Duplicator for pens

[Steve Flinchum]

Hey Folks,
I'm thinking of buying a mini lathe duplicator for turning pens. Do any of you folks have any experience with these? The different brands, etc? I see that General has recently come out with one that looks good to me.
What do ya'll think?
Thanks for any input.

Steve

[Jon Behnke]

I don't have any experience with duplicators but I can't figure out why you would use one on pens. Pens are simple enough to turn, usually no beads or coves. Beads may look interesting but make for an uncomfortable pen to use. Simple shapes are best and easy to turn.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Why would you want a duplicator for pens??? Just curious.

[John Terefenko]

No duplicator for pen please. It just is not needed. You can turn a pen down in 10 minutes start to finish. If you want to spend money buy yourself a good digital caliper. Best investment you can make for turning pens.

[Mac Carlton]

If you are going to try production type pen turning ,you can buy wood pens already made, from China.I have two that were given to me at a T shirt shop. Otherwise make unique pens customers ,like to pick and choose. Personaly I don't want to be labeled a production turner at least not yet. I'll just stick with my one offs, and if someone wants a big order with like pens I'll try my best to make them , but will still tell that customer that my pens are one offs.
My .02cents
PS Saw those ready made China pens in a Hospital gift shop for $6.99 retail, and had names on them! Must be cheap by the dozen.

[Steve Flinchum]

I design unique pens and would use the copier to copy my designs. I was just thinking of a way to make it easier. It would just take the tension and tediousness out of turning 100's of identical pens,
The pens are to be made from a special wood which would be one of the main draws for the pens. They are also to be laser engrave and would be best to have them as identical as possible and I was thinking a duplicator would make this easier and less tiring, thus the reason for my question as I have never used a duplicator. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and that's fine, but this was a simple technical question and not meant to be a philosophical discussion on the merits and ethics of using a duplicator. But thank you for your input, it's always good to hear from fellow woodworkers.

[John Terefenko]

Hey Steve

Listen if you feel using a lathe duplicator will help you produce pens faster if that is what you are into or exact design if that is what you are into then by all means go for it. Most pen turners will tell you there is no need for it that is why you got the answers you got. I deal with alot of pen turners who have done corporate pens by the 100's and they have never used a duplicator. Their theoery is that each one is hand made with those little nuances that make them special and apart from the manufactored ones. But with that said if your designs are intricate and you need to be precise then go for it.

I asked about duplicators for a midi lathe a few months ago on different forums because I was on the verge of getting a large job that required spindles for a railing system and the detail was pretty involved. So I started asking around and most people told me I don't need it but if I wanted to get one the best one on the market that is easy to use and accurate is the Vega http://www.southern-tool.com/store/vega_midi_duplicator.html

I as of yet did not get this because of the expense and the lady who wanted the job done has still not made up her mind so I can not justify the expense so that is on hold. But if I were to buy one that is the one I would be getting.

So take no malice out of anyone's post here about your requirements for a duplicator. Maybe someone will jump in that has experience in using one. Or maybe you should rephrase the question and not associate it with pen turning and you can get a better response because there are those that use them for spindle work moreso. At least alot more than pen turners. Sorry if any of my posts came across as crass.


Just as an editing note maybe you can post a photo of one of your pens. We love photos of others work.

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Well said, John,Max.

[Steve Flinchum]

Yeah. Thanks

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve depending on what lathe you have you might check Penn State Industries. They have duplicators for the smaller lathes. Look pretty reasonable for about $120. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/CML-DUPJ.html They have them for Rikon, Jet, DELTA, TCLPRO & TCLPROVS. Didn't realize you were doing such a large project.

[Steve Flinchum]

Thanks Bernie.
I just wonder how well a duplicator holds fine detail and what kind of tolerances they can hold compared to the original.
I once could stand at the lathe for hours, but as my knees have deterioriated and my back is not far behind it has become more difficult to do large orders.
Thanks again for your suggestion.

[Clint Baxter]

My question about using a duplicator would be how rough/finished the surface would be. I haven't used a duplicator myself, but can't imagine that it could provide as fine a surface as I can using my skew chisel. Unless you have the bevel rubbing the wood as you turn, you're not going to get as fine a surface from the tool, (cutting vs scraping.) If you don't get as fine a surface from the duplicator, you'll spend more time sanding to get to your desired finish level. Depending on your wood species, you might also have a greater propensity for tear-out, (or maybe less seeing as how it would be a scraping type cut.)

Consistency should/would improve without a doubt.

Just my $.02 on another factor not previously discussed. Would be very interested in knowing how things come out if you do start using the duplicator though.

Clint