Some of my turned items just didnt lend themselves to be finished on the lathe for one reason or another. That meant I had to apply finish coats in a manual manner.
This is VERY difficult, no matter how patient you are. I am fond of spray finishes because it is easier to apply it evenly, but still its tedious for bowls.
That prompted me to find a motorized turntable of some kind.
I looked all over the web. I found some, and the price for them was OUTRAGEOUS.
As my frustration mounted, my engineering instincts kicked into gear as well.
I came up with a solution.
The next Saturday, I set out to our local flea markets and scoured yard sales. The day started out cheery and hopefull but by lunch time my expectations were diminishing.
Finally, my last hope and last stop was a flea market.
I asked a merchant with a huge selection of goods, so many I could not discern one object from another, if he had what I was seeking. Lo and behold, under the table covered in a layer of dust so thick it looked like brown felt, was the prize of my attentions.
An old LP record player!
Yes, an old vinyl record player, you know, 8, 16, 33 rpms. PERFECT for a turntable to spin objects slowly and apply finish.
I took the record player home and set to work on it. It needed some tuning up, but worked fine. I made a hub from maple that fits on the skinny chrome spindle, turned to fit the counterbored feet of my bowls and urns.
From that point on when I put my final coats on my urns and bowls, I usually drop it on the hub, plug it in and spin it at 16 rpms and rarely get runs or imperfections.
You can take something old, delapidated and forgotten and make something new and quite useful. Some old things can be recycled into new tools very innexpensively.
Bet you have one up in your attic!
cad
This is VERY difficult, no matter how patient you are. I am fond of spray finishes because it is easier to apply it evenly, but still its tedious for bowls.
That prompted me to find a motorized turntable of some kind.
I looked all over the web. I found some, and the price for them was OUTRAGEOUS.
As my frustration mounted, my engineering instincts kicked into gear as well.
I came up with a solution.
The next Saturday, I set out to our local flea markets and scoured yard sales. The day started out cheery and hopefull but by lunch time my expectations were diminishing.
Finally, my last hope and last stop was a flea market.
I asked a merchant with a huge selection of goods, so many I could not discern one object from another, if he had what I was seeking. Lo and behold, under the table covered in a layer of dust so thick it looked like brown felt, was the prize of my attentions.
An old LP record player!
Yes, an old vinyl record player, you know, 8, 16, 33 rpms. PERFECT for a turntable to spin objects slowly and apply finish.
I took the record player home and set to work on it. It needed some tuning up, but worked fine. I made a hub from maple that fits on the skinny chrome spindle, turned to fit the counterbored feet of my bowls and urns.
From that point on when I put my final coats on my urns and bowls, I usually drop it on the hub, plug it in and spin it at 16 rpms and rarely get runs or imperfections.
You can take something old, delapidated and forgotten and make something new and quite useful. Some old things can be recycled into new tools very innexpensively.
Bet you have one up in your attic!
cad
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