The turning gods ...

[Wayne Hendrix]

ever feel like they're against you?

I moved in June and in the move damaged my grinding station and between school, military obligations and an injury couldn't get it fixed until yesterday. No grinder station meant that I couldn't sharpen tools so I couldn't turn. Well yesterday I finally got the grinder station fixed and today I tried to turn a shaving brush handle that I really wanted to get done in the next couple days and ...

I had planned on using the chuck jaws to turn most of the handle and then use a bottle stopper mandrel to finish it up. However, my pin jaws are too small to hold the blank and my smallest bowl jaws are too big. Arrrgh!!

Sorry I just needed to whine.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on getting your grinding station back up and running! There are always ways to get things mounted on the lathe! What about between centers?

[Marty Eargle]

Hot glue a waste block onto that bad boy and get to turning! You've got a lot of time to make up for.

[Jon McElwain]

Too bad you're not 300-400 miles east of there, you could come over and turn or sharpen here! My lathe needs some more attention lately.

[Wayne Hendrix]

Steve, the blank is resin and I'm not sure how well that would mount between centers, I've never tried it.

I think I can actually just turn the whole thing on the bottle stopper mandrel. I just need to get a different size tap for the mandrel threads. I have a 1/4-20 tap and the mandrel is 6mm. They are close enough that I figured it would hold fine to do the finishing cuts on the bottom of the handle, but I want the right size threads to turn the entire handle.

I didn't think about gluing on a waste block, the blank is resin but I could have just used five minute epoxy. I tend to get stuck in a certain frame of mind, that's why I complain on here, then I get suggestions that I can remember next time. Plus my wife just rolls her eyes and says shouldn't you be studying anyway, and my friends look at me and ask what's a lathe.

edit: Thanks for the suggestions!

[Marty Eargle]

...says shouldn't you be studying anyway, and my friends look at me and ask what's a lathe....

Story of my life, Wayne.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad you got that sharpening station fixed up.