Aw! Man! That is tough! And don't fret---we all make mistakes. Hope that you can set things right without having to mortgage the greenhouse--- Al Tony, sorry about the incident and damage to your pocketbook. I shouldn't think the roller bearings in the head stock would be damaged though. In all the 60 years I have operated a lathe, I have never found much reason to run one in reverse which is why I can safely say I have never done it. In fact, most of the lathes I have run, only two or three had spindles that could be reversed and those did not use a screw on chuck, but had a taper fit. Jesse in thankfully finally rainy Troy, TN (Now if I can just get a shot at the squirrel that has decided to dine on my pecan tree crop, I will be happy) MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.