Going bloody round and freaking round.....

[Jim Dunn]

Way to go Stu. Now you have no need to emerge from the dungeon.

[Tim Beauregard]

Howdy Stu,

I found a "turning club" here that has a monthly meeting. I bought my lathe from one of the guys there. I went out to his place and it was this "crap hole" mobile home with a "crap hole" metal shed. Junk all over the yard. INSIDE the shed and another shed he had something like 5 or 6 lathes. The lathe he sold me is a JET model and looks almost exactly like the one you pictured, except yours has what appears to be a better tool rest mechanism.

Anyway, this guy, who is an almost deaf country bumpkin makes the MOST BEAUTIFUL stuff. And he doesn't have ANY fancy tools ! He makes any tool he needs for a task by pounding a "cut nail" into a stick and grinding that on a bench grinder. He will grind a piece of metal, then TURN a nice handle for it. He explained how SOME tools, like a scraper, should have a flat spot on the handle so he doesn't make round handles for those. He also makes micro tools out of pieces of piano wire. The other guys who can afford to buy tools sort of look down their noses at him, and they turn some beautiful stuff, but when you compare a finished product to HOW THEY GOT THERE, nobody can match this guy.

I learned that a master can make beautiful stuff using the worst tools. And that reminds me of something I read (I think it was in Jack Nicklaus book "Golf My Way") about how no professional uses a "matched set" of golf clubs. The pro uses what works best.

This guy made a box with spires on it that were SO delicate. And on those spires were captive rings. I could only see 2 but he said there were 3. Then I looked closely and saw the third. He must have used a sewing needle and a microscope for that.

I think I can find pictures of his stuff and will post links soon.

Regards,
Tim B.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats Stu. I am glad to see ya got it. Have fun and make some chips fly.