Hi,
Long post - chaptered for skimming...
--Prelude-- I'd like to thank everyone for their help recently with turning bottle stoppers. It turned into a big production, as I swapped motors on the lathe (the old one overheated easily and had to cool for an hour after about an hour of intermittent use). The new motor turned in the reverse direction the old one did. This meant it needed to be right where the support for the shelf the lathe was mounted to was. I figured if I was going to go to the trouble of remounting the shelf, then I might as well move the shop to the larger room in the basement (which I had planned on doing) first, so I didn't have to do it again. I got half moved, then realized I didn't want the lathe on the only studded wall in the new room (1 studded in wall, 2 cement and one "fictional", future wall). So I used that as an excuse (along with a good deal on MDF shelf "seconds") to build a 2x5xcomfy-height lathe bench. It's much sturdier than the shelf and doesn't turn the wall into a huge speaker. I also blocked it up so I can actually slide the tailstock/tool rest when there's a couple grains of sawdust under the lathe.
--False Starts-- Anywho, I tried a bunch of different approaches suggested by various wreckers. The main hurdle was how to turn/finish the stoppers without a chuck. Someone suggested a screw chuck. I tried making one out of a stiff piece of metal mounted to the face place with a bolt in the middle. I couldn't get the bugger exactly centered. As a result the hole in the work enlarged and sent the piece flying. I tried mounting a block of wood to the face place and putting a piece of dowel between the work and the block but the first dowel broke (too thin) and the second wouldn't stay, even with water as someone suggested. So I got frustrated and just turned them between centers, figuring I'd come up with a way to finish them (I just wanted to turn _something_). The first piece had a crack from too much force with the tailstock dead center. I got a catch on the second and half the piece hit my safety glasses. I turned an itty bitty shape anyway, for much-needed practice. The third turned out okay, though I still didn't have a clue how to finish it. With each piece I practiced with the tools, esp the skew and tried different sandpaper grits. I also actually spent some time learning how to sharpen and got those beautiful, long shavings that I hadn't gotten since my father in law first sharpened my roughing gouge. I felt like I learned a lot from the whole experience, but still had nothing to show for it all.
--Results-- Then I remembered someone in the first thread brought up turning the dowel from the workpiece. When I regained my sight after being blinded by the obvious, I went back out to the woodpile and cut a log, then cut it in half lengthwise with a buck saw (no chainsaw -- too big for 3 wheel bandsaw). I turned the log into a bottle stopper with a dowel protruding toward the headstock and turned it down as far as I possibly could, plus a little bit more, at the tailstock. It bounced off my safety glasses and under the bench. When I found it I cut the dowel to length and chucked it in the drill to finish the small bit at the top. I put a coat of poly on it and started another. I forgot to tighten the tailstock set screw and change the pulleys from max to min speed, but I did remember to stand off to the side as I flicked the switch. It missed my safety glasses. I tried again, and turned it nicely to where I just had to cut the dowel and tip. Then I took a bit more off the tip. I caught the piece after it bounced off the toolrest. It made a nice 1/8" deep x 1/2" gash in the almost completely sanded top. I cut it, chucked it in the drill, sanded the top from "cheesegrater" down to "baby's bum" grits and put a coat of poly on it. So I've got 2 stoppers and will likely turn one more before xmas. And maybe make a box to put them in if I have time.
--Lessons (remember, I'm a newb)-- A chuck and