in place, but I've put a lot of weight on them and as long as you distribute the weight, they will hold a lot of weight. Cutting a piece of 3/4" plywood so that it overlapped the side pieces while also cutting notches out for the posts would work very well at distributing the weight.

[BNE]

All the above is good advice. I am currently adjusting the height of my pot with boards just to try out different heights. This is easy and it lets you change your mind.

[NavyVet1959]

One you have a sturdy table top (e.g. 3/4" plywood with 2x4s running lengthwise for additional support), you can experiment with a lot of different options for the table height. CMUs (http://www.lowes.com/pd_10383-44840-8008_4294858233__?productId=3608978&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=) (aka "cinder blocks") give you 8" height adjustments and are rather strong. Putting a board between the CMUs will give you small adjustments and putting a cap block gives you 4" (http://www.lowes.com/pd_10335-44840-4023_4294858233__?productId=3608974&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=) and 2" (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Angelus-Block-8-in-x-2-in-x-16-in-Concrete-Top-Cap-082H0190100100/100322590) adjustments.

Only do this if you don't plan on moving your table very much. Moving CMUs gets old fairly quickly. :)

Also, if you have a bottom pour pot, consider putting a metal pan underneath it so that if it leaks, all the lead is contained in the pan. The pan should be large enough to contain all the lead in the pot. The one time you go off to do something in the house and leave your casting pot running is the time when it will leak all the leak out of it even though you put a weight on the valve stem to *ensure* that it *wouldn't* leak. I had that happen yesterday. :(

[geargnasher]

Working as a technician building behavioral equipment for many years (before I :) retired), our "rule of thumb" re working height was to have user stand "normally" -- most folks do slouch a few inches after a bit of time -- and measure the distance from the floor to the elbow; then subtract three inches. The person would be, again, standing in "working" position with dominant arm bent 90 degrees -- e.g., like someone with a hurt arm in a sling. The "dominant arm" is the arm with hand used -- e.g., the right elbow to floor minus three inches for a right handed person. Very few people stand up exactly perpendicular from floor -- so this, too, is important. Also, do not forget to remember the thickness of a carpet or mat, if you employ one of these...
BEST!
georgerkahn

Very informative, thank you.

I cast while sitting from either bottom pour or when ladling from a large pot. Ladling is by far the most comfortable, I set the top of the pot about the same height as a chair bottom and scootch up to it wearing leather leggings, apron, and pull-on boots. I can sit almost upright with torso/head in line, just a slight forward lean, and rest my forearms on my thighs. For a bottom-pour pot, I elevate the pot to compromise between slumping to see the spout and raising my arms to an uncomfortable height to lift the mould to the mould guide. It IS a compromise, I have considered setting the pot much lower and placing a mirror to see the spout/sprue plate/alloy stream. Either way I sit when casting, and my casting table is 2-by dimensional lumber build in with no supports underneath so I can get it as low as possible and still get my knees under it. I cast standing up for way to many years, now I have re-learned everything to do it sitting down, much easier on the knees and hips.

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