She who must...

[Noddy]

A few years ago, we (myself, along with the Blacksmith and Mrs Blacksmith) visited an aging widdower friend.

At the time the aging friend had two lathes, a milling machine and three drill presses in his kitchen and a fourth drill press half way up his stairs.

Mrs blacksmith made the mistake af asking why he had all those goodies in his kitchen, and received the reply "because I can, because I'm not ******* well married!"

Now that I'm married (and the Blacksmiths are divorced), does anyone have any suggestions of how to persuade the lady in ones life to allow a lathe into the house on a longterm basis, without it ending in divorce or murder (or would that be manslaughter due to unreasonable provokation) ?
Keith

[Shawki Shlemon]

A very difficult situation I must agree . When I started the hobby my wife was curious where this would lead . I assured her that one thing was for sure I would be where she can see me rather than in a pub or race course . She got used to it and I am free to do what I like for the hobby . But one warning respect her area in the house , keep the hobby in the shed and be reasonable during family events . It works for me .

[AndrewP]

You would probably get away with a Lorch or a Cowells which can be put in a piece of furniture when not in use, maybe a Sieg C1 clone like mine but a Boxford would need one hell of a big cupboard!
My solution may be extreme but the ground floor of our home is a shop and workshop, by day I'm a lapidary and silversmith, but at night .... Indeed the first lathe and mill were business expenses
I don't think I'll manage a Bridgeport - it won't fit through the door anyway - I've checked, but an ML7 is a definite possibility.
A separate room, by hook or by crook, is, I think, just about essential, I've spent too long in cold garages and sheds to go back there - heck, the central heating and plumbing reach my workshop now.

The phrase you're looking for nowadays is probably 'justifiable homicide'.

Cheers, Andy

[alanstepney]

LBSC managed it, as did many other model engineers of that era.

Perhaps wives were more easy going them!

[jackrae]

Apart from somewhere to put the machinery, there is one other MUST if you want domestic harmony
You must get yourself two pairs of slippers (or whatever it is you use when turning). One pair for normal domestic use and one pair for workshop use.
My better half is always picking up metal "toenails" all over the house when I forget to change my footwear as I leave the workshop.
Jack

[Deleted]

encourage her to take up sewing , mine has a state of the art embrodery machine which cost over a grand and needs constant feeding with expesive materials, my £750 super 7 was accepted without a wimper.

[Jo]

I used my spare bedroom as a workshop for a while, but the lack of space for a decent machine made me build a bigger shed. If you are thinking of an indoor workshop you will have to think about the carpet: they are great at capturing the swarf, quickly look tatty and seem to absorb that wonderful homely workshop oily smell, which in little time perpetuates through the entire house.

Jo

[gilesengineer]

I've just bought my wife one of those little lathes from Arc-eurotrade, (brilliant value) to go with the milling machine she got for her birthday.
I must have got it wrong, as although my workshop is our double garage (no cars allowed....), she gets the front spare bedroom for hers!
I think I have a lady in a million!

(from time to time I borrow some of her tools....)

[havoc]

Don't get married, it takes away bargain power.

[Lurkio]

Noddy,

If you want the lathe in the house, just tell her that's where it's bl**dy well going.

Lurkio.

[Tel]

..... then run like h*ll

[jwekalaka]

tel said:

..... then run like h*ll

And don't forget to duck ;D

Jon Wimmer

[waggy]

The answer is simple!

Order the machine, obtain definite delivery date and time.
Prepare storage / final position. (She'll Never believe you, even if you tell the whole truth!)
The day before delivery, arrange for a huge bunch of flowers to be delivered for the good lady. The card message should tell her how wonderful she is!
Oh, yes, the choice of flowers - must be TRIFFIDS!

Waggy.

[havoc]

Can't you let her choose the colour? And use lavender scented oil?

[Boadicea]

Mmm!! Sorry guys, the flowers will not work. Mrs. Noddy will smell a rat when the flowers arrive, unless Noddy is in the habit of buying flowers regularly. If he is, the novelty will have worn off with Mrs. Noddy by the time the lathe arrives. By the way, we women have worked out, but not told you, that we know you do not take us out for for a meal and/or drinks just for the stimulating conversation and that there could be an alterior, more physical, motive

I thought marriage was about communication. Why not talk to the lady and tell her of your problem and inbuilt frustration - let us see if we can work this out etc. etc. All women like a good sob story and always take pity on a wimp! Then, of course, bring in some way to even up the situation (there must be something she has been yearning for!). Make haste slowly, helping things along by doing some of those jobs she has been wanting you to do for so long - they are really not that difficult are they. Build up the atmosphere over a period of time.
Work on her mother for support - mother-in-laws can be a very persuasive force which you could turn to your advantage.

You could propose moving to a part of town which is on the less desirable side of the tracks. There the property will be much cheaper and there will be room for a decent size workshop outside. Just a few precautions would be required - like welding the wheels on her car! Having your lathe inside your present abode could soon seem a more attractive alternative.

The only other way is to get into a situation where the lady is much beholden to you. Save her life by getting her off that faulty iron, encourage her to have an affair with one of your mates and when you "find out" make it a condition of forgiving her. This is a risky option, since your mate will probably not want a lathe and may prove to be a better option for her. Probably only the last method will get the lathe into the front room.

Finally, it is probably far better to have a little shed with a peep hole to be able to see who approacheth. We all wish you luck. ;D

Regards, Bo.

[ron]

Noddy
Are you a man or a mouse?







Squeek, squeek ;D
Ron

[Tel]

..... squeak up!

[Deleted]

Lets be realistic here, having a lathe in the house is like eating fish and chips in the car ( if I were a smoker which I am definately not I might say smoking in the lav) nice when your at it but b****y awful to walk in to.

I love my super 7 and that rich quality oily smell but I would not like to wake up to it in the morning, it would take the edge of owning the beast.

Lathes are for sheds bedrooms are for sleeping in or something like that.



T

[paul]

boadicea said:

...Finally, it is probably far better to have a little shed with a peep hole to be able to see who approacheth.
Regards, Bo.

Or a shed with a little pee hole if it's a long way from the house - but you definitely need to see who approacheth then!

[Tel]

So then you would need two holes, one at eye level and one at .....

Hmmm.... wonder where I put the BIG hole saw.