using the lathe at slow speed to stir varnish

[Roger Feeley]

I really like Vermont Natural Coatings Polywhey varnish. But the solids settle badly and I always have to stir the stuff.

I don't want to buy one of those paint shakers. What I want to do is gently roll the can. VNC uses all plastic containers that shouldn't leak. My thought is a very short piece of 6" pvc pipe with a cap at each end. I mount it between centers and run it for a couple of hours at very slow speed.

I live near a good plumbing supply (Ferguson) so the caps aren't a problem. Where could I find an 8" piece of 6" pvc?

[Bill Space]

Almost sounds like a solution looking for a problem...

Regardless, a couple hours seems excessive. Seems like less than 15 minutes would be more than enough time. Just my gut speaking though...

Bill

[Roger Feeley]

Almost sounds like a solution looking for a problem...

Regardless, a couple hours seems excessive. Seems like less than 15 minutes would be more than enough time. Just my gut speaking though...

Bill

Not really. I work from home so it would be a snap to pop down to the shop, set up the lathe and go back to work for a while. Then the varnish would be ready when I want it.

My wife does the same sort of thing in her soap-making. I gave her a sous vide for christmas. She measures out her ingredients and puts them into the sous vide bath at 120 degrees. A couple of hours later (longer than needed), she comes back and everything is ready to go. easy-peasy.

[Mike Wilkins]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster. I hate to imagine what would happen if something comes loose and poly spills all over the place.
Play it safe and stir it with a paint stick.

[Bert McMahan]

Could you just make a wooden box instead of using PVC?

[Prashun Patel]

Can you make a jamb chuck instead? Why do you need a tube?

[Richard Coers]

Get a cheap paint stirrer for an electric drill. I never want to leave machinery running, unattended, for two hours.

[Wayne Lomman]

Its not a great idea. Even on slow, your lathe will be too fast. The vibration will destroy the centres in your plastic caps. As Richard said, get a stirrer paddle to put in an electric or cordless drill and you are done. If the product settles out so quickly that you need to stir it constantly while using it, you can get an air powered agitator that hooks on the edge of the paint can and keeps the coating material uniformly mixed. The boys use them whenever we apply inorganic zinc silicate coatings where the zinc powder is added to a liquid base and settles out in no time if you don't constantly agitate. Cheers

[Steve Eure]

How about using a cheap rock tumbler? My wife has one that a quart can would fit nicely on. I believe it would be the perfect size and it turns slowly.

[Prashun Patel]

The Rockler "Mixing Mate" might be perfect for this.

[Stan Calow]

marbles might help.

[John K Jordan]

I really like Vermont Natural Coatings Polywhey varnish. But the solids settle badly and I always have to stir the stuff.

I don't want to buy one of those paint shakers. What I want to do is gently roll the can. VNC uses all plastic containers that shouldn't leak. My thought is a very short piece of 6" pvc pipe with a cap at each end. I mount it between centers and run it for a couple of hours at very slow speed.

I live near a good plumbing supply (Ferguson) so the caps aren't a problem. Where could I find an 8" piece of 6" pvc?

To answer your question, anyone who used 6" PVC for dust collection ducts should have a spare piece, assuming they are not obsessively compulsive about order. I have several but it's a bit of a walk to your house. I will be driving to south of DC next week.

Another option for a piece of pipe: check with a big plumbing supplier. When I bought 10' lengths of 6" PVC the guy showed me a pile of pieces that were cracked or broken from poor handling. He said I could have all of those I wanted since they were going to the landfill. I got some with good lengths of undamaged pipe. Maybe ask at your good plumbing supplier.

Another option might be to use a large flange and get a reducer that fits in the end and can be capped. Ask your good plumbing supplier.

But how about a rotisserie motor? Cheap, slow speed, low current draw, made to run for hours. Some people use them for slow turners on turning to keep finishes from running while curing. I plan to adapt mine to substitute for turning the lathe by hand when I teach the skew chisel.

But if I were making a finish mixer, I thing I would devise something (like a cage?) so I could place the original can in different positions, end-over-end and at other angles, then rotate slowly.

JKJ

[Peter Christensen]

I think you would be better off with plywood mounted on a faceplate. A lip on the faceplate will keep it centred. A second plywood disc with a lip for the bottom held by 60º live centre in the tailstock.