Question about new Woodlathe!

[Bill -]

[Fly-by-Night CC]

Good to see you using more accurate terms compared to your first post to ABPW. Might I have had something to do with that portion of your ejakatshun?

Firstly, get thee to rec.crafts.woodturning for more on your new-found addictio... I mean hobby.

I'd never grease the ways that the tool rest (the base portion that holds the rest is more accurately called the banjo) or the tailstock (end holding piece) ride on. The tailstock needs to have a bit of friction with the ways so it doesn't slide away from the headstock when you bring up the pressure against the wood with the end crank. There's at least one professional turner with 30 years experience who even recommends allowing a light coating of rust to develop to enhance the friction between the sliding parts.

I waxed my lathe ways (the flat or bar portions of the lathe bed that the banjo and tailstock ride on) in the early days of my lathe ownership, but haven't done so in years. Just wipe, brush or blow the shavings off the lathe at the end of the day to prevent heavy rust; allow the various finish drips and splatters to build a microscopic coating; and, only occassionally add grease to the pivot points of the lockdown mechanisms on the underside of the banjo and tailstock. The lathe, like other tools, will develop a surface patina of use and that will make it look and perform well.

[Ralph E Lindberg]

Unsnipped so you understand how your post appears to most people, ditch the HTML

I would get some good books on Lathes.