How to Make a Spring Pole Lathe for Bowl Turning, Part 4

The past is never dead. It isn't even past.

William Faulkner

My wife was kind enough to take some photos of me working on the lathe this weekend. I needed to length the slot in the lathe bed, after first cutting it I discovered that I wouldn't have enough room between the centers for a bowl blank and the mandrel. Here I've drawn some reference lines.


Thanks goodness for small chainsaws! Here I am cutting an extra five inches that are needed at each end of the slot.


Now comes my safety message: I hope you can see where my left hand thumb is in this photograph, because you will notice that I have it wrapped firmly around the chainsaw handle. I do this to maintain firm control of the saw. I know a guy who refused to do this, he put the bar of his chainsaw all the way to the femur of his left leg, luckily he didn't die, he walks with a bad limp today. I bring this up because I was looking through Dave Ellsworth's book Ellsworth on Woodturning and there are several photos of him operating a chainsaw and he does not have his left hand thumb wrapped around the chainsaw handle! This is a very dangerous practice! I was on a forest fire at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison back in 1995 swamping for a sawyer who wouldn't hold the chainsaw properly. The crew boss took the saw away from him and handed him a pulaski. He told the sawyer that he wasn't going to have anyone injured on his crew. Chainsaws are dangerous! Treat them with respect!


I cleaned up the slot best I could with a 2 inch wide mortise chisel, I was wishing that I owned a slick.

Our dog Rufus says "Hi!"

Comments

  1. Wilson, love the Faulkner quote. I have plans for a slick fr. Wooden Boat, mine is almost done, blade made fr a leaf spring which has a curve, could get soemthing fr McMaster that would be flat. Good advice on the chainsaw.

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  2. Terry, what Wooden Boat issue has the plans for a slick? Do you have any photos of your slick?

    Wilson

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  3. hey wilson, i'm almost done building a pole lathe myself, we should get together some time and share skills/learn together, we're in ft. collins, where are you located?

    ~Rico

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