Lesser importance first: I don't usually mess with small projects but had a great time doing bottle stoppers and I remember seeing coffee tamper bases, but can't find any in the usual turning sources. Anybody know if they are available??

My gast vacuum pump went belly up and I bought a Robinaire pump which seems to work ok, but the oil mist is dreadful. I saw several ways to capture it (here on the forum, Dave suggested a water filter wrapped with a dust filter , and on utube, a man suggested a regular oil filter), but they all involve screwing the filters on to the pump. My Robinaire has a large, probably metric opening, and I can't figure out the thread size. I've got some tap-die sets but don't seem to have one that large, and I don't quite know how to figure out the size. Yes, I know that I'm a helpless dolt, but my grand kids love me.

Help on one or both questions would be very appreciated.

Happy New Year Everyone,

Hilel