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Hello, Currently, I am making my knives using a 4x36" belt sander. Although it works for many applications, I want something more. I can't really make the convex or concave bevels I want by using it, so I've set out to try and fabricate my own 2x72" belt grinder. The first step I am taking in the fabrication process is making aluminum wheels for the belt to run on. I cast the aluminum into old green bean cans. After taking apart the cans and getting the aluminum block out, the next step is to machine the aluminum into a perfect cylinder, make sure the sides are flat and can hold the bearings, and then round off the sides to allow proper tracking. One problem, though. I don't have a lathe to do this on. I've seen YouTube videos showing how to turn your drill press into a makeshift lathe, so that's what I was planning to do. The thing that troubles me is this: What tool should I use to machine the aluminum on my makeshift lathe? Should I use a cold chisel, or is aluminum soft enough that a woodworking chisel could work?

So my early Rivett 8" precision is now set up and running. I was having a problem where the nuts holding the changegears in place would tighten or loosen when running and throw things out of alignment, which I solved by double nutting the gears on the banjo so they wouldn't tighten or loosen up in use. I've got another minor problem in that there's no real tension against the backgear engage / disengage, so when I turn it on it will just pop out of gear. There's a pair of setscrews under the back gear that I assumed are to give more tension, but they're tightened down to a shoulder and dont press on the shaft. For now to keep it from popping out of gear I used a piece of wire wrapped around the handle and then wrapped around the rear oil cup to keep it engaged. Everything seems to be working alright, so now i just need to start making some cuts to see how in alignment and straight everything is. Here's a photo of the setup, I need to fabricate a little lever to screw into the lock nut for the change gear banjo and make some fancy covers / guards for the holes in the top of the cabinet that I cut for the belt, but I think I'm about ready to start making some chips ! http://www.tharkis.com/images/tools/rivett82.jpg The bronze nut for the very top section of the compound cross slide is fairly worn, so a good bit of backlash in the top, but not in the other feeds. Is there a suitable replacement available from any other machine? If not, I have another nut on the bottom of the eccentric toolpost that I got with the lathe and it's almost completely unworn, but I'll have to file down the outside of the nut to fit the hole in the cross slide.

Hi guys, I know there is not much metal work here but this has been taking up a lot of my time over the last few months and I wanted to show it off anyway, I figured some of you may be interested... my Sister spins and knits, and recently a family that has a herd of sheep for wool (as opposed to eating ) has moved in near her home. so last year in a moment of weakness I promised to make her a spinning wheel! since I didn't know the first thing about spinning, this started several months of online research and visits to local museums. the result (after about 250 hours of work) is: I had made the promise for her birthday in June but gave it to her for Christmas... since she had to take it home on an airline, it is disassemble-able and all the pieces are sized to fit in an airline acceptable luggage case, and the present included the extra bag fee. in order to make it, first I had to analyze all the bits that a spinning wheel has and determine what they are for and how to make them. the most hair raising part was definitely edge turning the groove in the 20 inch main wheel on my lathe. almost the whole thing is made of plywood laminated up to different thicknesses for the different parts. then stained and varnished. This was a very fun project, and now that this is done maybe I can get back to some metal work!!! Hope you like it, Taran

So, I now have a metal lathe to do some serious work on... Now I just need to get some stock and start making chips =) That and I need to start thinking of projects I can use the lathe for. I've never reallly thought about turning parts for blades and fittings before but i'm sure there's a ton of things that I can use it for, or new tools to help make blades better that I can make now that I've got a lathe =) 1890 Prentice brother's lathe with a big 4 jaw chuck. No Y axis auto feed or screw cutting, but a very capable machine. So what sort of projects do the rest of you use your lathes for?