Working on the risers

The risers are two cast iron pieces that go between the pedestals and the bed. The tailstock riser was one of the first pieces I worked on. The headstock riser is a bit more complicated, so I had been putting it off. But, the bed is just about ready for paint and these will be the last major item needed to put together the bed, chip pan, and pedestals in the basement. It will finally start to look like a lathe, again. The risers were a bit tough to work with, especially the one on the headstock end. Since they were rough castings, I wanted to smooth them out, but body filler would not stick very well. I did many passes of filling in the top, then having the filler flake back up. The Clausing group on Yahoo suggested that these tend to soak up oil over time and it was suggested that I hit it with a torch. I'm not that keen on hitting anything with a torch, but I did have good luck scrubbing with lacquer thinner until a paper towel did not get dirty. This seems to get the oil out so the filler sticks pretty well.

The bed is just about ready for paint. After a priming, I found a couple spots I was not happy with and spend some time tonight smoothing them out and applied more primer. After another day or so, it will be ready for a quick sanding and the final paint color.

Picked up a Royal 5C lever action collet closer on eBay for $52. I'm surprised it found it so cheap. Sent and email to Royal and they promptly sent me a manual for it as well.