I have found that using a 2-1/2″ diameter hole that is 1/4″ deep is a good way to mount blanks for plates and shallow bowls on the lathe. It is easy and very secure.
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Category Archives: Great Ideas
Travel Tool Set
Updated: 12/31/2019: I now use a red tool tray rather than a Tool Roll. See new section at the end of this blog entry.
I recently created a new Travel Tool Set that I can EASILY take to demos, club meetings and symposiums. I have been using it full time in my studio recently to test it out. I am real happy with it. See photo below.
The heart of the system is a new 5/8″ Quick Release Tool Handle from Jimmy Clewes. It works really good. I saw Jimmy use it on the 2018 Norway Woodturning Cruise. I was real impressed with the Quick Release mechanism that Jimmy has come up with. Just a simple 1/4 turn of the handle with your hand (no tools) locks a tool in place or releases it. You can change tools real fast. So, swapping tools does not interfere with the flow of a demo.
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Get A Grip
Here is my “Get A Grip” tip that appeared in the “Tips” section on page 18 of the AAW August 2018 “American Woodturner” Journal.
Adding a layer of elastic mesh sleeve is a cheap and easy way to get a better grip on your woodturning tools. My friends and students like it. You can purchase mesh sleeve from mcmaster.com (I purchased item #5969K23). It is made of 1⁄16″- (1.5mm-) thick polyethylene plastic and comes in different sizes and colors. The mesh I bought would cover handles with an outside diameter (OD) of 1″ to 1½” (25mm to 38mm).
Workshop Blower for Cleanup
One of my students showed up one day with a little battery powered workshop blower. I tried it and I was sold. I had to have one.
I put it on my Christmas list last year and it is the best Christmas present ever!
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Hang Up your Power Sanding Drills
I like to keep my Power Sanding Drills handy by hanging them on the front of my lathe.
My friends and students have copied this idea. Thus it must be a good one?
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Handy Sandpaper
I like to keep my sandpaper handy and organized. Here is how I do it.
Handy Sandpaper
Here is how I keep my sandpaper handy. I attach it to 1/8" plywood
boards and hang it up.
When I am ready to use the sandpaper I take the board over to the
lathe and set it on the "ways" of the lathe.
Then all the grits are handy for quick changes.
I have one board for 2" disks and another board for 3"
disks. I recently added a third board for chunks of my Stikit sandpaper.