Great idea for a thread, Bryan....here's my ideas for gadgets, some of which have been shown before.
Bowl and platter reversing...apart from the usual Cole jaws for my scroll chuck, I also have a series of replacement 'buttons' that I can use to suit the shape of the rim of bowls that I'm reversing. I didn't set out to buy these, specifically, but can't resist browsing in hardware shops and when I see something that I believe could be useful (and isn't too expensive) I buy it. So, a collection of tap washers, door stops and rubber bungs have now built up and all get frequently used.
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5305_zps39165211.jpg)
Incidentally, the rubber door-stops can be very useful when reversing small items against a friction pad, as a means of pressing them in place, without marking them. They can also be used as a gentle form of support at the tailstock end, for spindle-turned items that tend to 'throw' or wobble when their stem is turned very narrow.
In a similar manner to the collection of Cole-jaw buttons, I'm also building up a variety of buttons and cams for my platter reversing jigs, which I use quite frequently...
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5303_zps3f1fa74e.jpg)
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSC_0004_zps4165ba8c.jpg)
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5306_zpsa592b721.jpg)
I have several compression chucks made of timber. They are all cup-shaped and use hose clips to tighten them. They are very useful for gripping delicate items and especially for hollowing hemi-spherical shapes, to say nothing of safely holding timber that is riddled with splits and cracks....
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5304_zps133d4418.jpg)
I keep a set of 'dollies' that can be face-plate of scroll-chuck mounted, these can be concave, or convex and are usually used with a piece of friction-cloth over them.
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5302_zpsb924826a.jpg)
One of the most useful aids that I made a few months ago was a very simple rack that fits into the outboard banjo and holds loads of sundry items that are now easily put back where they belong and I no longer have to go searching for them amongst the shavings. This pic shows it temporarily slipped into the banjo over the bed because I was platter reversing at the time.
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5307_zpsfa6166b8.jpg)
....and finally, there's a tool rest that I use in front of my grinder, for scrapers and roughing-out gouges. Being made of wood, there's a lot of friction on the bracket between the base and the table section. This is easily controlled by adjusting the tightness of the securing/pivot bolt, so I can adjust it by just tapping the table on the front or back edge, without having to fiddle with the fixings each time.
![](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a238/lessymonds/DSCF5308_zps192d8537.jpg)
No doubt other things will come along as time goes by....I really enjoy thinking about gadgets like this and getting them working efficiently.
Les
p.s. John (BHT)....I turned those hose-clips around
![Wink ;)](https://www.awgb.co.uk/awgbforum/Smileys/classic/wink.gif)