The last couple of months have been overwhelming. Between making a living at the day job, the holidays and household projects there has been very little time to spend in the shop.
There was one commission to make a few religious pieces. Every hear of a butter lamp? But that is all I’ve really done and why there has been no update in so long.
However, I was able to finally finish one of my shop improvement projects. I refer to it as my R2D2 unit. Maybe it should be called the S2 unit for sharpen and suck?
At first glance it is what it appears. A grinder mounted on top of an old dry vac base. But take a little closer look and you will see this grinder is set up for lathe gouge sharpening.
There is a drawer under the grinder to keep the odds and ends clean and clutter free. On the side I have the modular Wolverine
attachments. The little block of wood is the jig I have made to ensure the correct depth setting each time I use the vari-grind attachment.
The secret however is below. If you look closely you will see a vacuum gauge and what appears to be a typical household light switch. Mounted within this unit is my vacuum pump. Inside it is kept clean and free from the debris that is thrown off the lathe.
Having both of these commonly used tools mounted to a mobile base allows me to easily move them next to the lathe of my choice and have the tools I need within easy reach.
Vacuum pumps are not light and inconvenient at best. Having it mobilized I can use it for lathe work or when doing flat work I simply roll it over to use as with a vacuum bag.
For sharpening, it is really nice to simply turn to my left or right and take care of a quick sharpening. In the past this necessity has always been a frustration. I’ve looked at it as an interruption of the work at hand. Now the sharpening happens so fast that I never even shut down the lathe.
