A great problem to have

Shopsmith???

As another SS turner I'm wondering...do you sit to turn or are you very short? At 6'4" I find turning on my inherited SS to be very awkward. And I don't have the shop space for a stand-alone!

Hey Mac

There are a lot of people that wished they where in your shoes, congrats. I'm lucky too, SHE's getting more picky and not confiscating as much anymore .

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

mac davis wrote:

Just tell her you'll replace them all with more of the same AFTER the holidays.

You may have to divorce your Shopsmith and find it a new partner. Or maybe better hang on to it, in case the wife gets the turning bug and doesn't let you on the lathe she bought!

Ken Grunke

I find that I stand (I'm 6'2") when doing spindles or sides, and sit on a stool or 2' step ladder when working on faces/hollowing..

that's the point that I'm trying to reach, Leo... if I produce a bunch of stuff, she has to (I hope) let some go, and as I get better, she may discard some of the cruder attempts..

I'm going through an interesting transition in turning now.... when I got back into wood after about 15 years off, I was hoping that one of the few advantages of age was more patience, and it's very true.. I'm doing things now that I didn't have the patience to before, and NOT doing things that I would before (like settling for almost ok) because I couldn't wait to get something done..

In my turning, especially after reading and posting for a few months here, I find that I not only have more patience, but enjoy all the little steps that are so easy to skip when you're "in a hurry"... My tools stay sharp longer now because appreciating how sharp my wife gets them makes me more aware of the "forcing" that I was doing, which not only dulled the tools faster but actually made the work go slower once they dulled.. I'm finding that as I'm still in the general shaping phase, I'm already thinking that the more precise I am, the less I'll end up sanding off tool marks.. Sorry for the rant, but the realization just sort of hit while I was responding to your post..

Actually, Ken, I'm looking forward to getting the Shopsmith "back"... It's been my sort of dedicated drill press and router for quite a while and I'm missing that while it's being used in this current lathe phase of my "wooducation".... which was spurred by a combination of reading Darrel's page on turning green wood and my neighbor cutting down a walnut tree... lol It just seems like turning takes over the shop much more than building a cabinet or a set of drawers..

Thanks for the "RANT" Mac

I have the feeling that there are a few more among us that are in the same "appreciated" position, I for my self do enjoy this more than if the work done was not liked by my better half.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

mac davis wrote:

snip

mac davis wrote: [snip...]

No reason for dear old SS to feel slighted! Think of the Jet Mini as company for your lonely Shopsmith, while you're out of the shop.

building

Probably seems so. However, I can turn in a MUCH smaller shop than I build a cabinet in. Like, the 1/2 of one side of a double garage that I'm in now.

John Pierce Maker of Fine Wood Chips and Sawdust

I have a Shopsmith too and a Jet mini. The Jet is downstairs while the Shopsmith is in the garage shaped storage unit :-).

I find I use the Jet more for turning since I can get lower RPMs on it and I don't need the extra swing of the Shopsmith. The Jet is a lot quieter as well.

The Shopsmith is used for more general type woodworking. In particular its a great drill press as long as you don't need too much "swing". Its the only one I've seen with rack and pinion adjustment of the distance from the fence, it has a fence and the table is "huge".

As far as the height issue, it occurred to me some time ago that the Shopsmith stand and wheels could be replaced with a wheeled, wooden boxe with shelves and/or drawers. You could even make it height adjustable if you wanted.

Now if I got your comments correct

1. Your wife buys you tools; and

1. She also sharpens your tools for you.

Does she have a sister? :-)

TTFN

I get a kick out of turning without any input from my wife at all. So, when she does 'go ga-ga' over a piece, it's a thick layer of creamy peanut butter frosting over a super moist 'pudding in the mix' cake with butter pecan ice cream on the side for me.

Even though those truly gorgeous maple burl pens I made yesterday are going to New York to be with my Mother & Sister in Law, having her admire the same things I admire means the world to me.

Bill

God makes things beautiful, I make them round and shiny.

I'm really glad to get the SS back as my drill press and main router!

I make wheel chocks for rv's and was getting behind on the drilling, because I didn't want to stop turning long enough to take the lathe chuck off and put the drill chuck & table on.. lol

the original SS's didn't come with stands of wheels... you just put them on a bench.. I'll stick to the wheels, personally..

nope, sorry...

Oh.. did I mention that she's a great cook and does most of the staining and top coating in santa's workshop??

BTW.. great way to heat the shop: She was making pea soup today in a 22 quart broiler oven.. in the shop.. created a nice warm corner of the shop and lots of curious neighbors..

*g*

mac

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good thing that my wife didn't see those pens, Bill.. you'd have to make new ones for your Mom & S-I-L .... lol

mac

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