I decided that the screw used to lift the weight on the Bandaid dispenser was unsightly and needed some dressing up. I also wanted to try to turn some brass on the lathe.
I figured a nice Brass Knob would look good. Something with a nice smooth curve and a polished look. As I thought about it, however, I realized using the Lathe cross slide controls would make it very hard to get a smooth continuous curve. Reading up on this kind of turning I learned that smooth curves like this, if not cut on a CNC lathe, are generally turned freehand. I’ve done enough wood turning so I thought I’d give it a try…
Heck, that wasn’t so hard… Let’s continue…
![Click to view larger photo.](https://tomstudwell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/FreehandSetup-300x271.jpg)
Here is the setup of the support I used to freehand turn the brass knob. The carbide turning gouge rest on the 123 block held in place with the magnet.
Finally, with the knob left with just a little nub at the bottom of the base, I needed to make a clamp that would hold the knob while I machined the base. I couldn’t use the vice directly on the soft brass, so…
![Click to view larger photo.](https://tomstudwell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/PullBoringHead-300x235.jpg)
First time I used the Boring head with the new MT2 post I got as a Christmas present. I needed the adjustable boring head to machine a two level hole exactly the same diameters as the brass knob.
![Click to view larger photo.](https://tomstudwell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/PullInClamp-300x232.jpg)
Cross-section view of the clamp. Note the two tiers of diameters so the knob is held tightly at top and bottom without marring the polished surface.
![Click to view larger photo.](https://tomstudwell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/PullClamped-300x261.jpg)
Here is the knob, clamped on the Mill so that the nub can be milled off and a threaded hole can be machined exactly into the center of the base.
And here is the result!