Some great ideas for getting a closer view but for me there are already much simpler and cost effective tools on the market to do the same, such as magnifying glasses from
Rolson at £10,
copying projectors used in arts and crafts at a fraction of the cost. A decent tablet will set you back well over £100 for one of any decent screen size, the there's the phone and all the other bits when you can just use much more cost effective and robust options.
The hollowing thing again is very cleaver but for me over intellectualized, whats wrong with a laser, for hollowing it is all done by feel anyway hence why David Ellsworth coined the phrase 'Blind Turning', I fully understand the idea and rational behind hollowing rigs and laser and this can be a great use to people for various reasons but I think all this is a very cleaver man making a simple problem expensive.
Tracing onto a flat surface as shown here is fine but using this method for a hollow form or other similar form has issues with shape distortion, what's wrong with paper and a pencil ?? for this just print out the design onto a thin piece of paper, cut out the pieces so they can wrap easily around a convex surface, fix them with a child's glue stick and use them as a template, practice and eventually you can do it free hand.
I would not want an expensive tablet or smart phone thingy any where near my lathe what with the dust etc, kills computers in seconds once it gets in, also I am not averse to having things come off the lathe from time to time, and the last smart phone screen I replaced for my daughter was just over £100 and that was just the screen, thank him up above for insurance.
Great ideas if you have loads of money and time, but for me total overkill, just my thoughts though.
