Hi Hal, After this thread, you're no longer a newbie, so jump in "early
& often".

Is it possible that the flush outboard spindle has a short section of
internal (female) threads? I once had a lathe that did. Guelph, IIRC?
I turned a nice maple handwheel and bolted it to the spindle's "other
end'. What lathe do you have?

Not clear why a stepped pulley drive won't work for you? Like Reed, I
use reverse a lot to screw and unscrew accessories to/from the spindle.
I stop before slamming them on tight or dropping them off the spindle.
Sometimes I use reverse to back out a drill stuck in swarf and to help
clean up a long ragged drilled hole. I make sure to hold onto the blank
or the tailstock chuck.

Not knowing any better, I find that reverse sanding can be useful when
sanding stringy wood or removing burnish marks. Some things 'seem' to
work for me that science insists can't, so I just keep on 'doing it
wrong' til science catches up.
I bet I'm not the only woodturner who not knowing any better, does
things that can't work.

For some hollowing out work, I sometimes turn inboard in reverse, ie.
across the lathe bed with the blank coming down to the tool on the other
side like the old song "she's too fat for me". A bad description, but
don't try it until the blank is secure from unwinding off the spindle
and slamming up side your head. The woodturning slope is not only
addicting, it's slippery. Maybe that's why it's so much fun.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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