Is this a “Never Ending Battle”??????

[Runs With Scissors]

OK, so since I retired, I promised myself that I would “take my time, and do things right”...

No more of this “Good nuff” BS…..No more “Just Get’r done” Crap-ola……Gonna “do it right”…..


BUT, damn it…..This is getting ridiculous!!!

I am in the middle of this "SSQA project” and I need/needed/wanted a brass bushing/standoff.

So I go to the lathe, and to “knock one out”…….Easy enough, ….should take 10 minutes.(or less)



But then I part it off, and need to “trim it up” (i.e. take the burrs off and smooth the back of it)

It’s not “mission critical”…..Hell I probably could have used a file, or some sandpaper to smooth it out……….BUT

Those damn voices in my head are screaming “DO IT RIGHT DUMBASS…..NO TAKING SHORTCUTS!!!"

So I need to chuck it up, but cant figure out how to grab it squarely




My initial thought was to use a set of parallels to get it squared up, but they are too short.

So I YouTube’d it, and for some stupid reason, I decide that I now need to “modify my chuck” by making a set of “stand off’s”, just like Joe Pie has done, so that I can use my parallels….



The layout goes well enough,




and drilling the holes goes fine too.




HOWEVER, (and here is where I "go off the rails” )

I decide that I want to use my “new to me” Bridgeport to “power tap” the holes

Again, it’s off to YouTube University, to get some idea of how to do this.

I then find out I dont have “spiral pointed taps” (which is apparantly a “must have” for this type of operation?)

So her I sit, thumbs buried squarely up my a$$, waiting for the UPS guy to deliver my new tap set, as my project is put off for another day…….

The Battle wages on!!!!!!!