The Turn of the Screw...

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I was going to rail on about the absolute shitshow that is, and practically always has been, Afghanistan: that poor benighted political football of a country that has been abused serially by governments of all stripes, over the centuries. But I won't - it's too anger-inducing & upsetting and in any case the situation is real-time fluid; so back to the trivial microcosm that is my studio workshop.

Above is pictured the current stage of my finishing something my Dad must have started twenty years ago. If I've read the thing right, it was going to be the clamping screw for the lathe's top slide quadrant, which I've mentioned previously. He'd turned the ball-end and centre-drilled t'other and cut a 1/4" Whitworth thread on it.

So far, I've turned back the shaft behind the threaded portion to the thread height, and shouldered the collar seen at about halfway along. This will act on the washer when tightening down the the slide - tomorrow I'll be turning a slot on the thread side of it to take a circlip to retain the washer; as soon as my Amazon order of circlips and a new parting tool have arrived. Then it's a case of drilling the head of the piece to take a floating turnkey, which I'll make out of some mild steel bar stock. Keep you posted.

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