Are you sick of the high cost of spuds????

[tirediron]

Me too! Okay, it's not really the price of the spuds, but it's the fact that for some reason I seem to lose them every time I set up or tear down lighting. So, what's a photographer to do? Why not wWander down to the workshop, rummage in the scrap drawer and see what there is. Well... lo... twelve inches of 1/2" 6061! A new batch of spuds just waiting to be born, soooo off we go...

Chuck up the stock and face it...

Next, we'll centre-drill to support the end on the live centre

Turn down the diameter to 0.435"

Marking the maching points for the individual spuds

Turning down the centres by .030"

Parting off the individual spuds after turning the diameters.

Four new spuds, just needing a quick facing on the parted side

Threading 1/4-20NC

Making some with a 1/4-20NC stub to hold speedlight mounts, PWs, etc, by inserting a piece of Ready-Rod and fixing with red Loc-Tite

Total cost: $0.00. Total time: 30 minutes (give or take). Would it have been easier to drive to town and by them pre-made? Yes, but with gas, four would have cost ~$25 and the time to drive from my house to the camera store would have taken about an hour.

 

[cgipson1]

Nice.. I wish I had room for a workshop like that! Love working metal.. used to do a lot of gunsmithing years ago as a hobby!

 

[Vtec44]

sweet!!!

 

[Alex_B]

And I really came here expecting potatoes!

 

[mjhoward]

Grizzly Lathe?

 

[Derrel]

I always heard those referred to as "spigots"...do they call 'em spuds in Canada?

 

[Overread19 7]

And I really came here expecting potatoes!

Me to, I feel that this thread has let me down somewhat

Also the estimated price needs to include the lathe and other tools as well in the costs

 

[tirediron]

Nice.. I wish I had room for a workshop like that! Love working metal.. used to do a lot of gunsmithing years ago as a hobby!

Ehhh... gun-smithing is a couple of grades above the sort of work that I do (primarily turning large pieces of metal into smaller one!

sweet!!!

:er:

And I really came here expecting potatoes!

Sorry...

Grizzly Lathe?

Busy Bee - same thing, cheap POS off-shore 14x48.

I always heard those referred to as "spigots"...do they call 'em spuds in Canada?

No; that's just me. I tend to refer to any small item like that as a spud, besides would a thread title like "Are you sick of the high cost of spigots" have the same ring?

And I really came here expecting potatoes!

Me to, I feel that this thread has let me down somewhat

Also the estimated price needs to include the lathe and other tools as well in the costs

Sorrrrrrry... I wouldn't factor in the cost of the lathe; it's not exactly quality. I think I only have three lenses worth less than that lathe!

 

[480sparky44 43]

And I really came here expecting potatoes!

And here I thought 'taters were relatively cheap, too.

 

[Josh66]

And I really came here expecting potatoes!

Me too! Where are the fries?

I wish I had a lathe at home ... lots of projects I would use it for... I can use one at work, but I'd rather not have to explain exactly what it is I'm making (which wouldn't look like something that goes on a plane), and what I'm charging my time to. Why do supervisors insist on asking so many questions?

 

[Tony S]

I wanna see the machine he uses to make gravy.

 

[ph0enix]

In my next life I'll own a lathe and a machine shop

 

[pgriz]

In my next life I'll own a lathe and a machine shop

Nah. in "my" next life, I'll have a fully-staffed machine shop waiting to turn out anything I want. And while I'm dreaming, why not a cook (I cook fine, but it always tastes better when someone else does it, especially the dishes after), and a butler (because I can never remember where I left this or that), and a maid (because I am a slob, and my wife shouldn't have to pick up after me), and a chauffeur (because sometimes I want to shut my eyes and daydream without causing carnage), and a gardner (because after the first hour, it becomes a chore), and... Right. Back from my daydream.


Sorry, tirediron, didn't mean to hijack your thread. I got a lathe too, A Rockwell Delta dating back to the 50's. Passed on to me by an uncle who was a master machinist. Unfortunately I don't anywhere his skill and knowledge, and there's no "auto" button on it. So when I have the time and inclination, I turn it on, and reduce large cylinders to smaller cylinders.