Charter33

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

Finished all of the lower shrouds. Using scrap wood, I was able to create rigging templates for the channels that helped to keep them consistent.
 
Once done, I wanted to take a stab at rigging some of the deadeyes. I managed to do 8 of them on the main mast, port side.
I have to research exactly how they're tied off when completed to be sure I did them correctly and I have to add the cleats prior to finishing them.
 
They will remain loose until all 6 sets of shrouds are strung up.

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

You've explained the purpose and benifits of the sand very succinctly Egilman. The legs are also hollow and sand filled. When wood is initially mounted it can run a bit eccentricly and cause vibrations until shaping begins. This is also why the lathe needs securing to the floor.
Wood turning is very satisfying. Often you go in with a general idea of what you want to achieve and then the wood grain takes over and leads you, especially when turning bowls. I also turn legs and spindles for Windsor chairs, components for wooden toys, and various other items. Hours of fun to be had, Javlin. Have a go if you get the chance. A word of warning though, it can be addictive....😄
Cheers,
Graham.
 
 
 
 

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham

With the bench now finished the next task is the installation of my biggest piece of equipment. My wood turning lathe came into my life back when I was also running woodwork based evening Adult Education classes. The school had a couple of wood lathes which were so popular we had an informal rule that access was restricted to alternating weeks, with a second project being worked on in parallel. I received a letter from a friend of one of the course members offering her late husband's lathe, at a very reasonable price, that would certainly reduce the pressure on the existing equipment. Unfortunately the senior staff rejected my request for the funding. The lathe was too good to pass, and with the Admiral's consent, I scraped enough together to buy it myself. It graced my school workshop for the majority of my career, retiring when I did.
When I collected the machine the previous owner's wife mentioned that her husband had been a pilot in the Battle of Britain and then went on the become chief test pilot for BEA. He was the Captain of the first ever fully automatic commercial airline flight landing. I found this story on-line:
https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Poole.htm
A fascinating bit of history, and I do wonder if they would get away with not telling the paying passengers until after the event these days!
The lathe came with a piece of branch from a Madagascan ebony tree, allegedly smuggled back in the cockpit of a Trident. I still have some of it in my material stash. There was also a half turned bowl mounted on the chuck and my first job once the lathe was set up at school was to hollow it out and finish it. Once completed I presented it to her.
When originally purchased the lathe came with plans for a sand filled timber stand. While renovating it I added two layers of wood to raise the spindle height to a better height for me and my creeking back.

Time stored in a damp garage had left some surface rust in places but elbow grease, oil and wire brushes soon restored it to it's former glory. 


It runs as smoothly as ever, but will need bolting down to the floor before I can use it in anger.
Attention can now turn to tool storage, and benching out the model making area. Happy days!
Cheers,
Graham