Re: How can I distance a circle from the surface I am putting it on?

That´s a little confusing Andrew...

If you´re using the revolve feature (in your previous image) it seems you´re choosing the wrong plane. For a part like that, I would use a single revolve feature to define most of the part.

Now, if you´re using extrudes, the deph of the extrusion is defined outside of the skech, never inside.

Try downloading these samples:

http://grabcad.com/library/bullet-6

http://grabcad.com/library/bullet-7-62x25-1