# Ignorance is NOT Bliss



## Alan Sweet (Mar 23, 2015)

I have an extended bed on my lathe. I have needed it to turn table legs and baseball bats. But, most of the time it either is a parking place for my tail stock or is a holding area for blanks waiting to become imitation wood art.

Now the dumb part. I put four blanks on the extended bed while I was working on another. And someone in the family decided to have a minor domestic catastrophe requiring everyone related to spend the next day and a half help move furniture around.

Finally, I got back home and later tried to take up where I left off the previous day. 

OMG, where the blanks had set there was now perfect outline of the wood in rust on the bed.

Spent the next hour wet sanding with oil and steel wool and finally a coat Johnson Wax. (The wax should have been applied weeks ago.)

The bed survived, but not as a result of my foresight.

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## JR Custom Calls (Mar 23, 2015)

I just touch mine up with the ROS every month or so. I wet sand a lot on mine, so the front 4" of the bed is almost always covered in rust. Sands right off and waxes up like new.


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## Schroedc (Mar 23, 2015)

Been there, forgot to brush off the ways one day after creating tons of green wood chips. Had to scour the bed and rewax it. My little lathe I do a lot of wet sanding and CA work on it and the ways always look awful.


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## duncsuss (Mar 23, 2015)

I once heard that David Ellsworth deliberately sprinkled water on the bed of a new lathe. "A little rust stops the tailstock from slipping out," was his reasoning.

If I could afford to get a new lathe as often as him, I might do the same

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Nature Man (Mar 23, 2015)

A lesson most of us have probably learned along the way, whether it be from wood or a drink cup, or a wet box, or whatever. Result is always RUST! I really try to never store anything on top of my equipment because I'd rather not be always cleaning it up! Chuck


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## MikeMD (Mar 24, 2015)

Yep, never put wet wood on your lathe bed...even if you plan to get to it right away. Juuuuuust in case. Oh, wait, you learned that lesson already. This is kinda like working at my old job... I'd inadvertently smack my head on something, and my boss would say, "Watch you head."...as if that was ANY help! Hehe, the other one was if I did something less than brilliant, and exclaimed, "OUCH, Dagblamit, I did it again!" He'd reply, "Must not have hurt enough the first time..." Now, that didn't help the situation any...though, in the back of my mind, I knew there was some truth to it...

Reactions: Like 1


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## Alan Sweet (Mar 24, 2015)

Sounds like you went to my school. What I've learned from mistakes; I learned to recognize them later as I'm making them.

Once my x and I were making a special meal of guests. She needed warm champagne to mix with some eggs and something. As I'm opening a bottle of warm champagne, I stated "There is some reason I should not being doing this." About that time, the cork flew out of the bottle, just missing my head and embedded in the ceiling tile. 

My x's comment was, "Is that the reason?".

Reactions: Funny 1


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## JR Custom Calls (Mar 24, 2015)

Alan Sweet said:


> Once my x and I were making a special meal of guests


Remind me not to come visit you...

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Schroedc (Mar 24, 2015)

Alan Sweet said:


> Once my x and I were making a special meal of guests.



I thought you were supposed to serve Chianti with guests......

Reactions: Funny 2


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