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My windscreen has a small chip directly in front of the driver. When repaired under insurance the bloke said it would probably pass the MOT but was borderline for size. It's passed for the last 6+ years without a problem at 2 different garages. Don't you get a free retest anyway, so why not just...

I should also add - I was perfectly happy with my grinder before it stopped working. Wide white wheels with a decent jig worked just fine for 10 years. No doubt you've already visited, but there's an Axminster store just along the Coast Road which is pretty much the only place in the area to...

I'm a member of Northumbrian Woodturners and have been for 10 years or so. Hopefully you'll find the club very welcoming. If you go on the 12th August there's a bloke from Sorby demoing various bits of kit and selling stuff as well. There may be offers but I can't say for sure. Several members...

How are you seeing the wobble? I'd line the toolrest up so it's running along the length of the spindle, touching it. Then rotate the spindle by hand. If at any point the top of the threads leave contact with the rest then there may be a problem.

We often have a 2nd person help at the start and end of the cut by holding the end of our mill like that but always wearing safety gear. Once the cut is started we usually get a better finish with just one person operating the mill as one person can control it better. Sometimes you need a bit of...

Shame about the lack of chainsaw safety trousers and boots on either of them. That saw sells for around £1000 over here (probably cheaper in the US) and if you can afford that then £100 for even basic leg protection isn't much more.

J-G beat me to it. I would suggest having a series of 2mm drill bits. Start with the shortest and work your way up. Also start with the timber more oversize - more wastage during the turning but if you're having to scrap attempts due to wandering drill it's worth a try. Also look for the...

Custom fit ear plugs designed to take headphones (done in Boots, although you can buy 2 part kits and do it yourself very cheaply), music playing through the ear plugs and then ear defenders on top. I've just checked the ear defenders and they're Peltor. Even on their own they're are very good.

Something else to add- when turning smaller items you can often get away with turning wood with an odd fault/crack etc. With larger pieces the forces on the wood are generally higher so it's more important that you're happy with the quality of the wood you have - a small blank coming apart on...

Other than having to maybe consider rotating the headstock of my lathe I've found that turning a large bowl or platter is pretty much the same as turning a smaller one. The only real differences: more weight so watch your back whilst getting the wood into place and don't drop it on your foot...

It's never affected any of the cutting tips I've done it for. If you're worried about heat then cut for a short period and then let it cool. Apparently HSS can be heated to a red glow without any ill effect so if that's all you get then keep cutting. Even with regular breaks using a thin cutting...

I have one that's probably 20+ years old and is still going strong. I don't use it much but it does what I need and produces as much or as little heat as I need. On my turning I tend to do branding style pyrography and with the hand piece that comes with the unit I was finding that my fingers...

Yes, clearly the Proxxon is the better. However, it looks as though the flexible shafts from the Dremel aren't compatible with the Proxxon and there isn't a carving head for the Proxxon (probably because they make a separate machine for that). The reciprocating carving shaft probably spent as...

A nice amount of spalting there. So did the wife who doesn't want to see you back in hospital also buy you some chainsaw safety gear? If you don't have any then please buy some. It'll probably cost you more than the saw but it's now probably the most dangerous tool you own.

The brushes were the first thing I checked, thanks. Are the Dremel shafts usable on the Proxxon? A quick look at the Brimarc website (Proxxon distributor) suggests that you can't get a reciprocating shaft for carving.

My 10+ year old Dremel 300 wouldn't start yesterday and I need a new one or an alternative. It's worked well for all that time although not particularly heavy use so I'm inclined to get another Dremel. Before that though I thought I'd ask what other people's experiences of the alternatives were...

You can save a lot of time grinding down to this shape by cutting off what you don't need using an angle grinder with a thin metal cutting disc. Assuming you have an angle grinder

The guy who was secretary/treasurer and general tool sharpener at our club wouldn't put a long grind on the bowl gouges of beginners because when you have a catch it can be huge. If you're just starting out better to learn on more standard grinds.

To all you pro edge users - have you had a problem getting a long swept back grind? Last time I saw Martin Pidgeon he said that there was an issue with the Proedge which meant that some grinds were difficult/impossible to do on the machine. This includes one of the grinds that he prefers and...

Thanks. The colleague who suggested it tends to get excited about projects and then distracted by the next one and so I suspect that I'll never make one. It sounded like a fun, unusual build though.