Shopsmith Forums

Charlese,
What an excellent answer.
One time during this project I turned the speed up only a llittle and got more chatter than I was getting so I turned the speed back down. Then it dawned on me that I probably needed to sharpen the tool. After that I forgot all about turning the speed back up ...

JPG,
It's hard to tell when someone is teasing or not on a forum but I was just teasing you a little bit about the beard.:) A few years ago I got my beard caught in a hand drill. When I got it all out about half of one side of my face hair was still wrapped around the chuck. I've been extra cautious ...

JPG,
Some time ago, a guy told me if you were going to change careers do it after you turn 60. So I did. A year ago I would never have given this job a thought. But it's kinda nice. I get to go back to school and there's lots of stuff to learn in my old age.
To keep on topic, I have that book you ...

Beeg,
Didn't mean to ignore you.I'm on slow speed with the tool rest very close. "What gouge...?" I have a large one and a small one. I'm using the small one now that the corners are gone. You see how versed I am in all this stuff. Maybe if I pretend this is just a very large pen it will be better.

All right, you talked me into it. After 13+ years in the factory working in the wet paint dept. then 11 years working in my powder coating shop I have finally stopped all that nonsense. I am now a librarian at our local town library.
Yes, in Dublin, west of Richmond.The bright lights and big city ...

I may have that book if it's one you get with the Shopsmith. Never thought of looking there. You don't get a lot of 'whipping' action making a pen, so this caught me by surprise. I guess it shouldn't have but it did. Such is life! Thanks, guys. If I can make something like a backrest that will fix ...

The gouge is sharp. I didn't notice the chatter until I got it round. Probably too much beating, taking the corners off. If I take a very light cut I get no chatter, but I can't imagine how long it will take to do this project with the light cuts.
I actually have a steady rest on order from ...

I'm using a gouge so far for roughing, so maybe I'm doing a little of both?
garyspens

Okay, so I'm newer than I thought. Don't know the difference between cutting or scraping.

I'm not totally new to the lathe but I am new to turning long pieces on the lathe. I'm trying to turn a spindle for a chair. It's 28" long. When I get toward the middle of the piece I start getting chatter. The diameter right now is about 1" and I have to go down to a tad smaller than 5/8". Is there ...