New Things

I have been quite busy for a few months.  My family is finally in a house (our first!), and I started Graduate School this fall (EMPA from BYU).  I've been able to produce a working prototype of a drum sander jig for my lathe.  I hold the drum with my chuck/jaws which seems to work well.  I turned and sanded the drum so that it was flush and parallel with the bed I made (piece of thick, flat, particle board hinged to a small 2x4 frame).  I staples a small strip of 80 grit sand paper around the drum to give it a test and put a couple pieces of wood through to test, it seemed to work quite well.  I have a lot I want to do to perfect the jig, but for now it works for what I need.  I started a new inside-out turned ornament yesterday which it was nice to have my drum sander to make sure my pieces were all uniform in size.  Pictures are to come (I promise).