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Hi - I'd like to cut accurate hexagonal pieces, maybe 2cm across or less, from wood 1-2mm in thickness. Might there be a tool, perhaps like a glorified cookie cutter, for doing that, and maybe other shapes as well? [Laser cutting would be a last resort! All I've thought of so far is to make a...

Hi - Even in quite soft wood, eg cedar, the darker grain bands are hard as nails. Just curious, are they the summer or winter growth? Thanks! Graham.

I don't either.

I bought a cheap unbranded Chinese one, followed by the Parkside PHP 500 B2. The first didn't last five minutes before the stick-pushing mechanism broke - just plastic, not surprising. I was disappointed by the Parkside one, as I've always found their tools to be good, for non-industrial use...

Hi, thanks, that's all very helpful! I've actually done it now, by filing it in the lathe, but it's difficult (ie impossible : ) to get it straight and parallel sided and exactly the right size. I should have thought of drilling a hole in the end, etc! My lathe has a swivel head, so it's...

Thanks, no, it's not hardened. Just 6mm studding from the builders'. Yes, it's a woodworking lathe. What sort of cutting tool? My chisels only just do aluminium, very thin sections at a time. I'll google a 'graver'!

Hi - I don't generally have any problem drilling steel. My drill press is set to 500rpm, the slowest. I suspect a "hard spot" because at school, late 60's, the turret drill refused to cut, and the teacher said, "You've hit a hard spot." That's all I know. I was just guessing about the carbon...

Hello - I want to reduce some (threaded) steel rod from 6mm to 3 or 4mm, for about 2cm of its length. Filing on the lathe takes a while and it's tricky to get it accurate. I wonder if there is a reverse, "outside", drill bit, something like a plug cutter, that I can use on the lathe? Thanks v...

I've bought various small amounts of cheap steel, mainly flats and bars. I'm plagued with finding areas that even a newish drill (eg 3mm) under pressure won't touch. Even tool steel (?) in the form of a lathe chisel drilled fairy easily. I take it that the super-hard spots are where there is a...

Ok, thank-you. Got the message.

There is nowhere else.

It's not like it sounds! No food or crockery or utensils are left out. If they are, they're rinsed before use. That being said, I'd like a mega extractor fan if anyone has one going cheep.

The thing is, my "workshop" is half of my "kitchen". I will need light for making tea and microwaving food. Maybe when the curtain is in the open position :) it trips a microswitch that will allow power to the electromagnet (via a transformer) when something is turned on (the transformer being...

Great response, thanks! I'm feeling a little guilty, because on second thoughts maybe a slave socket's not what I need, sorry. (But I'm glad to know what they're called!) Maybe I should have said what it's for. I keep forgetting, or not bothering, to pull the curtain across the doorway of the...

Hi all - I don't know where else to post this. I want a gadget with a mains socket that switches a (low wattage) load on and off as a machine, eg a lathe, is switched on and off. It's the same way a dust vacuun works: you switch on the X and the dust collector switches on too, except that I...

Yes, I'm sure you're right (now that I've tried it! A kludged mock-up, but enough to see it wasn't going to work..) If I had half the equipment some of the guys on youtube have, I'd be a happy bunny. Probably never see daylight again :) Thanks all.

Well, I suppose I could do it myself... This looks pretty cool (though I'd want a much smaller wheel) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XIzlg_uObwQ ...BUT assuming the diameter of the wheel is such that the tooth spacing of the tap divides exactly into the circumference of the wheel at full depth...

Ok, thanks very much, again. I wonder what's the longest and thinnest worm gear you can get.. :(

Ah, a froe! Jolly good! #-o

Thanks. The application's nothing esoteric. The rod wants to be about 10cm x 5mm, threaded at say 1mm, with a spur gear contacting it at one end, and a 1cm long "nut" running up and down as the rod turns. The gear might take some force, so it needs to mesh properly with the rod, which might...