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I use those interlocking foam mat squares. In front of the bench, by the lathe and the drill. Just the places where I spend time standing. Light and easy to move about and can be taken out and hosed down. I used to have some of that heavy duty industrial rubber mat but it was heavy to drag...

Like Phil said it looks in pretty good condition. If it works ok then nothing more than oil and a brush to clean off the thread. To dissolve grease any light oil should do the trick as will turps, white spirit,wd40 plus a few other things. Regards John

The prototype looks pretty good but I think if the goal is to have something that will be small enough to fit in a carry on bag then perhaps forget about a conventional guitar shape. Use a strap and the guitar body shape is not required. It's just a hangover of history. Getting down to basics...

If I was going to build a lathe from scratch I would get a decent mains powered drill with var speed. Does away with getting pulleys, belts and bearings. Regards John

I was looking at the pic and wondering does he have a reverse marking system. Anyways it shows that practice does pay off. The saw cuts are quite clean and precise. Regards John

I think a lot of you are not taking in just what a riving knife does or in fact what a sled does. A riving knife prevents the wood binding against the blade during ripping with the grain. It is not essential for crosscutting or non through cuts. Nobody minds crosscutting or trenching with a...

I have to take the riving knife off to use a sled on mine too. Not a problem as I see it as you are crosscutting or doing non through cuts. A top guard can be built on to a sled too. Regards John

Best advice I can give is have a look around for your local woodturning club or a men's shed and get a bit of hands on guided by someone who can turn. It will point you in the right direction and likely save you time and money. A few sessions will give you a good idea of what you need to get...

As Triton says use a file on any bits of thread that are out of kilter. Its worked for me on a few things. Cant see enough detail of the thread in the pics but a close visual inspection and feel with the fingers will tell you where to file. If it comes to taps and dies then hopefully someone out...

A mixed bag. Not particularly woodworking either. I see some farm like tools and what look like fids for splicing rope. A bunch of valve spanners or keys that may be railway connected and a lot of stuff that quite frankly I have no idea about. Regards John

Thats a much better way to do a bench top than the Mac diagram in your first post. In fact that series kind of influenced my bench over 10 years ago. Showed that pine is perfectly good for benchtops. I had some very hard wood set aside for it but seeing that showed me I could save the hardwood...

Well done on the dovetails. Most of the gaps tend to get hidden after the glue up and trimming up with a plane. That and the more you do the better they get. Best tip I ever got on dovetails was make the pins and tails a smidgen longer than the thickness of the board so you can pare them back...

Thanks for the information. In all my years woodworking and with books and forums I have never seen a toothing blade for a No 80. Still if you stick around long enough the gaps get filled in. Regards John

I would not use the faceplate for that as you are screwing into end grain. A normal spur drive center in the headstock will be fine. It looks like a good solid lathe so that size blank should not cause it any problems weight wise. As its a glued up blank take extra care. I would also take off...

Yes. The japanning was shot in any case and by the time I got the rust off a fair bit was bare metal so I took it all off. Used a metal primer and a spray can of enamel. Regards John

Depends on the lathe and how robust it is. A picture of lathe and wood would have helped. 9 kg is not a lot for most lathes to handle as long as it's reasonably balanced. Slow speed while you rough it to round and by then it will have lost a bit of weight. You could even cut the corners off...

I use the regular knock in steel holdfasts in a pine top. Over 10 years now and still holding. A couple of the most used holes do show some ware at the lip but they still hold fine. I guess down the track if I ever have to I can inlay hardwood rings when the lip gets too chewed out. Regards John

Soak the chisels in vinegar then scrub the sludge off with a scouring pad or stiff brush. Wash in hot soapy water then dry and oil to stop the rust starting again. Of course if there is bad pitting then some may have to be replaced. Its been my experience that rust can often look worse than it...

Should have asked for a drawing and a cut list. Regards John

The good old Z splice lets you create good staves from short lengths. Makes a lot more wood available for bow making. You also get the option to give your stave a little reflex. Most of the selfbows I did were also spliced that way. Yew in Australia is rare as rocking horse poo so I had to get...