Skie_M
Member
Currently still a work in progress ... just putting the finish on at this point (BLO and a few coats of CA), so it's actually pretty much done.
It's still on the lathe, lemmie snap a pic.
Started with a chunk of Mesquite (off-cut from a branch) and turned it round last year ... never had a plan for it till I finally got frustrated with the knock-out bar that came with my HFT mini wood lathe. See ... the bar for the original is about 1/4", and it easily slips INSIDE my mandrel saver, making it very difficult to knock that item out of my tailstock...
I turned the handle down till it fit my hand comfortably, and drilled a 5/16" hole for a 12" long 5/16" rod of cold-rolled steel that I had laying around from another project. The rod was a bit rusty here and there, so I took it to the sink and hit it with a brillo pad for a bit to take the worst of it off ... that's plenty good enough for this little project. I sanded the ends smooth and square, then added a small chamfer round the edge of the tip.
I also went so far as to use my sander to make little grooves in the rod where it will help hold glue inside the handle .... it's glued in place with CA. I doubt I'll have any issues with it.
You can't see the rod in this pic because it's sticking all the way through the headstock ....
Needed to use my Utility Grip chuck rather than my 3-jaw, as this one has the through-hole necessary for the rod clearance.
Here's the view from the back of the headstock, you can see the tip of the rod peeking out ... (and you can see my home made handwheel that I added to the headstock as well ... just some MDF that I turned in position on the lathe and sealed with CA.)
And, while typing up this post, the CA finished drying, so I have it out ... here's a view of it in my hand.
(Home made "grandpa's screwdrivers" turned mini detail lathe tools to the right ... picked them up for a buck apiece at a pawn shop, and used my sander to re-shape the tips to my liking. I have four, total .... looking for some more, they work great for small bowl and box turning! If you look closely, you can see they have square shanks. Phillips screwdrivers had a round shank, these were slotted.)
It's still on the lathe, lemmie snap a pic.
Started with a chunk of Mesquite (off-cut from a branch) and turned it round last year ... never had a plan for it till I finally got frustrated with the knock-out bar that came with my HFT mini wood lathe. See ... the bar for the original is about 1/4", and it easily slips INSIDE my mandrel saver, making it very difficult to knock that item out of my tailstock...
I turned the handle down till it fit my hand comfortably, and drilled a 5/16" hole for a 12" long 5/16" rod of cold-rolled steel that I had laying around from another project. The rod was a bit rusty here and there, so I took it to the sink and hit it with a brillo pad for a bit to take the worst of it off ... that's plenty good enough for this little project. I sanded the ends smooth and square, then added a small chamfer round the edge of the tip.
I also went so far as to use my sander to make little grooves in the rod where it will help hold glue inside the handle .... it's glued in place with CA. I doubt I'll have any issues with it.
You can't see the rod in this pic because it's sticking all the way through the headstock ....
Needed to use my Utility Grip chuck rather than my 3-jaw, as this one has the through-hole necessary for the rod clearance.Here's the view from the back of the headstock, you can see the tip of the rod peeking out ... (and you can see my home made handwheel that I added to the headstock as well ... just some MDF that I turned in position on the lathe and sealed with CA.)
And, while typing up this post, the CA finished drying, so I have it out ... here's a view of it in my hand.
(Home made "grandpa's screwdrivers" turned mini detail lathe tools to the right ... picked them up for a buck apiece at a pawn shop, and used my sander to re-shape the tips to my liking. I have four, total .... looking for some more, they work great for small bowl and box turning! If you look closely, you can see they have square shanks. Phillips screwdrivers had a round shank, these were slotted.)
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