On 2009-06-30, Michael Koblic wrote:
DoN. Nichols wrote:

[...]

This will invove turning
things to a point so a compound slide will be in order.

Also -- ideally, you will want a live (ball bearing) center for
the tailstock end. That way you don't have to keep lubricating the
center.

Did I not mention it? It is on my Lee Valley wish list...

:-)

Another issue is
facing off longish cylinders (the inner diameter of the spindle is
only 5/16") and I shall be needing a steady rest.

Yes -- you will.

But all of that had to be put on hold as I have not had a decent
arrangement to grind lathe bits. I finally finished it today.

It nearly burned down today. See my other post.

Ouch! I'll look for that. But it is rather late tonight, so I
might not see it until later today. (It is now approaching 1:30 AM. :-)

[...]

The primary purpose of *any* home shop is to make tools for the
tools. Any actual products other than this are a matter of luck -- or
testing the tools which you made. :-)

When I look at the list of things that are needed and compare it with the
work rate so far it is clear that this year will be written off unless I
start throwing money at the various issues. OTOH that would be nowhere near
as educational...

:-)

And the more you learn, the less damage you will do to purchased
tools. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

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