My - Eccentric - Leather burnisher doubles as a vampire stake

Hi, Alan Stratton from As Wood Turns dot com. After making the travel mug a viewer with the code name of "Dragon Star" and some number asked if I had made a leather burnisher. I haven't done leather work for a long time so I checked the specs online. This is a leather burnisher. It has a blade, in this case, tapered and oval shaped. The blade is used to rub the flat surface of leather to burnish or smooth out the leather. On the other end are grooves of various sizes that are used to burnish the edges of the leather. So this is a leather burnisher, a good lathe project. It is also exciting because it can use the eccentric faceplates in order to create the oval shape to the blade. I'd be interested in what other applications of the eccentric faceplate system that you can think of. This tool in the end also has multiple uses. If you don't do leather or are away from your leather work for a while, it can be used as a vampire stake. Drive it thru the heart of that vampire and get rid of him. So let's turn a leather burnisher also known as a vampire stake. I started with a piece of cherry almost 12 inches long and 1 ¼" square. Using my eccentric templates, I drilled a center hole and two offset holes in each end. All three holes were in a line. I mounted the timber between the eccentric faceplates with brass pins in the center axis position. Once the timber is round, I'll mark both ends and a dividing line between the taper and the handle. Then reduce the handle portion a little more. This is a place for more skew practice. With the handle reduced to a good size, I'll stop and mark four burnishing grooves. I'll space the grooves 3/8" apart edge to edge. The grooves are 1/8", ¼", 3/8", and ½". Then carefully cut the grooves. The challenge is the 1/8" groove. I need to make a small tool for this like Cindy Drozda's vortex tool. Then sand and finish the handle portion. Now for the blade. While still on the main axis, I'll shape the blade with a skew and sand it a little bit with coarse sandpaper. Sanding will be difficult later so I'd better start with a good surface. Now, I'll shift the blade end ¼" into another pair of holes. With the hole pre-measured, this is a fairly easy task. I'll start the first side with a gouge. Watching the ghost image at the back of the timber, I'll very carefully shape the blade. I'm being very careful to keep my hands away and avoid any contact with the spinning timber until it comes to a full stop. I'll finish cutting very carefully with a skew to smooth the surface. Then shift the axis ¼" the other way and repeat. . The ghost is not a reliable guide, I'm having to stop frequently to gauge progress. For sanding, I'm having to use long strips of cloth backed sandpaper to keep my hands away. Paper backed sandpaper just does not stand up to the task. Finally, reduce the end of the handle a little more and sand. I sanded this one enough that it parted itself off while sanding. To finish, I trimmed and sanded both ends. This was a quick yet challenging project. I could have sanded the blade to shape it but I'm a woodturner. It was easier to get a more uniform eccentric taper with the faceplates than I would have had sanding it. I'm still thinking of more uses for these eccentric faceplates. I'd welcome your ideas. This is Alan Stratton from As Wood Turns dot com. Be sure to like this video and subscribe to my website and YouTube channel. Safe turning makes for good turning -- Please wear your face shield. Until next time.