On 7/17/2013 10:26 PM, Roy wrote:

Anybody have experience turning down brass nuts on a wood lathe? I'm making
some replacement handles for some socket chisels and am using a 3/4 nut on the
impact end. I want to turn the nut down smooth and shiny. Using a spindle
gouge and a skew was not very successful.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Regards,
Roy


I've done this with both brass and aluminum - just shape it with a bowl
gouge with a decent steel, run your lathe at a low speed. the tool
should be pretty sharp, and you want the tool rest very close to the
metal. after you are done, use a finish file to get any ripples out,
then sand up to 600, and then if you want gloss, polish them.