metaljunkie

How strong is the odor?

Haven't really had time to think about a finish yet. Do you have any recommendations on a low odor protective finish. I think it would be hard to use a standard stain or varnish because the smell would migrate to other apartments which would equate into pissing off the neighbors.

Nordraw, I use a vacuum dust system I picked up at Harbor Freight with a trash can cyclone separator from Wood Craft that is not very noisy at all and the lathe is pretty quiet. No one has complained since I started back in April. The vacuum doesn't catch all the chips, but does a good job on the fine dust and when I'm done turning a project I disconnect the intake hose from the magnetic dust guard and suck up all the bigger wood chips on the floor. My floor is hard wood so I wouldn't recommend this for a carpet. I also try to time my projects for week ends and don't start too early so I don't disrupt the neighbors. I try to respect the neighbors and keep noise to a minimum. After clean up which takes maybe 30 minutes I cover the lathe with a grill cover and push the tool cart in my hallway closet. The only caveat is you have to make your wife a bowl or pen every now and then so she don't tell on you.

Nice work on the cutting board. Love the colors.

My Rockwell Blade Runner X2 table saw. Great little saw for what it is. Compact, powerful, but sounds like a 747 jet getting ready to take off. Louder than any of my other power tools, except maybe my router.

Looks more sturdy than the fiberglass pole I bought a few years ago from Lowes.

If it wasn't for tinkering on my lathe I would go nuts. I'm use to country living, but my job moved, and so did I. Got to eat and make it 10 more years til retirement.

Thanks ChrisK. I'm new to this apartment living, but where there's a will, there's a way.

Ok folks, here's my new mobile work bench. After having to re-locate to the big city I was forced to leave most of my big tools and equipment at my home and adapt to apartment living. Being a guy that likes to fix things and yes, sometimes tear them up I needed my tools, mostly to keep me sane. I bought a mini wood lathe from Harbor Freight and started turning pens, small bowls, and such. Well now I am missing my G0602 metal lathe and decided to try and find a way to get it in this small one bedroom apartment without killing myself, or tearing up the floors. So after looking for a suitable mobile work bench that was priced within my budget I discovered there isn't one. Now I'm not that cheap, but I needed a work station that was a little wider and longer than my lathe, rated for the weight of 400lbs. So I decided my only alternative was to build one. Picked up the lumber from Lowes today, a few boxes of screws and presto. I have a new bench. Already had the casters I accidently double ordered from Amazon. I plan to enclose the back with 1/4" plywood, add two fold down shelves on the sides that I can raise up if I need to use a bench grinder or my smallish drill press. Took about 4 or 5 hours to build. Price $68.00 including three boxes of screws and a cheap 12" level. Let me know what you think.

Good to see another Raven owner out there.

Very nice.

I have several 110 welders in my shop. Two Lincoln wire welders, a Harbor Freight wire welder and the Klutz stick welder. The best one so far is one I picked up from Northern tool a few years ago. It's inverter type stick welder. Not much bigger than a shoe box. I keep it on the second shelf of my welding cart, directly under my small plasma cutter. Awesome welder for any projects I need to do. You can also purchase a tig attachment for it.

I looked into several jig systems for sharpening wood turning tools and they are all pretty expensive in my mind. I watched a lot of videos of free hand sharpening and knowing my way around a bench grinder and file I just started learning by trial and error. The main thing is never let the heat build up to a point where the tip looses its temper, get the right angle and maintain the consistency. I made several mistakes in the beginning and still do at times, but have gotten better over the months. A buddy of mine bought an expensive jig and regretted it later, not because of how it performed, but that he spent so much on a simple tool. He told me I could borrow his and make the parts myself to save the money. I never took him up on the offer after I started sharpening free hand. Most of the time I can touch my gouges up with a few licks from a good file. They seem to do pretty good like that. Not saying I don't need a jig, but that is a lot of money for a few pieces of metal that still requires a certain amount of skill to get a sharp tool.

Turning flowers is a trade secret, ha ha.

Thanks

I picked up the laser engraver from Amazon, for about $110.00. It was a pain setting up the software, but does a good job on small items like pens, and small boxes. I included a picture of a pen I made for my daughter so you can get an idea of the engraving ability.

Nice workmanship! I got into making pens a few months ago because I had to down size my tools for apartment living in the big city. Pens are fun to make and everyone in the family loves them as gifts. I also picked up a inexpensive laser engraver and made the pens more personal. Now try your hand at small bowls, toy tops and ring boxes for variety. I included a few pics of my latest projects, all done with a cheap mini lathe. Hope you guy's like them.

Still can't see them Dan.