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This is a simple, crude arrangement to make simple cylindrical shapes in wood.
The wood piece to be shaped is supported between two dead centers, and a motor tool
cuts away unwanted material. The piece is turned using one hand, while the other hand
wields the power tool.

It is very effective for a quick lash up when all you need is a simple cylindrical
shape which can be made within a short time, without spending a fortune on the parts.

First, I get the parts together: A piece of wood rescued from the rubbish heap,
a piece of plywood for the base, and two clamps to hold the contraption together.
The piece of wood was smoothed with sandpaper on the bottom and cut into two.

A long piece of wood with square cross section shall be the workpiece. Join the
diagonals on both ends to find the center, and make depressions to serve as pivoting
points.

The dead centres are two pins, heads broken off and pushed into the pieces of wood
at approximately the same height. Clamping the two pieces of wood to the plywood with
the workpiece in between, supported on the two pins, yet free to turn,
completes the contraption.

The lathe is operated with the motor tool in my right hand, and turning the workpiece
with my left hand. I used a one inch dia abrasive disk intended for cutting metal
in the tool. It produced very fine dust, and there was a definite smell of wood
in the air.

All this wood dust cannot be good for the keyboard or my lungs, so it is set aside
for now until I rig up some method to either produce coarser dust or capture the dust
so that it does not settle in a fine layer all over the room.

Using a milling cutter on the motor tool makes for coarser sawdust, but leaves a rough cut.

I have made a small cylindrical portion on the left side, so that a rubber band and a motor can be
set up to turn the work automatically.

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