Which spindle tools do you use for turning small items like pens,

[Alan Tolchinsky]

pepper mills, etc.? I have mostly bowl related tools except for a couple roughing gouges. I just finished a 10" pepper mill using only a roughing gouge and one other small pointed tool. I used the gounge in a shear scraping mode at the end to smooth things up. Thanks Alan in Md.

[John Miliunas]

Al, for me it's a Sorby, 1/2" Oval Skew. Hands down favorite, pretty much from start to finish on pens, even the Corian ones. The oval configuration even allows an all-thumbs turner like myself to benefit from the advantages of a skew, without catches. Fact is, I don't believe I've ever had it dig in when turning pens. I love it. :cool:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

cutting decorative details like you see on a pepper mill? Thanks for the info. Alan

[John Miliunas]

The skew can definitely be used for that, though sometimes I do cheat and use a small parting tool and/or 1/4" spindle gouge. Another neat technique is to "cut" and then burn a detail into it using wire. The heat generated from the friction of the wire held tightly against the wood in the proposed area will cut a nice groove and burn in a dark detail line. I typically wrap the two ends of the wire around a couple pieces of dowel to hang on to, because the wire will get HOT quite a distance away from the point of contact. (DAMHIKT):D I've got a buddy of mine who's given me a fair stash of used steel guitar strings, which work great for this. :cool:

[Alan Tolchinsky]

John. My son plays guitar and luckily breaks strings now and then. :) Thanks again for all your great advice. Alan in Md.

[Bob Janka]

Alan,

I've turned over 20 pens by now and I find my technique fairly similar to yours. The main difference is that I use one of the spindle gouges from the Craft Center's tools. I'm not sure of the exact size, but it is definitely bigger than 1/4" and smaller than 3/4".

Like you, I use it to rough out the shape at an almost perpendicular angle. Then, I switch to about a 30 degree angle shearing cut for smoothing and final cuts. I've improved my skill enough that I can take as much or as little as I need. I'm now getting down to about 1/32" or 1/64" over the diameter of the bushings. Then, I change from edged shaping tools to flexible shaping tools, i.e. sandpaper.

I especially like this approach as the Craft Center has a Wolverine jig with gouge attachment for their bench grinder. This means I can re-sharpen the gouges in less than 5 minutes. They don't have the skew chisel attachment, so I'm less confident in sharpening those.

The key point I have noticed is that you MUST have SHARP tools for pen-turning, especially if you are working with harder woods like Purpleheart or Mesquite.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Bob

[Steven Wilson]

I use a 1 1/4" roughing gouge and then a 1/2" skew, sometimes a bedan and/or parting tool if I need to make an accurate tenon.

[Stan Smith]

All good suggestions to follow, Alan. I probably use a 1/2" gouge to bring the stock into round then move down to a 1/4" spindle gouge. In addition to the oval skew, I use I small square scraper. For sandpaper use cloth backed from Klingspor or Industrial Abrasives. You can get a grab bag box of roll ends from Klingspor and it will last you for a long time.

Stan

[Alan Tolchinsky]

suggestions., I've ordered a 1/2" spindle gouge from Packards and I'll start with that. Once I get that mastered, I'll try a skew. Thanks again for all your help. Alan in Md.

[JohnCarr]

Roughing gouge to get a cylindrical profile (most any size will be fine for something as small as pens), 1/2" to 3/4" scary sharp skew chisel to finish. (Plus a 1/8" parting tool if I need to cut a tenon)

[Alan Tolchinsky]

zx

[Brian Ashton]

I sold off everything except my hand tools, lathe and bandsaw when I pulled up the tent pegs and moved half way round the world. I've not missed any of them.