My feeling is $25, maybe $30 is going to be the point of resistance. I also had a number of cigar pens at nationals ($45). Several lookers but only one buyer.
As for how long it takes to turn one, last night I realized I'd dropped my (old Delta) to its slowest speed (belt adjusted) for a bowl I was doing. Kept getting catches, and it was taking an hour to turn a stopper. Bumped it up 2 notches and things are much happier- and faster.
Today I walked past someone cleaning out a cube "Hey- got a motor controller for a 3/4Hp AC motor?" He replied "Sure, you know how to program it?" It's good to be an EE.
Reminds me of a industrial potato peeler at a french fry factory I once visited for work. They load up a 1000lbs of potatoes in a pressure vessel. Pressure it up to maybe 100 psi or so (can't remember the exact amount), hold it for 5-10 minutes, then release the pressure all at once. Blows the skin right off the potato.
I quit reading this thread some time ago due to this problem. I hit your post by mistake. There is just no enjoyment in reading that kind of stuff any more than it is to have to listen to it in person. Way too many otherwise good people end up in a kill filter because of these problems.
A coworker's wife used to work at the Lays plant in Casa Grande, AZ. He repeated the stories about watching for rabbits in the trainloads of incoming potatoes.
Evidently rabbits look like potatoes to the picking machines.
But they make an awful mess when they hit the slicer.
1) It's transfast powder, not transtint. I'm not sure how different they are, but the jar doesn't mention dissolving in alcohol at all.
2) A piece left in alcohol-dissolved transfast overnight then sliced showed little to no pigment penetration (approx 19 hrs). Maybe I'll get out the camera and put together a page with the data points here. Several other pieces are still soaking.
3) I got a vacuum pump off craigslist today and after too many trips to the BORG (I hate buying brass fittings there) got a pickle jar dropped to where the blocks bubbled and sank into the alcohol-dissolved transtint (liquid this time) dye. (I don't have guages, so I don't know what in/Hg it was at). Updates to follow tomorrow. I'll have to see how well the jar holds vaccuum - so far I had to tighten down the fittings a couple of times. Should have taped the threads, but was in a hurry.
Since I know squat about dyes, drying and the penetration of alcohol in wood, I've just watched this thread a bit. But it's OT and has moved into an area of behaviour where we all can participate if we so choose.
Well said, Robert. Done with a lot of class.
I've been in groups where they're "owned" by a loud few and I've left those groups. Some leave because they're intimidated, some leave because they're physically threatened, and some, like me, leave because they're bored and aren't getting the interaction from the group that it was originally built for.
For the most part, I do get what I came for in this group. I'm not very active because right now I'm mostly lurking and sponging information. If, or as, my skill level comes up, I'll probably be more active. I'm not normally known as a quiet member of any group for long.
I too, can appreciate a healthy disagreement. In many ways, it adds to a group, regardless of where it goes, as long as it doesn't degrade into flames. But it's often the ones who scream the loudest who get the most attention.
However, I will take issue with your closing statements. Yeah, it's a schoolyard to an extent, and certainly there are some bullies. I happen to like unmoderated groups over the ones with posts that can be pulled. But just because a group is unmoderated doesn't mean it's chaotic. I don't think this one is, and many others I've seen have their own sort of control. Plonking is one control, as is a good shot back, as you've done.
From what I've seen of this group, most who post feel the same way. They put up with bullshit for a bit, and then don't put up with it at all.
Update at 3hrs of soak under vaccuum. Pulled one piece out and cut off a corner at a diagonal. In 3 of the directions there was 1/8" or more (in one case probably 1/4") of penetration by the dye. On the last side there wasn't much. But since the block was pretty small, it would probably have been dyed throughout in a few more hours.
I put its partner back in along with some of my stopper blanks, pulled the vaccuum back down and will check them in the morning.
Hope you post your results! As I said before, I have soaked in dye solution, but never vacuumed. I have a nice Gast that is not doing anything at this time. This could be interesting.
Thanks. I really like this group, and just a couple of the guys that kept me turning when I lost interest are still here. This is a good group. As far as internet newsgroups go, this is a group.
Every group needs new blood and new opinions and experiences. To me, this should be that venue for woodturners to fire away with whatever idea that might happen to cross their mind, or their lathe.
I actually prefer the unmoderated format, and in the end, it always seems to take care of itself one way or another. Moderated groups become more of a meeting place for a certain few after a while, and while there is nothing wrong with that, it doesn't always make for constructive sharing of ideas. Gets kinda tame, too.
That's what is hard for me to accept. Some of the nicer guys that participate get bullied or slammed hard and they just walk off. If they are already successful turners, they are doing us all the favor of sharing their knowledge. They are used to sharing their opinions, not defending them. Quickly, participation in this group (or any other) can look like a pointless exercise. And then we are all the less for that lack of participation.
I hope you aren't reluctant to post. As you can see when an honest question is asked, many jump up with great suggestions, no matter what the subject. So I say, hammer away! You know by now how deep the water is, right?
Given the poisonous nature of the potato foliage, it is a good thing to plant rows around a garden with rabbit problems. My problems are with deer, so I plant the onions, shallots and garlic out on the edge.
Snakes in hay bales can be a real thrill, I can tell you that.
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