Lathe Tool Grinding Helper

[Pete O]

I vote blue.

[randyc]

Pete, blue is my preference also.

Today I contented myself with what I thought would be a quick job:  cutting the mounting holes on the panel.  I installed all of the parts to the baseplate temporarily and immediately saw that there would be interference between the electrical components (switch and AC socket) and the motor.  (The fuse can be mounted behind the panel at any convenient location.)

The only way things would fit is to locate the two components as close to the legs as possible and at an angle.  Well, that was OK with me, things don't always have to be orthogonal.

So I placed the little panel in the mill vise on a piece of scrap wood and used angle blocks to establish the orientation between the cutouts and the legs.  I placed scraps of my old business cards between the panel and the angle blocks to prevent slipping.

   

The cutout for the AC socket went fine, no hiccups at all.  However milling the cutout for the small rectangular switch was not so fortuitous.  Twice the setup slipped, even though it was precisely the same as it had been previously.  No damage occurred but I didn't want to try for a third strike.

I don't know why I was taking so much time fiddling with the angle blocks anyway, there is nothing precise about the location and angle of the cutouts.  So I cut a scrap of wood at the required angle and then screwed the panel to it.  Cutting the second cutout took less than a minute.

   

And here's the panel again with it's two wonky cutouts.  Oh well, once it's done nobody but me will see the panel so I won't have to be embarrassed by it's appearance, LOL.