Well, it tain't much to look at but its the shop.  Maybe I'll take a few more photos so you will have more to look at one of these days.  In the meantime I guess you'll have to be content with a few doodads, jigs and fixtures that I've got below. 

They may not be pretty, but they work, and let me focus on the things that outta be pretty instead.  Hopefully, you found those on my other pages!

Sorry 'bout the date/time on some shots.  They were pulled off my camcorder and I forgot to turn that feature off.  Oh well, next time...
 


 
There's always a lot of discussion in rec.woodworking and elsewhere about dust in the air and what filter bags to buy, etc.  Well, one day a fellow named Willie posted to the Shopsmith Users Group listserv that he vents his dust outside and blows off (so to speak) the upper filter bag all together.  We got to emailing and this is my version. 

I cut out the bottom of the bucket and put in a 4" adapter on top which I attach to a drier vent.  It blows that really fine dust right out.  It will also blow out some larger particles, but that isn't a problem where I live.  Heck, the chainsaw makes a bigger mess.  I just sweep it up every now and again.  Oh yeah, I have one of those garbage can lid poor man's cyclone separator doo-hickeys.  Otherwise it would be a big mess outside.   One of these days I'll post some plans of sorts.

This is my toolrest.  I couldn't see paying $30 for a metal one from the mail order places, and the default one that comes on the grinder was a joke, so I made this one.  Mike Paulson in Denver gave me the idea - he's got a number of ideas for little shop accessories & such that I haven't gotten around to doing yet.

The wider platform really helps with the grinding.  I don't have any of those fancy side grind jigs but seem to manage with this.  Someday I'll probably break down and get one, if for no other reason than to put a more uniform bevel on the gouge.  But then I'd just have to learn to turn all over because the angle of attack will have changed!  Groan.

The platform pivots with a quick turn of the wing nut sticking out on the left.  Fast and easy to adjust!

Note the diamond hone on the right - great for a quick lick on the skew or whatever.

This is what I use to attempt to catch the dust as it comes off the lathe.  It will sometimes catch some curls, but mostly it helps with the dust.   I made it from an old floor lamp and some basic plumbing fixtures which being 4", are just the right size to fit my dust collector hose over.  It's not a 100% solution, but it helps a lot with the sanding dust.

Click image for closeups etc.

This is my lathe stand.  The top is made from glued up 2"x4" boards with a thin piece of plywood on top to sorta even out the surface.  It is held to the legs with some 3" angle iron. 

I used some 4"x4" stock for the legs.  The legs are angled in about 10 degrees (give or take), and are connected with half lap joints.  I sheathed the ends and back with plywood for shear strength.  I also added a shelf about 6" below the top to hold odds and ends.

Note the strip of flashing - its for ripping sandpaper to size.  I've  also used a bunch of 6" pieces of pvc pipe as tool holders. 

Here's the jig I use to get the joints in segmented turning all nice and cozy.  Its pretty self explanatory.  One thing I might mention is that the angle on the board clamped to the guide is equal to the included angle of each segment.   In English, that means it is twice the angle your miter saw is set for.  If you set your miter saw for 15 degrees (12 piece ring) the angle on the jig guide is 30 degrees.   The math is easy to figure out the angle:  its just 180 divided by the number of segments.
Vernier.pdf This is a vernier scale I did in Turbocad, then converted to a Acrobat .pdf format.  It is used to create a vernier scale for the tablesaw, allowing an accuracy of 1/10 of a degree when setting the bevel angle.  For an example (and the inspiration for this check out Kevin Neelley's page at: http://www.turnedwood.com/tools&jigs.html
This is my bottle stopper "jig".  Details can be found here.
Router jig This is a jig that mi amigo Dave Stacy build to route flutes in his turned work.  Its one of the niftier ones I've seen, and looks quite solid.  Although it isn't in my shop, he said it was fine to post the photos here so here they are.
Here's James Johnson's dust collection fan that he mentioned in the rec.crafts.woodturnng newsgroup.  I've got a couple other photos and  a short write up about it if you're interested in the details.

 
Home The Present The Family & Stuff Cool Links (IMHO)
Closed Forms Canisters Misc. Thingies The Shopsmith Years
 Bowls Shop Stuff Projects  
Last updated:  October 23, 2001