When I tried taking the handle off my Wadkin RS outboard turning stand, the threaded bolt snapped. Not cool.

I was finally able to extract it by drilling and tapping a hole into the rod and forcing it out with another bolt. I started with a small 1/4” bolt and that was a mistake. It snapped in short order. I moved up to a 1/2” bolt and that did the trick.

The OEM threaded rod had a flat center with LH threaded ends. I wasn’t able to find an exact replacement from McMaster Carr because of the LH threads. I replaced it with a 4” length of standard LH threaded rod and put some Loctite on the end so it would remain captive. There is a small allen bolt that locks the rod in place, but I’d prefer to not use it as it would flatten an area on the threads and make removal of this rod more difficult should it ever need replacing…

The final picture shows the system I will likely use to remove a center from the MT2 spindle. Unfortunately the Wadkin RS spindle DOES NOT have a through hole. I purchased a 1-3/8" nut and washer along with a large 2-3/16" wrench. The nut and slotted washer are used to extract the center. Another option is to use a wedge driven against the nose of the spindle and the back of the center but I dislike the idea of wedging and striking on the spindle. It’s really too bad that the spindle isn’t through bored. I consider it a major design flaw…

Finally getting around to the putting the ceiling panels up in my new home teaching studio. I made a simple drilling jig to speed things up and make my results consistent. More pics to follow soon…

I finally have my Wadkin RS pattern lathe cleaned up enough to use. I turned some replacement handles for the “ships wheel” on my 16” Northfield jointer today. I used some red oak that I had split by hand for chair parts a few years back. I’m not a huge fan of red oak, but the tree came down in a storm not far from my old house and I split up the butt log. Lots of work, but you can’t buy radially sawn lumber and it’s the best stuff!

Great short video of the owner of Taylor guitars talking about the exotic wood ebony. This explains the justification of why I only use domestic wood from trees that have to be cut for a specific reason. We have so many beautiful types of lumber here in the U.S. there is no valid excuse to go elsewhere for most furniture construction…

Here’s another large walnut log - approx. 30" in diameter and 8’ long. This time cutting it up in Beverly Hills, MI…about 3 miles from home. The homeowners were very nice and also have an affinity for mid century furniture. They were happy to know that these slabs will eventually become something beautiful rather than rotting in a dump somewhere…

I cut this wood at 2-5/8" thick, so it will need to dry for at least 2 years prior to using. Working on logs this large with my small sawmill requires some tricks like cutting it into an octagon as opposed to a square to start off. I only have about 15" of capacity when cutting at 2-½" thick. I wish I had something more along the lines of 20", but a 15" wide board is still fantastic. 

I probably had 14 hours of pretty hard labor into this log, but it will all be worth it in the end. 

Cutting up a large walnut butt log that I brought home from Toledo, OH. 10’ long and almost entirely clear. I believe this log was about 24" in diameter which provided a lot of usable lumber. 

How to Compose Your Shot for Stunning Home Photography

 

Awesome stop motion film showing bookcases being built.