Wife's Christmas gift

[ScrapMetal]

(12-24-2013, 07:08 AM)Mayhem Wrote: Ron - it is a piece of art, not a part that has to be within specs. The little blemishes that you see or the fact that the bevel may not be consistent only add to its uniqueness. In fact, an uneven bevel may look good. You may also wish to polish only the outside faces and leave the others more matt, which will add dimension. What I'm trying to say is worry less about the little things and more about the big picture. If your wife points out that the radius is .005" off I'll stand corrected

Either way - you are doing a splendid job.

My wife would never point out any flaws. It's more of my personality ("anal retentive" ) to obsess over minutia. That's an interesting idea about different finishes on different surfaces. I'll see how that goes tonight when I'm trying to get it done.

(12-24-2013, 09:01 AM)TomG Wrote: Looking good Ron.

I second Kens recommendation for using ScotchBrite pads on it. The 7447 maroon (not moron) pads will leave a nice luster and cover, or make most imperfections less obvious. You always have the option later to polish it out. A work of caution on hand polishing that I've learned working with guns. Be careful to not round corners in the polishing process. It's easy to blend everything together and lose the intent of the original shape.

Tom

Yep, picked up some of the moron pads (Hey, this is me! ) and will, if you pardon the pun, give it a whirl. The hardware store didn't have much to choose from so I've got a couple of the six inch "wheels", one for contours and one for flats. If it comes to worst I can just use them by hand.

Let's not talk about "rounding corners". I made that mistake some years ago with an octagonal black powder pistol barrel. The whole mess is still sitting in my "unfinished projects" pile until I recover from the shame and figure out how I'm going to salvage it.

I'll be very careful.

(12-24-2013, 11:04 AM)EdK Wrote: Ron,

Put it in the 4-jaw chuck and indicate off of the round portion. That should give you a consistent chamfer.

Nice job, by the way.

Ed

Actually Ed it was one of those "Doh!" moments. It actually turned out to be the easiest setup I've ever done on the lathe. With the square sides held in the jaws and the rounded portion to indicate off of it was a real breeze to center (just as you suggest).

(12-24-2013, 01:40 PM)DaveH Wrote: Ron, That is beautiful

DaveH

Once again, thanks guys. I appreciate all the advice and comments. This one really gave a jolt to my learning curve and about the only tool in the shop I didn't use was my boring bar (and "NO" it doesn't need any holes ).

I got it beveled and I had a nice little session with a bandsaw and spray bottle of WD-40. The cut ended up so smooth it doesn't need any other kind of finish. Big surprise/plus there!

It still needs to be squared off inside the cross a bit. I did pick up a couple of carbide Dremel tips to facilitate that so I don't think it will take too long. The rest will be the finish work.



Now, as long as I don't end up mauling it with the Dremel tool all will be good.

The next pic you see should be it finished as I'm just about out of time here. Nothing like pushing a project to the last seconds.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas guys!

-Ron