To know an exact spot when the lathe is running.....

[odie]

When you need to know an exact spot, but can't identify it while the lathe is running, use a sharpie on your tool rest. This Cottonwood burl bowl has a void that I wish to reduce in size, but I need to know the exact spots where the extreme edges are. Otherwise, I'm in jeopardy of breaking through to the other side, because the wall thickness is very thin towards the rim. The Sharpie marks help a lot, and I use this method often for pinpointing a location on the surface, because otherwise it's just "by guesstimation"....and, in this case, guessing isn't good enough!

After using them, the Sharpie marks are easily removed with a green Scotchbrite pad:

Only takes a second to remove the Sharpie marks with the Scotchbrite pad:


-o-

 

[Tom Gall]

@odie What's the nut for on the Sharpie?

 

[Jim Holcombe]

Anti-rolling device?

 

[Frank English]

Clever idea, thanks for the tip.

 

[Russell Nugent]

Anti-rolling device?

Plus it'll stick to a magnet

 

[Tom Gall]

Anti-rolling device?

Plus it'll stick to a magnet

True + true. But makes it difficult to hold if trying to write with it. I have trouble holding a pen, fork & spoon, sandpaper!!!, etc., with my dominant hand.
I have a hex nut attached to my point tool (3-sided) for sharpening. Thought maybe Odie had some other ingenious use for it.

 

[odie]

@odie What's the nut for on the Sharpie?

Anti-rolling device?

Plus it'll stick to a magnet

True + true. But makes it difficult to hold if trying to write with it. I have trouble holding a pen, fork & spoon, sandpaper!!!, etc., with my dominant hand.
I have a hex nut attached to my point tool (3-sided) for sharpening. Thought maybe Odie had some other ingenious use for it.

I have a permanent spot near the tailstock end of the lathe for the sharpie, and the nut is there to keep it in place when I use an air blast to blow away the wood shavings and sawdust.

-o-
This is an older photo and things have changed quite a bit, but you can see the Sharpie here with some pencils I regularly use. They all have the nuts on them so I can clear the area with compressed air, and nothing will be blown away.....except the shavings and dust.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Good idea. DNA will remove the sharpie marks.

 

[R Henrickson]

I put a piece of .masking tape below the top of the tool rest and put the marks there. Out of the way and easy to 'clean up'

 

[odie]

I put a piece of .masking tape below the top of the tool rest and put the marks there. Out of the way and easy to 'clean up'

Hello R.....

Thanks for your suggestion, and this is a good alternative.....just goes to show there is more than one way to skin a cat......however, it's been my experience that the simpler you can make any task, the more likely it will be used.

-o-