It's working again- huzzah! and some other foliage
 

I'd written a few weeks ago, prior to the inundation of timepiece
peddlers on this group, that my Jet lathe was stuck, or more
precisely, I had only 3 speeds, the lowest two, and a faster one. She
is now hitting on all 5 (6?) speeds. Light persuasion with a piece of
wood and gentle taps of a hammer and the application of some sewing
machine oil did the trick. I call it sewing machine oil 'cause my
grandma used it on her treadle machine and mom used it on her electric
singer.
I will probably head off to the local hardware store in a few weeks
and pick up some silicone lubricant. The small issue of cleaning the
oil off the shaft should not be too much of a task. It is so nice to
see the spindle singing at whatever the heck the top speed is.
I have been making pens for the last few weeks mainly for gifts. The
wife and I, her daughter and son-in-law make a trip to China every
couple years and the last two times we took bowls. The pens should be
a nice change. Pens were the first item that I ever actually bought
wood for. Like many others on this group, I used the best wood
[read:free] for bowls. I noticed that ease of turning varies quite a
bit between species as well as within species. Bocote in particular
is a bit on the brittle side as is the mesquite I have used.
We went to the farmer's market this Saturday and bought a few tomato
and chile plants. I saw the craft folk were out and had an enjoyable
10 minutes chatting with a turner - the first I have ever met face to
face. His favorite item was tops.