Heh. You know what prompted me to get my first lathe?

I had a woodworking frill pres I was restoring, and there was a part that was missing/broken. I no longer had access to a lathe and mill at work. For this job, I needed a lathe. End of story

Another "repair, don't end" story

Around here, there are a BUNCH of houses built by one builder. It has a screw tha hold the cylinder into the mortise lock - the odd part? It's left hand thread, and if you don't know this, you end up breaking the part (bronze, about 3 inches long, 1/4" diameter, with a left hand 20 tpi on one end)

Anyway, the real HUGE problem is that 1)The part is NOT available and 2)The lock is an odd size. I've picked up a few odd dollars making a bunch of this part (in brass - good enough) for the local locksmith so he can repair doors that folks have broken