# Pen starter kit



## Bean_counter (Feb 16, 2013)

Hey everyone I just made a stand today for the lathe I bought used. What is a good suggestion for a Pen starter kit.? I assume I need a mandrel and what else? What size mandrel would I need? Btw the lathe is a PSI turncrafter pro. Sorry I'm new to this.

Thanks


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## duncsuss (Feb 16, 2013)

Bean_counter said:


> Hey everyone I just made a stand today for the lathe I bought used. What is a good suggestion for a Pen starter kit.? I assume I need a mandrel and what else? What size mandrel would I need? Btw the lathe is a PSI turncrafter pro. Sorry I'm new to this.
> 
> Thanks



Uh-oh ... it's all downhill from here 

Mandrel: there are 2 schools of thought on this. Some turners whose work I admire greatly refuse to use a mandrel, they say that all it does is cause problems because eventually the middle will bow and as a result everything will be out of round.

They turn "between centers" -- using a dead center in the headstock and a live center in the tailstock. Some use bushings that are designed for between-center turning, others gauge the diameter of the barrel(s) using digital calipers.

If you're going to go that route, I'd recommend buying between-center bushings designed for the pen kit that you're making.

Or, you can do like most folk and get a mandrel. There are many flavors, the only critical point is that it has to fit your lathe -- so if it's a mandrel with a Morse taper, get the right one for your lathe (probably MT#2).

The other end of the mandrel needs support -- typically, one uses a live center with a 60 degree cone (not the sharp pointy one that might have come with the lathe, that's designed to stick into the end of a piece of wood when spindle-turning.)

An alternative is the "mandrel saver" (you can buy a mandrel with mandrel saver as a combo package from PennState).

If you're using a mandrel, you need the bushings for the kit -- the bushings not only guide you to the correct diameter at the ends of the barrel, they support the blanks in those cases where the tubes are not the exact same diameter as the mandrel rod.

You need a method of drilling the hole down the middle of the barrel pieces. A drill press or special jaws on a lathe chuck are the best options.

You need the drill bits to match the diameter of the brass tubes in the pen kits you're making.

And you need a method to trim the ends of the blanks after the brass tubes are glued in -- not just trim, but _trim square_. They sell "barrel trimmers" to do this, they come in several sizes and there are also "adapter sleeves" to make them fit snug in larger diameter tubes. Some people use a disk sander with a jig to hold the barrel dead square to the sanding surface -- this often works better than a barrel trimmer when the wood is crumbly or has a tendency to tear out (like really expensive burl does ... DAMHIKT :fool:)


It's a long list -- you might not need all of these items depending on the pen kit you choose to make.

Each new pen kit typically requires you to buy new bushings, new drill bits, and new sleeves for the barrel trimmer.

HTH


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## Bean_counter (Feb 16, 2013)

Wow Duncuss that is a lot to absorb and thx for going into detail. Can you take a peek at this link and let me know if this would be a goof place to start http://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSTART1F.html

Or this link from amazon http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Pen-Making-Starter-Pack/dp/B0043M5YD4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1361070000&sr=8-4&keywords=pen+turning

Thanks....

Michael


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## duncsuss (Feb 16, 2013)

Bean_counter said:


> Wow Duncuss that is a lot to absorb and thx for going into detail. Can you take a peek at this link and let me know if this would be a goof place to start http://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSTART1F.html
> 
> Or this link from amazon http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Pen-Making-Starter-Pack/dp/B0043M5YD4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1361070000&sr=8-4&keywords=pen+turning
> 
> ...



What tools do you already own?

- IMO a drill press is better than the "pen press" shown back-right in the Amazon picture
- do you have any lathe tools? I use a regular High Speed Steel spindle roughing gouge and skew, but others swear by "carbide tools" ("Easy Wood Tools", etc.)
- do you have a grinder to sharpen the tools? If not, the cheapest startup would probably be a carbide pen tool like THIS ONE from PennState

The advantage of the PennState kit that you linked to is that the blanks are already drilled. Longer term, you'll have to figure something out.


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## Bean_counter (Feb 16, 2013)

Yeah when I bought the lane it came with a new set of PSI high speed steel tools. I don't own a drill press but have access to one. So I guess I need a mandrel (#2 MT), a pen mill, and pen press? I don't have a grinder, so. Would need to look into one. 

Thanks again,

Michael


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## duncsuss (Feb 16, 2013)

Bean_counter said:


> Yeah when I bought the lane it came with a new set of PSI high speed steel tools. I don't own a drill press but have access to one. So I guess I need a mandrel (#2 MT), a pen mill, and pen press? I don't have a grinder, so. Would need to look into one.
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Michael



Grinder: THIS one has a decent reputation and it comes with 2 "white wheels" (meaning you don't have to go out and spend another $60 to replace the nasty gray ones).

(Pen mill - I called it a barrel trimmer, same thing.)

You will need something to hold the pen blank perfectly upright underneath the drill bit. It's really easy to make your own "jig" -- my first one was a wooden handscrew clamp. I cut a pair of V-notches across the faces. I clamped the pen blank into the notches, then clamped that whole thing to the table of the drill press.

The list gets longer ... and longer ...


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## Bean_counter (Feb 16, 2013)

Haha sounds like it.... This list is gonna get me in trouble with the Mrs. Ok so I think I got down what I need at least to get started. I really really appreciate your help duncsuss. Thanks for the link to the grinder and the idea of using a hands crew clamp for a jig. Beats the 80 dollar jigs on rockler and woodcraft. Who knew pen turning adds up, lol.... The wife will tell me to go buy a bic pen, lol...

Thanks again


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## duncsuss (Feb 16, 2013)

Bean_counter said:


> Thanks again


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## Jdaschel (Feb 16, 2013)

Hi, 
I would go the no mandrel route also, 
If I was you I would get this:
-Dead center
-live center
-set of calipers
-round carbide tool (i would suggest a smaller diameter tool, such as the small ez wood tool one
-A chuck, with pen jaws. (but if you have a drill press already you can use that.)(but with a chuck you can also do many other things with it too) i would recommend the gold barracuda chuck from psi. It has a ton of different jaws and it is really good quality. 
-micro mesh
-pen press ( but you can make some easy jigs to avoid wasting your money) They are all crap and break easily. 
-some drill bits(depends on the kit)

That is really all you need to start to make awesome pens. You dont have to waste money on bushings everytime you get a new kit. And you dont have to waste money on mandrel. I am assuming you are a newbie turner. So you probably dont want to start off with a ca finish. I would use some friction polish, or wax finishes until you want to venture up.


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## healeydays (Feb 17, 2013)

Are there any wood turning clubs or schools that offer continuing education classes on woodworking in the Roswell area? I'd hook up with some locals and learn as much as you can from them. Save you alot of time and mistakes...


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## TurnerTom (Feb 17, 2013)

healeydays said:


> Are there any wood turning clubs or schools that offer continuing education classes on woodworking in the Roswell area? I'd hook up with some locals and learn as much as you can from them. Save you alot of time and mistakes...



As you see there are many different ways to turn a pen.  The end result is almost always the same. The mandrel is the most common. As you progress you can and will improve your technique add tools ect. . Use utube to view many different techniques. All are available for free. The public library may have some pen turning books and/or CDs or videos 

Healeydays has the right idea. Look for a local woodturning club in the area. A place to start is www.woodturner.org Go down the left side to Find a Chapter and look for a local club. 
You will find the club members willing to give you much assistance. Many clubs have sharpening equipment that is available for members to use. 

Welcome to wood turning. 
Nothing comes cheap or easy but the end result is worth the trip! 

Tom


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## AXEMAN58 (Feb 17, 2013)

One word about buying a pen press, I've found it to be a complete waste of $50. My pen press is a small sqeeze type wood clamp. We woodworkers don't say "you can never have too many clamps" for nothin'. :rotflmao3::rotflmao3:


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## Jdaschel (Feb 17, 2013)

AXEMAN58 said:


> One word about buying a pen press, I've found it to be a complete waste of $50. My pen press is a small sqeeze type wood clamp. We woodworkers don't say "you can never have too many clamps" for nothin'. :rotflmao3::rotflmao3:



Or you can use a wood or plastic jig and use a vise.


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## duncsuss (Feb 18, 2013)

Jdaschel said:


> AXEMAN58 said:
> 
> 
> > One word about buying a pen press, I've found it to be a complete waste of $50. My pen press is a small sqeeze type wood clamp. We woodworkers don't say "you can never have too many clamps" for nothin'. :rotflmao3::rotflmao3:
> ...



It's definitely worth ensuring that whatever you use has no side-to-side play.

The wooden hand screw clamps that I used as a jig to hold the blanks vertical so I could drill them on the drill press were terrible when it came to pressing parts into the finished barrels -- they'd twist and everything would be out of alignment, sometimes breaking things in the process.


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## longbeard (Feb 18, 2013)

I use my drill press, i took an off cut piece of acrylic, rounded one end so it would fit in DP chuck, left the other end square, then i use a piece of mdf or something soft, on my DP table, and you have a pen press. Save that $50 for more pens, blanks or whatever .


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## Bean_counter (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll likely use a clamp til I have my own drill press then take longbeard's idea. 

Jdaschel without a mandrel ans bushings how do you know when to stop?

I cheked the AAW website and there is a chapter but it's about an hour and a half away. Such is life but thx for the suggestion


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## duncsuss (Feb 18, 2013)

Bean_counter said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. I'll likely use a clamp til I have my own drill press then take longbeard's idea.



Just a caution: I started by using a wooden hand screw clamp but found it caused major problems.

The two pieces of wood twisted very easily resulting in the components getting pushed into the barrels skewed -- which cracked the thin turned wood (because it stretched the brass).

You need something where the two parts can only move in one direction -- towards each other -- with no twisting.

Even a cheap bench vise can do it; the squeeze-grip clamps are better in that regard -- but it's very easy to overshoot the mark and you end up with a pen that won't retract the ballpoint.

Harbor Freight sell a cheap arbor press (about $36) which might be the lowest cost for a good way to do it.


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## AXEMAN58 (Feb 18, 2013)

Ya know, I just happen to have an extra pen blank drilling vice if you're interested in a trade for, say, a future pen.? That way, I can say " Yea, I got this back before he became so dang famous." :irishjig::irishjig:


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## longbeard (Feb 19, 2013)

Bean_counter said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. I'll likely use a clamp til I have my own drill press then take longbeard's idea.
> 
> Jdaschel without a mandrel ans bushings how do you know when to stop?
> 
> I cheked the AAW website and there is a chapter but it's about an hour and a half away. Such is life but thx for the suggestion



"TBC" turn between centers, and a set of digital calipers.
http://penturnersproducts.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_3
Check out the video also on the home page


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## Bean_counter (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks again for the tips!!!

Duncsuss, I was planning on using a irwin quick grip clamp, but like the drill press I do have access to a vice. May need to check out HF and see what they have. Only thing is the closest one is 3 hours away. But I go to the "big" city every once in a while ;D. I see what your saying about the pen twisting. 

Axeman, I would love to take you up on the trade. Only thing is we are putting the house up for sale next week and I dont know when I'd get around to making you a pen, at least a decent one. I can trade wood or something if you are interested in going that route. I'd hate for you to have to wait for me fulfill my end of the bargain. 

Longbeard will check the link out sometime today. I'm thinking though that a mandrell set up seems easier to me, but I'm a gree horn so who knows. 

Michael


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## duncsuss (Feb 19, 2013)

longbeard said:


> "TBC" turn between centers, and a set of digital calipers.
> http://penturnersproducts.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_3
> Check out the video also on the home page



Expanding on this a little ...

You can turn between centers using a set of bushings designed for this method of turning. The site that Longbeard linked to is one source for such bushings.

Another source is THIS site -- where the bushings are designed to work both between centers or on a mandrel, so you can try out both methods and see which you prefer.

With bushings from either source, you won't actually have to use calipers to measure -- but they are very useful (if for no other reason than you should check the bushings themselves are right for the kit you're building ... the have a tendency to shrink over time as you run into them with a gouge or sandpaper.) Get a cheap set of calipers from HF - the steel ones are often on sale for less than $15.

If you choose not to use bushings at all, you must use the calipers to check the diameter, turn a little more, check the diameter, and so on till you sneak up on the right diameter for the kit you're building.

HTH


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## longbeard (Feb 19, 2013)

Duncuss mentioned another great site for bushings and other items as well.
I have also used the factory bushings as well.


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