I’ve been making some more globe stands. I finished some that I turned earlier, and made up a variation on an existing stand, three wanted. To make the job easier I use a couple of finishing aids.
I make holders to help with finishing the stands. Most of the stands that I make have a spindle fitted to a disc at the bottom. I paint them before applying shellac. Before they dry, they are difficult to handle. I made some little blocks with a hole to fit the spindle tenon. They are handles to hold the spindles by. I put the spindle and block in the lathe together to apply the shellac evenly with the lathe running at low speed. The holes in the blocks go right through, so I can use the original centres on the spindles. When the finish is on, I can hold the blocks while the spindles are wet, and the blocks stand the spindles safely while they dry.
The second of my finishing aids are holders for the discs. The holders are square blocks with a small central peg. The peg fits in the screw chuck hole in the underside of the disc. I put the disc and block together on the lathe by pinning them against a small faceplate with the tailstock. I apply the shellac with a brush while the disc is slowly spinning. Without the holder, the disc would have to stay in the lathe until it was dry enough to handle. This is not practicable when doing batches.