Newbie question

[Sammy Jamal]

Hi all,
I am not sure anymore whether I introduced myself when I first joined a year ago, or not.
My name is Sammy and I am a mechanical engineer for the last 30+ years.
I have been doing scroll sawing for about a year and enjoy it very much.
I would like to venture into pen turning and see how I like it.
Is this the proper forum to be in? and ask questions?
I hope so
Thank you
Sammy

[Chris Gunsolley]

You're in the right place, Sammy! Welcome, and fire away!

[Roger Chandler]

Pen turning is a part of the turning vortex, so you are in the right place. There is a specialized pen turners forum dedicated to that craft....perhaps someone on here can direct you there.....I am not a member there and do not have the link.

[Sammy Jamal]

Thank you gentlemen,
I am sure I will enjoy being here and hopefully I can contribute with my other experiences.
My first question:
I bought an old (not ancient) Central Mechinery lathe. I have read many articles and saw many youtube videos on pen turning.
My first issue is that I don't have a female on the turning head (I guess called live spindle?) to accept the pen turning Mandrell.
I would like to send a few pictures with this post to clarify.
how can retrofit/add that tapered female to fit the tapered mandrell?
Thank you in advance
Sammy 346489346490346491

[allen thunem]

sammy actually there is a dedicated website/forum for pen turners
IAP if memory serves

[John K Jordan]

...
My first issue is that I don't have a female on the turning head (I guess called live spindle?) to accept the pen turning Mandrell.
how can retrofit/add that tapered female to fit the tapered mandrell?

What thread is your lathe spindle? I don't know of any threaded socket to MT2 (morse taper 2) adaptor but maybe someone knows of one.

One option might be to mount a Jacobs chuck on the lathe and use it to hold the pen mandrel. I saw this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-HD-Keyed-Drill-Chuck-On-1-x-8-TPI-Threaded-Lathe-Spindle-Adapter-New-/291513088101

JKJ

[Sammy Jamal]

Thank you for the link.
It would be great if I find a Jacobs chuck to fit this thread.
I will have to find out what thread it is first.
Thank again
Sammy

[Sammy Jamal]

What thread is your lathe spindle? I don't know of any threaded socket to MT2 (morse taper 2) adaptor but maybe someone knows of one.

One option might be to mount a Jacobs chuck on the lathe and use it to hold the pen mandrel. I saw this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-HD-Keyed-Drill-Chuck-On-1-x-8-TPI-Threaded-Lathe-Spindle-Adapter-New-/291513088101

JKJ

Actually I just checked and the male thread on my spindle is a 3/4-10 thread.
Looking on Ebay, but have not found any with just a female threaded chuck.
Thanks again
Sammy

[Grant Wilkinson]

One option with your 3/4 - 10 headstock male thread would be to buy a collet chuck with that same thread female. Into the chuck, you could put a 7mm or 8mm collet to hold the two sizes of mandrel rod. I have the Beall chuck with that same thread for use on my Taig micro lathe. It works very well and is dead on accurate.

[John K Jordan]

I like Grant's idea of using a collet. (I'd like to get one for my metal-turning lathe.) That would be better and probably run truer than a Jacobs chuck. You can turn a lot of things with those mandrels. Then eventually, like everyone else, you'll be looking for a bigger lathe!

JKJ

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Get a 3/4-10 to 1-8 (more standard) adapter from just about anyone, then you can get a 1-8 pen mandrel.