one step forward two steps back,

[curtis rosche]

well, i finally got the lathe hooked up and running.:D:) it doesnt go quite as fast as i wanted, only about 1800-2000 at top speed. but i guess it really doesnt need to be faster does it?

that was the good news, heres the 2 steps back. after it was hooked up, my step dad went over a few simple rules, ie. saftey glasses,ect.... but also on the list was that i cant use all of his tools. :mad:

first step back: i can use the tools but only the ones that arent hss. which really irks me, because he knows i am mainly doing bowls, and of the 2 1/2 sets we have, (one benjamins best set non-hss, one hss set, and one set of hss bowl gouges) there are no bowl gouges that i can use. the main issue i have with this is that when i was looking for a lathe, i asked him if i could use all the tools and he said yes, and i couldve gotten some gouges but declined because i figured on using his.
:mad::mad::mad:
second step back: he also said that i cant use the grinder and that i should sharpen them with a regular flat aluminum oxide sharpening stone, meaning it takes for ever, its harder to get the right grind (for me anyways, i cant quite get that perfect edge on a flat chisel, foget something round) and that i dont get the hollow grind.
:mad::mad::mad:

so, i know there were a few of you out there who offered me gouges, back when i started looking for a lathe. are those offers still any good? i am looking for a bowl gouge, i should only need one(right?), and it would be helpful since i cant use the grinder if it already has a good grind on it.

[Jim Becker]

Not having a grinder isn't going to help you even if someone puts a nice edge on the tool...

[curtis rosche]

any one out there who would mind going to jail for a fellow turner?................

i swear he does it just to anger me.... he said that he would have the lathe ready to use when i got home yesterday. it wasnt. the motor was at the wrong spot and the angle couldnt be right, making it so that the belt rubbed on either the lathe housing or the table.
i come home today and it still isnt put together.
duh! you dont make a table before looking at where things need to go. as it is right now, the lathe has to be moved to almost the center of the table. making it so you have to lean over the table to use it. for it to be close enough to the edge to not have to lean the motor would be in the center of the table leg. stupid stupid stupid. the table was only built a couple weeks ago and the lathe and the motor were sittin right beside it while it was being made. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:



next person who gets a new lathe or up grades, can i have the old one? then theres is no messin around with it, just bolt to the table and go.

[curtis rosche]

maybe i should just give up and sell the lathe and wood................

[Rasmus Petersen]

curtis... my motto is never give up never surrender!! in this case never surrender..

ask him to give you good arguments why you cant use the grinder and why things with the tabel arent in order and keep at it.

If every thing else fails ill send you one of my tshirst from my stage building job. it reads. Never die never surrender. Get the cash togeter buy your own when you pay for it it´s yours and you decide how, when and by who it´s used.. (remember to be kind and share with him)

[scott schmidt grasshopper]

sounds like its time to get your hammer in gear and make it all work yourself curtis, .
yeah, tis nice if dad would get it all running for you but doesnt sound like you should count on that. if you offer to buy the next set of grinding wheels then maybe the grinder will come open for use. my father and I didnt see eye to eye on turning or using any of his stuff when I was a kid . but now he comes and asks me to use my tools cause at least I know where they are . oh and they are sharp. in time and when you demonstrate about 5,000 times that you know what you are doing , he might give in .
ps I am 46 now and we still argue about the how,, good luck

[John Shuk]

Curtis,
It may not be happening as fast as you like but be glad your dad is at least doing this with you.
Believe me. One day you'll look back and realize what a lucky kid you are.

[Steve Clardy]

Curtis,
It may not be happening as fast as you like but be glad your dad is at least doing this with you.
Believe me. One day you'll look back and realize what a lucky kid you are.


Yep. Excellent statement.

[Matt Hutchinson]

"Patience is a virtue, but who needs virtue when you're still in high school?"

That's kinda how I felt at your age, and I was very rude to my parents at times. They certainly didn't deserve it. That's me, and you seem to be a lot more level headed, yet I realize you have a really frustrating situation. I have had to learn how to be patient. You have already been very patient thus far, and it's great to hear that your lathe is near working order.

Keep at it, and try not to lose your turning passion. Your moral might be low now, but give it a little time. You have an opportunity to show him how mature you are in how you go about learning the reasons for him changing his mind. This could prove an important step in his trust of you with his tools.

I know I am not in your shoes, but keep taking steps toward your goal. It's only a matter of time before those steps add up to success. Good luck!

Hutch

[Don Carter]

Don't give up! I don't know all the reasons that your step dad has placed the rules on you that he has. I do know one thing, things always change.;)

Keep plugging away, and communicate with him as much as possible. Sometimes it is not easy to talk to those close to you when it doesn't go your way, but keep your chin up. I promise nothing stays the same.

[Phillip Bogle]

I know that this can be frustrating. You may not agree with the way your dad is going about things but your dad does not have the same set of priorities that you do. You will someday understand that problem.

You are lucky in that your dad is working with you. I so badly wanted to have my dad teach me woodworking, but he told me I was too much like himself and he couldn't stand to work with me. So I watched my little brother learn and spend time with dad. I had to wait 35 years to buy my own tools and learn on my own. You have a relationship with your dad, treasure it, even if it is rocky at times. Dad will be gone someday and these times both good and bad are all you will have. The good will warm you and the the bad will instruct you as to what to do different.

You might ask your dad if there is anything he needs. You do not know all the demands upon his "list". Do not be a fault finder, be a team player and an asset. The thing on every boss's mind is -- are you a part of the problem or part of the solution. The head of the family like your dad is no different. I think the suggestion of buying your own tools is a good one. Talk to your dad first, mention your ideas of earning your own tools. Give him the opportunity to be a dad, let him help you choose the tools, even if you know the answer, let him guide you. A dad likes to help his son, if you know all the answers you have not let him be a dad, and mentor. If you do things the way your dad asks you to, he will have a positive opinion of you and be inclined to help as much as possible, how can he say you are a bad kid if you do things his way? BTW: nothing will get your dad's attention faster than to see his son look to himself for his own provisions instead of his parents. It is called growing up.

[Ron Ainge]

Curtis

I think that your step-father has something in mind. He is asking you to use the older carbide tools and hand shapren them. I for one would be very happy to learn how to sharpen those tools because they will take a shaper edge than the HSS tools, the only problems is that the edge wears off faster also. I think that he want you to learn how to sharpen tool proberly before he lets you use the newer ones. I did most of my shaprening on a belt sander when I started and I could not wait until I could affore to buy a grinder to work wih. Now I find my self going back to the sander at time to get a special grind. I know that at your age it seems like everyone in your family in a bit on the south end of the learning curve, I felt the same and then I went in the service. I could not believe how much of an eduction my father got while I wan in basic training. After some years I realized that my father was the smart one all of the time and I became a man in the two months I was in basic. The two of got along very well after that time as I think that you and your step-dad will do when you have a few more years on you. I hope everything works out for you in the future.

[Curt Fuller]

So, Curtis, if all he wants you to use is the carbide tools and hand sharpen them, get with it and use them. Once he sees your skills develop and doesn't have to worry about watching his gouges reduced to a pile of metal powder at the base of the grinder, maybe he'll move you up a notch.

And sorry for not being more sympathetic but I have to throw this in...



"When I was a child of fourteen, my father was so
ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.
But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astounded at how
much the old man had learned in seven years!"

-Mark Twain

[Bernie Weishapl]

Curtis I agree with Ron. I wanted a pocket knife so bad so I could carve. He gave me this old beat up pocket knife and a honing stone. I can now take a stone to a knife and shave with it when I am done. When I was your age who the heck wanted to sharpen a knife with a stone. I had to learn or I wouldn't have been carving. I thought my dad was so stupid. Who would do that to their boy. Well now I am over 60 and I am going thru the same thing. When my son was 15 thru 19 the 2 X 4's in the walls of our house was smarter than I was. Well guess what he is now 38 and has 3 kids of his own. Guess what? Old dad now has a Phd. Yep I am now smart and knowledgable. So your dad has a reason for doing what he is doing.

Take those gouges, sharpen them and get turning. Show him you can do it. I did and a year later in 1960 my dad bought me a top of the line carving knife for $7.50. Wow I was so pumped. Yep I am now telling my age.

So back off because he has his reasons. You may not understand now but in 10 years or more you will. Now get turning.

[Ed Costello]

Hello,

Do it yourself! You can do it. Depend on you and only you to get what you want. You see it, you want it, go get it. Figure it out. Don't stop until you do. You will be a better man for it. Take your time. Make it perfect. You will know the tool inside and out when you are done. The motor, the belt, the entire lathe!! the gouge, the stone.......you will understand them all completely when you are done. You will be proud in the end. So will he. You have to show yourself you can do it. You have to show him. It is not where you end up....it is how you got there............ It's the journey your after. When you are done you will know what I mean.

Good luck
Coz

[Robert F Walker III]

you can do this you can get through it. I sharpen a lot of my tools with a regular old sharpening stone I have a grinder but i rarely put my turning tools to it. You can shave with my tools. I touch up frequently it only takes a moment and after practice you can too. for hundreds of years we didn't have electric grinders or hss tools while nice arn't really necessary.

[curtis rosche]

ok. thanks for the encouragment. i know you can sharpen a skew and parting tool on a stone, as they are flat. but could someone do a how to, for sharpening a bowl and spindle gouge? i wouldnt know how to start sharpening it

[CW McClellan]

Ask ya step Dad for instruction and help --maybe thats part of your problem you don't ask

[Ron Bontz]

Well ditto to what Ed just said. As a young guy now (50) I too had a step dad. At least for a while. Never knew the father really. Hence I had to do and learn everything on my own. I hated the world then because it seemed everyone else had their dads always doing stuff for them and man was it frustrating not even having any tools to use.:mad: I must confess, I have yelled at my 15 y/o daughter a time or two for not putting a tool back where she got it. I had to work for every thing I got. Now, I have spent the majority of my life very independent. I even put myself through 3 years of college taking all kinds of math, physics, chem. etc. Along the way I learned much about a lot of things. Most of all about myself. I can only think of one or two times I had to hire someone to do something for me and even then it was because I didn't have time. Take the time to learn and also to learn patience. If you have a clamp, a mill file and a work table; you have the means to put a reasonable edge on that chisel. We live in a world of hurry up, get it done cheap, I want it now. There are just some things that can not happen now. Welcome the chance to learn and the challenge to overcome.:) And that's all I have to say about that.