How to sand tool rest post

[Stan Smith]

Hi. I just received a curved tool rest from CSUSA. Their write up says that this tool rest post fits Delta but can be sanded to fit other lathes. I have a Jet 1221 and the post is a miniscule large in diameter for my Jet holder. Here's what I got:

311541

I'm not sure if I should try sanding this on a disk or belt sand or by hand? Not quite sure which sandpaper grit or type to use. I recognize that it will have to be able to sand metal. Any suggestions are really appreciated. Thanks.

Stan

[David Reed]

Wondering if you could rig it to be held by the four jaw chuck. Spin slow if not well supported or centered. Use file or emery paper. It may have a hole in the bottom for tail stock center to help with stability
edit
i didn't say but meant, try to secure the top in the jaws, leaving the post free. Better, as below, if threaded post can be removed.

[Roger Chandler]

If the post comes apart from the rest, put it in pin jaws in your chuck and then take a strip of 180 then 240 grit paper and wrap around it in a "U" shape, leaving a gap in the open end..........it will sand evenly that way, and you should be able to take enough off to fit into the banjo.

[Stan Smith]

After David's 1st post, I went to the shop and I think that I've come up with a couple of solutions.

1. Talk to SWMBO and convince her to sign off on a 2nd mortgage on your house. Use the loan to buy a bigger lathe since it will have a larger post size than the 5/8th of a midi lathe. There is a larger tool rest selection for larger posts. If you get a divorce and she gets your lathe and tools or you are forced to sell them in the divorce settlement, keep in mind that whittling is much cheaper. :)

2. I'm not sure if the post unscrews. It looks welded to me. I tried emory cloth, but it would really take many hours to do it that way. Next, I tried a file. That was a little better, but I still had to smooth things out with the emory cloth. Using the file would also take a long time. The light came on and I remembered my Dremel tool I put a grinding wheel on and carefully tried to get an even application around the post. Again, I tried the emory cloth to smooth things out, but it was too slow of a process. Then I spied a dremel 80 grit sanding flapper wheel (not sure if that's the correct name). It worked very well for smoothing. I did have to put the grinder wheel back on for the top section and use the sanding flapper a 2nd time. I cleaned out the banjo (Thanks for the correct term, Roger) with WD-40. The fit is still slightly tight, but that's better than being loose, IMO.

Some lessons learned here for me. Try to remember your Dremel tool which has solved many problems for me over time. If you have to go through this process to get this Delta curved tool rest to fit your lathe, I recommend getting a different tool rest. Yes, this Delta rest is only $26, but I would have paid more rather than have the hassle. YMMV. I'm fairly certain that the Dela rest will work well for small projects and bowls.