* Workshop

As you can see by the above image it has not been a good week for me. I had been putting off working on the lathe until Thursday as family duties called. So when I got in there thursday morning I pressed the on button and the bleeding switch [broke off](https://i.imgur.com/QPzcuQ7.jpg). I got onto Warco and I will be receiving a new switch in the post hopefully tomorrow.

In the meantime I have bodged it, this is something I am very good at. Improvising with tools is a strong point of mine. I got some tweezers and hooked the switch box towards the hole and grabbed it duct taping it to the casing. I didn’t want to open it up just in case it voided the warranty. While it was taped there I found I could operate it with a pencil. I didn’t want to use anything metal as I am not fond of electricity. When I spoke to the guy from Warco he said I should open it up to replace the switch anyway so I opened it up when I got home from work today and opened the bugger up. I pulled it through and used the fixing ring to stop it falling back into the

[control box]

(https://i.imgur.com/oBgleU0.jpg). This is working now until the new switch comes.

Oh and I have a friend in the workshop who I had to evict. Click here if you are not scared of [arachnids](https://i.imgur.com/vwws5pu.jpg), maybe help identify it.

* Pen making

With the above problems in mind the pen making has a bit shallow on the ground this week. Which is unfortunate. I posted earlier in the week about the orange pen I made. I am super proud of that one so here it is [again](https://i.imgur.com/VSLKrYk.jpg). The tapers are made quite easily, find where the end of where you have drilled is and ensure that the taper you are going to make doesn’t hit this. I didn’t do that and so I ended up with a hole I had to fill at the end of my cap. As it was for me I didn’t mind but it meant I learned something along the way so that is always good. Anyway once you have marked the taper use something to cut it, either a hack saw or a rotary tool with a cutting disk. It will be a very rough cut and it will look very ugly. Use a file to get rid of any unsightly bumps and to clean the edges. From then it is ready for sanding.

I was working on an Omas blank on the old lathe a while ago and I had made a section and barrel for it but I realised I had drilled it out wrong. When I went to re drill it the blank shattered a bit. Well good news everyone, I managed to [rescue it](https://i.imgur.com/GlSAD1W.jpg). However I ended up breaking the section when I was shaping it. Luckily I have enough of the blank to finish the pen.

* Personal

Depression has been kicking my ass big time. Work has been crap.