The variously shaped profiles of my woodcarving chisel blades require a variety of strops, and I used to have to mount them one at a time in my lathe, switching from one to the next.

My fix was to mount them all on a length of 5/8" threaded rod with pairs of washers and nuts fixing each strop in place. I filed off an inch of threads on one end of the rod so I could clamp it in a drill chuck on the headstock.

I drilled a small, centered dimple in the other end to fit the tip of a cone center mounted in the tailstock to capture the rod securely. I run the lathe in reverse so the strops spin away from the tool blades. With the lathe dialed down to 600 rpm, I can hone my chisels quickly and without any changeovers. - Willard Anderson; Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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