How about everybody offering a few $ to help OL getting a lathe?
Let's do a group buy.. I mean a Group Charity!! Maybe someone around Texas could do this? Or maybe any longtime contributing BLF member in the US?
I think the lathe thing is just a little out of hand. For those that haven't looked around, a 7x14 lathe is about $600 USD before shipping and the 8x14, which are considerably better, are around $1000 USD before shipping. I have looked around many times over the years and read a lot of info from a bunch of sites about these lathes. The small ones, just don't let you do much at all. I bet TexasLumens knows enough to set the record straight about these Chinese lathes. He sells lathes, I think. The 7x14 lathes are good for the money, but very limiting and the 8x14 ones are just too high. Most of them are all from the same factory in China, just sold under different names.
It is just way out of my price range and that's why I never got one. I figured out a long time ago, the 7x14 lathes were just too small to do much at all with them and the others were too much money and took too much juice to run them, in a home shop, with only 10 amp circuits. All of those small lathes only have about a 3/4" spindle bore, so they can't really do much. 3/4" is only 19mm, so you can see just how small they are. In order to get to even a 30mm bore, you're talking more like a 12" lathe and mega bucks.
I think y'all need to rethink all that lathe talk. It is an honor to me, really it is, but in reality, it is out of the budget for most folks and way too much to think of as a gift.
Maybe Donald Trumph could send one. He's about the only one I can think of that wouldn't make me feel guilty at all.
Good idea, he needs to work on his karma
I'll talk with Texas lumens.
There was a fund raiser for a widow a few years ago. I don’t have any problem at all with one for someone still around. 100 members x $10 each is a grand and I’m more concerned with my own karma than DT’s. If there’s room in the main panel for 2 breakers then adding a 220 circuit isn’t a big deal. The cost is in the cable and maybe the main isn’t too far from the garage.
I wish OL would allow members of BLF to give back a tiny fraction of what he gave us for years, we would set him up with a decent lathe and tooling pretty quick if there was a fundraiser i guess.
I agree that OL will get a lathe whether he wants one or not.
It’s hard for me to work on this phone.
Someone start a thread to raise donations for a lathe.
I am pledging to donate right now.
OL needs to be able to make BIG copper pills !!!
So he can make and sell BIG lights.
OL gives away more than a grand every year !!!
Imagine BLF without him
Thanks chibi for talking to Texas lumens.
Get the lathe picked out
It's an investment in flashlight innovation and art for the forum. ;)
Good luck with your website. I hope it really takes off. I've been out of work for 4+ months and it would be a dream to do something I love (perhaps light modding). Problem is I wouldn't make any money - but if there is one BLF member that could pull this off it would be you.
That's my thought on the turn this is taking.
May I make a suggestion, when you get your new lathe :zipper_mouth_face: (I know… don’t count chickens…), maybe make a new section on your website for upgrade parts. Say, for example, shelves for SRK’s, pills for C8 or convoys etc… Parts for lights that are popular to mod. If you are able to afford the outlay eventually, do a deal with other companies for cerakoted lights. Get cheap rates for multi lights, cover up accidental scratches (not that I’ve seen you post anything like that 
). Of course, with a lathe there is the possibility of a completely new range of full custom OL manufactured lights, maybe less of a selling point with this crowd but as suggested use facebook, youtube and whatever media means to advertise your products. Good luck Justin, I hope this works out for you.
this is exactly right