I have a Chicago Tool lathe (I know - 1st problem...I hope to do better) and tried to turn a perfume atomizer today. I am VERY green at turning and figured this would be a fun project.
I got the blank for the kit cut and the hole drilled. Got everything mounted on the mandrel and found that I couldn't mount it on my lathe. My spindle only has a threaded end, and the mandrel had a #2 taper.
I turned a piece of oak and then drilled a hole down its center to allow the taper to fit snugly about 1/2 the way up its length.
OK, so now the new adapter, and the mandrel with the blanks are on the lathe, and I get the piece turned, sanded and waxed.
Got inside with my parts, put in the finials and the other parts, only to find that the turning was thicker on one side than the other! The one side of each piece is a couple millimeters and the opposite side is about 3!
How could something turning like this end up with two different and consistent differences? The atomizer works, and looks OK, as long as I take the time to properly line up the piece.
Any help is greatly appreciated. I would LOVE to do more pens and such!
Thanks for your considerations!
Ken