# Learned few new things today.



## WriteON (Apr 17, 2020)

1. Free finger tip tattoos..., pick up a hot drill bit
2. a refill will not advance if it is not in the pen. Do not expect to see it no matter how many times you look.
3.  Don’t stay cooped up too long. I think it’s time to leave the shop 
Anyone have any real stories?


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## magpens (Apr 17, 2020)

Uh ... no ! . No stories at all, in fact.

I'm feeling much the same as you today !


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## MPVic (Apr 17, 2020)

Isn't learning fun??!


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## wolf creek knives (Apr 17, 2020)

Here's one I've been suffering through all week.

Last Friday my wife and I took a little hike around the property.  No big thing, we do it all the time.  Woke up Saturday morning and could hardly walk with extremely sharp pain in my right hip.  I have a very strong threshold to pain so this was very painful.  Like when you hit your thumb with a framing hammer times 20.  Tried stretching, deep heat etc.  Nothing helped.  Woke up Sunday after sleeping in my chair to pain radiating all the way down my leg, especially in my knee which is bad already.  To move around I had to walk like Festus in Gun Smoke. Monday it was no better, it was actually worse.  I was taking 2400mg of Motrin to try and calm it down.  Tuesday I called the doc and he told me, over a video chat, that it sounded like Tendinitis.  Took me off the Motrin and put me on Mobic 15mg.  So I continued to sleep in my chair while my wife took over all my responsibilities, which aren't light considering where I live.  Yesterday wasn't much better but I felt it was getting better.  Woke up this morning and the hip and knee were still painful but not nearly as bad as earlier days, I can walk upright now.  But the condition had run down to my big toe not allowing me to bend it at all.  I'm hoping this will run out the end of my big toe and be gone.  I haven't spent a minute in the shop since Saturday. My wife has told me until this is completely gone I can't spend more than 2 hours in the shop.  First sign of relapse I told the doc maybe we should just cut the leg off.  He just laughed...I was serious.


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## Charlie_W (Apr 17, 2020)

Bummer Tom, My only advice is not only listed to your doc and wife but also do as they say. You don’t want to make it worse.

Note: should you need that leg amputated, you have a lathe and can turn a custom burl peg leg...with fancy inlays like your knife handles


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## wolf creek knives (Apr 17, 2020)

Charlie_W said:


> Bummer Tom, My only advice is not only listed to your doc and wife but also do as they say. You don’t want to make it worse.
> 
> Note: should you need that leg amputated, you have a lathe and can turn a custom burl peg leg...with fancy inlays like your knife handles



What a great idea Charlie.  If in fact that happens I'll be sure to post a picture so everyone can enjoy it.   If that takes place I can join Lefty and Pancho at Halloween.


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## mark james (Apr 17, 2020)

My father-in-law wanted to clean all his rifles today...  He's 94 and some are his father's childhood muzzleloaders... (born 1881, so 1906'ish).  FIL is as rusty as some of the guns.  He was looking for a rifle his father bought to go bear hunting in western USA around 1920-1923.  We finally found it.  Supposedly it is powerful but very innacurate.  He never saw a bear, so it was never used that trip.  I suspect that may have been a good thing!

At last count, there are 11 vintage rifles.  I was always very, very polite to my FIL when dating my wife  .


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## WriteON (Apr 17, 2020)

wolf creek knives said:


> Here's one I've been suffering through all week.
> 
> Last Friday my wife and I took a little hike around the property.  No big thing, we do it all the time.  Woke up Saturday morning and could hardly walk with extremely sharp pain in my right hip.  I have a very strong threshold to pain so this was very painful.  Like when you hit your thumb with a framing hammer times 20.  Tried stretching, deep heat etc.  Nothing helped.  Woke up Sunday after sleeping in my chair to pain radiating all the way down my leg, especially in my knee which is bad already.  To move around I had to walk like Festus in Gun Smoke. Monday it was no better, it was actually worse.  I was taking 2400mg of Motrin to try and calm it down.  Tuesday I called the doc and he told me, over a video chat, that it sounded like Tendinitis.  Took me off the Motrin and put me on Mobic 15mg.  So I continued to sleep in my chair while my wife took over all my responsibilities, which aren't light considering where I live.  Yesterday wasn't much better but I felt it was getting better.  Woke up this morning and the hip and knee were still painful but not nearly as bad as earlier days, I can walk upright now.  But the condition had run down to my big toe not allowing me to bend it at all.  I'm hoping this will run out the end of my big toe and be gone.  I haven't spent a minute in the shop since Saturday. My wife has told me until this is completely gone I can't spend more than 2 hours in the shop.  First sign of relapse I told the doc maybe we should just cut the leg off.  He just laughed...I was serious.


Please ... you won’t have a leg to stand on.


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## TellicoTurning (Apr 17, 2020)

WriteON said:


> 1. Free finger tip tattoos..., pick up a hot drill bit
> 2. a refill will not advance if it is not in the pen. Do not expect to see it no matter how many times you look.
> 3.  Don’t stay cooped up too long. I think it’s time to leave the shop
> Anyone have any real stories?


If you're shooting the lathe to kill it, you have aim for the head (stock)....


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## WriteON (Apr 17, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> If you're shooting the lathe to kill it, you have aim for the head (stock)....


Cut off the head. 
Anyway more lessons of the day. Do not expect the iphone to charge if not plugged in. There are 2 ends that connect. The plug must be in. I'm learning. Been taking smart pills


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## Mortalis (Apr 18, 2020)

wolf creek knives said:


> Here's one I've been suffering through all week.
> 
> Last Friday my wife and I took a little hike around the property.  No big thing, we do it all the time.  Woke up Saturday morning and could hardly walk with extremely sharp pain in my right hip.  I have a very strong threshold to pain so this was very painful.  Like when you hit your thumb with a framing hammer times 20.  Tried stretching, deep heat etc.  Nothing helped.  Woke up Sunday after sleeping in my chair to pain radiating all the way down my leg, especially in my knee which is bad already.  To move around I had to walk like Festus in Gun Smoke. Monday it was no better, it was actually worse.  I was taking 2400mg of Motrin to try and calm it down.  Tuesday I called the doc and he told me, over a video chat, that it sounded like Tendinitis.  Took me off the Motrin and put me on Mobic 15mg.  So I continued to sleep in my chair while my wife took over all my responsibilities, which aren't light considering where I live.  Yesterday wasn't much better but I felt it was getting better.  Woke up this morning and the hip and knee were still painful but not nearly as bad as earlier days, I can walk upright now.  But the condition had run down to my big toe not allowing me to bend it at all.  I'm hoping this will run out the end of my big toe and be gone.  I haven't spent a minute in the shop since Saturday. My wife has told me until this is completely gone I can't spend more than 2 hours in the shop.  First sign of relapse I told the doc maybe we should just cut the leg off.  He just laughed...I was serious.


As much as I hate to relate but, I had similar symptoms and turned out I had slipped a disc in my lumbar region. My right leg went completely numb and 15 years later I still do not have all muscle control in my foot and lower leg. My body has made concessions and I am well now with just those few little issues. Oh, and I cant stand on my right leg without falling so God help me if I ever get pulled over for a sobriety test if I'm sober.


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## sbwertz (Apr 18, 2020)

WriteON said:


> 1. Free finger tip tattoos..., pick up a hot drill bit
> 2. a refill will not advance if it is not in the pen. Do not expect to see it no matter how many times you look.
> 3.  Don’t stay cooped up too long. I think it’s time to leave the shop
> Anyone have any real stories?


But...but...that lathe is supposed to be ankle deep in shavings!  Mine always seems to be, anyway!  At the blind center we clean up every bit of sawdust every day but at home.....oh well.


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## More4dan (Apr 18, 2020)

Sounds like some people need an overnight stay at a Holiday Inn Express! 

For me, and it happens 100s of times a day in the shop, I set something down on the bench and it just disappears instantly. And, the worse I need it the longer it takes to find. If RealTree took some pictures in my shop, the could make the World’s most effective Camouflage. 

Danny


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## TellicoTurning (Apr 18, 2020)

wolf creek knives said:


> But the condition had run down to my big toe not allowing me to bend it at all.  I'm hoping this will run out the end of my big toe and be gone.


Know about the stiff big toe... back in mid '8-'s I was helping a friend close down his warehouse... he had a shipment of down hole guns that had been delivered laying in the doorway and to close the overhead door I had to move one of them... I only needed to roll it about a foot to clear the door... it rolled away just  fine, then rolled back towards me.... I was standing on one foot with the other still in the air when the pipe dropped on my left big toe... cracked the bone in 6 places, split the toe along side the nail from the first joint to the end... I cussed, then realized my sock was feeling wet...today i can wiggle the toe a little but it won't bend at the joint.  I lost the nail of course, but it grew back..... then 3 or 4 years back I slipped off the hill behind my house, my foot went under the lawnmower and surgically removed the nail of that same toe again... that now makes 4 toenails I've had to grow on that same toe.  The original in the womb, I dropped mom's treadle sewing machine on it when I was 10, then the down hole gun and finally the lawnmower....


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## WriteON (Apr 18, 2020)

There is something else but I forgot. That is another subject. Will come back to it later.


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## More4dan (Apr 18, 2020)

WriteON said:


> There is something else but I forgot. That is another subject. Will come back to it later.



Usually about 3am. 


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## Dieseldoc (Apr 18, 2020)

Maybe to much  Krombacker Pils?????


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## WriteON (Apr 18, 2020)

WriteON said:


> There is something else but I forgot. That is another subject. Will come back to it later.


Conversation renewed..... sharpen tool before using..


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## sbwertz (Apr 18, 2020)

More4dan said:


> Sounds like some people need an overnight stay at a Holiday Inn Express!
> 
> For me, and it happens 100s of times a day in the shop, I set something down on the bench and it just disappears instantly. And, the worse I need it the longer it takes to find. If RealTree took some pictures in my shop, the could make the World’s most effective Camouflage.
> 
> ...


My house and shop eat things.  I can have something in my hand one minute and the next minute it's GONE!  And when it finally reappears, it is RIGHT IN PLAIN SIGHT.


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## TellicoTurning (Apr 18, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> My house and shop eat things.  I can have something in my hand one minute and the next minute it's GONE!  And when it finally reappears, it is RIGHT IN PLAIN SIGHT.


I hate it when people hide things and/or things hide from me in plain sight...


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## WriteON (Apr 19, 2020)

Has been said...best way to find something is to buy it again. The lost item returns immediately.


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## sbwertz (Apr 21, 2020)

WriteON said:


> Has been said...best way to find something is to buy it again. The lost item returns immediately.


Never fails.


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## WriteON (Apr 21, 2020)

I’m finally convinced. Read instructions before doing anything.


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## More4dan (Apr 21, 2020)

“If at first you don’t succeed ... turn it back down to the brass tube and read the directions”


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## WriteON (Apr 22, 2020)

LOTD.... lesson of the day. Drilling acrylic. Do not take light bites. Keep drilling until you get near the end without withdrawing and clearing bit. The blank will explode and a very nice dusty cloud hits you in the face.


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## More4dan (Apr 24, 2020)

WriteON said:


> LOTD.... lesson of the day. Drilling acrylic. Do not take light bites. Keep drilling until you get near the end without withdrawing and clearing bit. The blank will explode and a very nice dusty cloud hits you in the face.



It’s also a good technic for welding plastic to HSS. 


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## WriteON (Apr 26, 2020)

More4dan said:


> It’s also a good technic for welding plastic to HSS.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Penturners.org mobile app


I have 2 on display.


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## howsitwork (Apr 27, 2020)

lesson 1 Always  check the speed of the pillar drill! When the drill bit is glowing dull red as you go into a “ suspect bit of steel “ it’s trying to say this is hard! I have  drill bit shaped  like a large nipple , as the centre went down the pilot hole whilst the rest kind of melted into a large lump as I pushed a bit firmly 

Lesson 2 the carefully balanced coffee mug is only carefully balances until the moment it isn’t,  ie when you take your eyes off it. 

 Lesson 3 the aforementioned mug of coffee has the ability to attract wood even when you ARE NOT turning and have not even started the lathe, how??, from where?? when ??  These you find on the first swig before putting on the face mask to start turning.

Lesson 4 the urge to pee will always happen just at the most critical moment and helps focus the mind on speed.

Lesson 5 The remote controlled dust extractor will only work when the power is connected to it no matter how many times and how hard you press the remote.

More life lessons will no doubt follow...


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## WriteON (Apr 27, 2020)

howsitwork said:


> Lesson 2 the carefully balanced coffee mug is only carefully balances until the moment it isn’t,  ie when you take your eyes off it.
> 
> Lesson 3 the aforementioned mug of coffee has the ability to attract wood even when you ARE NOT turning and have not even started the lathe, how??, from where?? when ??  These you find on the first swig before putting on the face mask to start turning.
> 
> More life lessons will no doubt follow...


I’m concerned about the coffee.


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## TellicoTurning (Apr 28, 2020)

howsitwork said:


> Lesson 4 the urge to pee will always happen just at the most critical moment and helps focus the mind on speed.
> More life lessons will no doubt follow...


There is something about the entry way to my shop that always creates an urge to pee... no matter that I just did minutes before leaving the house.


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## howsitwork (Apr 28, 2020)

Lesson 6  - the extra fine, practically invisible, shard of steel that you have just honed from the edge of the now razor sharp skew chisel is automatically attracted to the thumb of the hand holding the diamond hone ( used to be oil stone but I’ve moved on ). 

Lesson 7 the magnifying glasses and tweezers needed to locate and remove the aforementioned steel shard will only be found by carefully searching of the first aid kit, located “out the way on the top shelf” at the far side of the workshop.

Lesson 8 the steps needed to reach the shelf with first aid kit on are located by the door near it , behind the large plank you were going to cut up later that day.


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## More4dan (Apr 28, 2020)

Between 6 and 7 above is “use some acetone and discover steel sharp somewhere in Thumb”


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## sbwertz (Apr 29, 2020)

Bandsaws work best when the blade is not installed upside down.


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## magpens (Apr 29, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> There is something about the entry way to my shop that always creates an urge to pee... no matter that I just did minutes before leaving the house.


The act of going to bed and pulling up the covers creates exactly the same urge for me ... despite the "minutes before" routine.


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## TonyL (Apr 29, 2020)

Replace bearings, spindle, lower pulley,  and belt (about 2  hours job bearings, after heating, freezing, lubing, and banging, rented a pulley puller to removed the lower pulley which I damaged) only to find out the clicking was coming from a lose set screw on the head stock wheel.

Don't wipe off shavings from a new carbide insert with your bare hands unless you like the sting from a dozen papercuts.


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## sbwertz (Apr 29, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> Bandsaws work best when the blade is not installed upside down.


And it took a while to figure out it was not only upside down but inside out. Not sure how they  even managed that.


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## WriteON (May 1, 2020)

I'm trying hard to self analyze. I have more finished pens than I can handle but keep the lathe turning. I'm doing this for the thrill of the finished product and it's obviously it's a never ending fun hobby. I think I should have stayed in school.
Anyway never make notes or write anything down. I have few finished blanks and have no idea what they match up to. Best bet is Trust Your Memory to see how good it is. I feel my mind is on vacation or watching a movie .... or on commercial break.


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## howsitwork (May 1, 2020)

My mind isn’t big enough to be allowed out on its own, or so SWMBO tells me !


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## howsitwork (May 1, 2020)

To follow on from a theme common above, No matter how much you shake it , the last 3 drops go down your leg. Interestingly I am told  this also seems to apply to ladies but none of them will explain what they shake???


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## howsitwork (May 1, 2020)

Moving swiftly on and raising the moral tone somewhat .

Lesson 9 when reaching urgently into a box of screws  it is written that the “chosen one “ will self select by impaling in your thumb or finger.

Lesson 10 the drill bit needed to drill the pilot hole is always the one you broke last week and the stores are closed ( hence the urgent need to buy a drill doctor  for £ to save you buying another packet of drills for pennies , And I got that one past SWMBO

Lesson 11 The edge of the router cutter is sharper than the wits of the person testing it with their finger ! Don’t ask , just don’t.


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## WriteON (May 1, 2020)

Try using thin CA like medium is used and look for the same result. Try gluing a tube with thin or filling a small gap and expecting a good result. Do it second time to see if a better result results.... (huh...a better result results?...is there a word for that).
Try peeling CA off off your fingers/hand and expecting it to come off. Not exactly Mensa


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## howsitwork (May 2, 2020)

Lesson 12 have an easy open or spray bottle of CA remover AT EASY REACH , or acetone at a push .

Lesson 13 DEEP THEORETICAL ONE - the length of time needed to plan a project is directly related to the number of Hobnobs ( cookies ? ) left in the packet and coffee consumed. Unless It’s a really big project when a BBQ and buddies maybe required.


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## Bryguy (May 2, 2020)

1) Take the chuck key out
2) Use a pusher, not your hand when table sawing


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## 1080Wayne (May 2, 2020)

howsitwork said:


> To follow on from a theme common above, No matter how much you shake it , the last 3 drops go down your leg. Interestingly I am told  this also seems to apply to ladies but none of them will explain what they shake???



Or to put it a bit more poetically , as my older cousin does :
`No matter how you shake and dance
The last drop will mark your pants`


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## WriteON (May 2, 2020)

Bryguy said:


> 1) Take the chuck key out
> 2) Use a pusher, not your hand when table sawing


Chuck key... Not me ...I go for the fence. Got attached by 2 tommy bars.


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## sbwertz (May 2, 2020)

I was going to say, the tommy bars on a 4 jaw chuck or pen chuck.  I've launched them more than once.  If they don't come out, on a small lathe they will lodge on the ways and stall the motor.


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## TellicoTurning (May 4, 2020)

If you drop one of the tommy bars off the chuck into the pile of shavings behind the lathe, it will somehow move a foot deep and a foot into the pile away from where it landed.


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## WriteON (May 4, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> If you drop one of the tommy bars off the chuck into the pile of shavings behind the lathe, it will somehow move a foot deep and a foot into the pile away from where it landed.


Everything gets legs. The farthest distance between 2 points is the item you dropped. However dropping a spring rules. Nothing can top that. It's a trump card...it's a wildcard, a joker.


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## sbwertz (May 4, 2020)

WriteON said:


> Everything gets legs. The farthest distance between 2 points is the item you dropped. However dropping a spring rules. Nothing can top that. It's a trump card...it's a wildcard, a joker.


Its gone for good.  Especially one of those little pen springs.


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## WriteON (May 4, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> Its gone for good.  Especially one of those little pen springs.


What hurts as bad are the spare springs I put away....and can't find. Pen turning can be a kick in the butt..


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## leehljp (May 4, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> My house and shop eat things.  I can have something in my hand one minute and the next minute it's GONE!  And when it finally reappears, it is RIGHT IN PLAIN SIGHT.



I learned from this very thing. I only buy tape measures that are YELLOW or LOUD Yellow/Green. If I am looking at a new hand tool, and it is between two or three brands, I choose the one that is the loudest color. Red can sit in a shadow and hide. Blue, black, gray and dark green tools can hide in broad daylight outside on a flat sheet of white plywood. NO Flat colors in orange or hot pink. They absorb eyesight and become invisible too. BRIGHT shiny colors for tools!


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## More4dan (May 4, 2020)

If I could just somehow attach one of those electronic tiles to my chuck key?!?!

Or go old school and but it on a chain around my neck. (A breakaway chain for safety of course)


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## sbwertz (May 4, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> If you drop one of the tommy bars off the chuck into the pile of shavings behind the lathe, it will somehow move a foot deep and a foot into the pile away from where it landed.


I have a strong magnet on a three foot long handle.  When I drop a bushing into the sawdust, I just poke around in the pile with that magnet until I hear a "click".


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## WriteON (May 4, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> I have a strong magnet on a three foot long handle.  When I drop a bushing into the sawdust, I just poke around in the pile with that magnet until I hear a "click".


That is a great idea. Never would have thought of it. I have various magnets on telescoping poles. However I’m still old school and enjoy crawling, bending, getting dirt on knees, elbows.


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## leehljp (May 4, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> If you drop one of the tommy bars off the chuck into the pile of shavings behind the lathe, it will somehow move a foot deep and a foot into the pile away from where it landed.



I don't know if you have been keeping up with the "Oak Island" treasure hunt, but two years ago, they drilled a hole about 10 to 12 inches in diameter down to 180? ft. and found nothing. As an after thought, one of the guys threw a coin into the shaft. They pulled the pipe up and drilled here there and yonder. Then a few weeks ago, drilling again about 10 ft away, they pulled up some stuff from 180? ft down and found the coin - 10 ft from where it went in.

Life seems to work the same in LATHE Money holes and treasure digs. Lots of money thrown in and an occasional coin comes back!


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## TellicoTurning (May 5, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> I have a strong magnet on a three foot long handle.  When I drop a bushing into the sawdust, I just poke around in the pile with that magnet until I hear a "click".


I have one of those that LOWE's sells... have yet to find anything in the sawdust... usually have to do like Writeon... get down, crawl behind the lathe and sift through the sawdust by hand til I find it... some takes an hour or more.  Fortunately, the tommy bars are larger and have red handles, so they come up pretty quickly.


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## sbwertz (May 5, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> I have one of those that LOWE's sells... have yet to find anything in the sawdust... usually have to do like Writeon... get down, crawl behind the lathe and sift through the sawdust by hand til I find it... some takes an hour or more.  Fortunately, the tommy bars are larger and have red handles, so they come up pretty quickly.



Mine has a rare earth magnet on it and a bushing will jump half a foot to it on a smooth surface!  You could attach a separate stronger rare earth magnet to yours to increase its pull.  That's what I did at the blind center.  I had one of the telescoping magnets and just added a good sized rare earth magnet to it.  Orient it right and it will hang on to the existing magnet like grim death.  Harbor freight has a bunch of different sized rare earth magnets that I can barely pry off my refrigerator.  Or, if you have an old hard drive running around, they have some really powerful magnets in them.   Just disassemble the drive and salvage the magnets.  I have one that is about as thick as a penny on  the steel anti-carding flap on my steel security door so that if the dog jumps up and accidentally trips the handle the door won't pop open.  You have to turn the handle and give it a good hard push to open it.


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## WriteON (May 12, 2020)

Learned today. I learned that lot of things I learned I did not not learn...or I would not make the same mistake again.


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## WriteON (May 16, 2020)

I learned a while ago not to mass produce. Do not work on different kits at the same time. Things get mixed up. That being the case I worked on 3 kits .... completed kit #1. Used the wrong bushings on kit #2. I’m a dopey head.


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## randyrls (May 17, 2020)

sbwertz said:


> Bandsaws work best when the blade is not installed upside down.



Addumdum;  Lathes work better with chisels if not running in reverse!


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