Pen turning supplies & tool I am considering

[Bart Leetch]

Pen turning supplies
Hut
#A This simple device enables the pen maker to easily press together progressively longer pen segments on a movable, stepped board.
Pen Ram...$34.99

#B This jig is designed to help the pen maker consistently drill straight holes through the pen blanks. With the proper bit and drill press speed, you can drill a hole every 30-45 seconds. Following our instructions, you will rarely lose a blank.
Pen Drilling Jig............$16.99

Penn State industries
#1 #2 Morse Taper Maxi-MandrelCode:PM-FLCPrice: $17.95Quantity in Basket: none
#2 7-pc universal barrel trimming system pktrimkitc $45.00
#3 Trimming box & saw pkmitre $19.95
#4 Tube insertion tool pktnt $9.40
#5 7mm pen disassembler pkdispen $19.90
#6 10 kit comfort special pens $43.80
#7 1 oz CA glue pkglue11 x 2 $ 14.60
#8 CA Accelerator pkglue9 $ 7.95

I have ordered a 9/32" bullet drill so the hole in the blank will be big enough to use Poly glue.

Plus sanding & finishing supplies???

I think these tools & supplies will be ok as a starter set an thoughts or ideas are welcome. I have a lathe & normal spindle turning tools.

I have the book Turning Pen & pencils by Kip Christensen & Rex Burningham.

[Corey Hallagan]

Bart, I have the maxi mandrell and it works well. Personally I would do one blank at a time as these mandrells have a tendency to bend easy between tightening the brass nut and with tail stock pressure. The rods are not hardened. With the adjustable mandrell you can push it in to the size of one blank. A tube insertion tool can be made from a steel punch if you got one. I bought the one you are ordering but they can be made out of other items cheaply. The trimming kit isn't necessary in my opinion. I use the table saw just fine to trim blanks close to the tube then take them to the drill press and use the barrel trimming set you are ordering. Personally 7mm kits are plenty cheap and I didn't spring for a diassembly tool and the few I screwed up I tossed but that is just my opinion. 20.00 can buy some other stuff. The comfort kits are nice kits and look even nicer without the rubber piece. I use regular (non black or grey sanding papers in 150, 220, 320 and 400. Eventually you will want to get some Micro mesh but that can wait. The stuff lasts forever as I have been using the same pieces for several months. The biggest thing to remember on 7mm pens in assembling them is don't press the tranny in past the mark. You will see what I mean when you get the instructions. If it goes in to far the point will stick out when it shouldn't . Also be sure you get a 60 degree live point for the tail stock. You can get a good one from Grizzly for a few bucks... like 7.00 or something. Good luck!

corey

[Mike Vickery]

just an opinion but most of the stuff listed is not needed.

A. I depending on the kit I use a quick grip clamp or a bar clamp with a wood block. You can also make your own jig or use a drill press.
B. This can be nice but you can also make your own out of scrap or drill on the lathe if you have a chuck with pin jaws and a jacobs chuck.

#2 - I have heard complaints from other and I did not like the PSI version. CSU or Berea version seems to be alot better. Also I say just get the 7mm shaft and turn your own adapter sleaves out of hardwood or corain to fit other kits.
#3 - Without knowing what tools you have not sure but if you have a bandsaw, miter saw or table saw I would say you do not need this. Note jigs are recomended to cut the blanks.

#4 - again make your own or if like you said you are using poly glue you should not need this.

I second the above micro mesh comment. Not trying to dis your choices but trust me you will invest enough money in pen supplies that you will need every cent.

My recomended tools.
Mandrel
bushings
pen kit
drill bits for kit
some way to drill ( I drill on the lathe now but drilled for years on a small drill press using a homemade jig)
7mm barrel trimmer
3/4 roughing gouge
1/2 or 3/4 skew chisel
thin parting tool.
Glue ( I use CA to finish and Epoxy to glue tubes but poly works great for tubes as well, even if you do not finish with CA it is always handy)
Sandpaper 220,320,400 and micromesh.
You may want to start using friction polish or another finish than CA it can be finiky at times.

[Stephen Hibbs]

get some HUT pen finish in bar form, I got some today and used it for the first time on an unassembled pen previously done with poly, and it's amazing. On the other stuff I would just suggest a drill chuck for the lathe as it makes blank drilling WAY eaier than on a press, plus then you can make tops using the tutorial i posted today.

[Bill O'Conner]

#3 Trimming box & saw pkmitre $19.95
#4 Tube insertion tool pktnt $9.40
#5 7mm pen disassembler pkdispen $19.90
I have ordered a 9/32" bullet drill so the hole in the blank will be big enough to use Poly glue.

I would drop the #3,4,5 and is this the bit that they suggest you use for this kit don't want to large of a hole

Might want to check at woodturningz for a price also

[Vaughn McMillan]

My two cents on a few of your items...

#A Pen Ram...$34.99
I use a Gross Stabil bar clamp. A K-Body bessy or pretty much any other clamp would do. If you're doing hundreds, the pen ram might be handy. Otherwise, save the bucks.

#B Pen Drilling Jig............$16.99
I'm using a drill press, and just centering the bit by eye, with the blank clamped to the fence on the DP table. I've been looking at ideas for a home-grown jig to hold them easier.

#2 7-pc universal barrel trimming system pktrimkitc $45.00
I've got this kit, and it's been handy.

#3 Trimming box & saw pkmitre $19.95
As others have mentioned, this doesn't seem necesary of you have any other saw. I use the TS and the stop block on the Incra miter gauge to cut my blanks to length before drilling. With many kits, the blanks are cut slightly oversize, and trimmed with the barrel trimmer (above). With the Incra, I can also easily cut to exact lengths is necessary (such as for the upper barrel on a Flat Top American kit...1 13/16" on the money). I'm sure you've alreay got somthing in your shop to cut or trim blanks. I've also had a number of pen blanks that were warped or bowed (especially stabilized blanks), so trimming the end exactly square isn't easily done. It seem to me cutting the ends exactly square is not really all that vital on many kits (because the barrel trimmer squares the end up with the tube). That's $20 you can add to your compressor fund. ;)

#4 Tube insertion tool pktnt $9.40
I use a dowel, run through the pencil sharpener. Add the ten bucks to the compressor fund. :)

#5 7mm pen disassembler pkdispen $19.90
As Corey mentioned you'd need to mess up quite a few 7mm kits to pay for a $20 disassembler. Compressor fund. :D Cha-ching!

Plus sanding & finishing supplies???
Micro Mesh! You won't be sorry.

Keep in mind these are my rookie opinions, but I'm getting decent results with my cheap approach.

- Vaughn

[Myrel Willeford]

I attempted it with a fixed center it worked for a while but broke the tip of the center and messed up the mandrel.

If you have a vice for your drill press already it will work to hold your blank.

[Dario Octaviano]

Pen turning supplies
Hut
#A This simple device enables the pen maker to easily press together progressively longer pen segments on a movable, stepped board.
Pen Ram...$34.99
I used to use wood clamps then purchased a cheap "punch" that looks like a drill press...works great. You can use you drill press too...just cut various length wood blocks.

#B This jig is designed to help the pen maker consistently drill straight holes through the pen blanks. With the proper bit and drill press speed, you can drill a hole every 30-45 seconds. Following our instructions, you will rarely lose a blank.
Pen Drilling Jig............$16.99
Never used one and don't think I'll ever need or buy one.

Penn State industries
#1 #2 Morse Taper Maxi-MandrelCode:PM-FLCPrice: $17.95Quantity in Basket: none
First I will encourage you to look at CSUSA http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/ and Arizona Silhouette http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/ (Berea) first...I like their kits much better then by your mandrel where you will get the kits.

#2 7-pc universal barrel trimming system pktrimkitc $45.00
Good one but you can just buy the 7mm then make your own "insert sleeves" to fit all other tube sizes.

#3 Trimming box & saw pkmitre $19.95
I haven't used this and probably never will.

#4 Tube insertion tool pktnt $9.40
I haven't used this and probably never will.

#5 7mm pen disassembler pkdispen $19.90
Look at the transfer punch kit from Harbor Freight...much cheaper and will handl all kits you may consider later http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3577

#6 10 kit comfort special pens $43.80
Never used this kit...check CSUSA and Arizona Silhouette

#7 1 oz CA glue pkglue11 x 2 $ 14.60
Too expensive, check Monty at http://woodenwonderstx.com/WW-06/CA_Glue_Page.html

#8 CA Accelerator pkglue9 $ 7.95
http://woodenwonderstx.com/WW-06/CA_Glue_Page.html

I have ordered a 9/32" bullet drill so the hole in the blank will be big enough to use Poly glue.
Will work with Poly glue. HF have a cheap drill bit set http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=1611

Plus sanding & finishing supplies???
Micromesh from Charles/Tangboy5000 http://www.woodchipshome.com/

I think these tools & supplies will be ok as a starter set an thoughts or ideas are welcome. I have a lathe & normal spindle turning tools.
Skew, gouge, parting tool are the only tools I use for pens.
Sandpaper graded properly from ( like 240, 360, 400, 600)
Bushings

I have the book Turning Pen & pencils by Kip Christensen & Rex Burningham.

[Corey Hallagan]

Bart your probably overloaded with info now :) . On the kits, i have turned plenty of PSI slimline kits. They are just fine and just as good as any other slimline. The comfort kits are just slimlines with a different bushing that makes a nicer shape. I make them all the time and they are great kits and come in nice kit finishes as well. I would suggest that you call Woodturningz.com and talk to them about any PSI stuff you want. There pricing on pens is much better too. I rarely buy direct from PSI as their CS is about as bad as it can get. Ryan at Woodturningz is a PSI resailer and can get anything they sell and also has a huge assortment of pen blanks for sale.

I have 2 of the maxi mandrells and they work fine. You will eventually want to move on to other kits and I highly reccomend Berea kits due to the number of finishes available and the styles. CSUSA which I have not made any of their kits but they seem much more expensive to me and have a lot less finish choices for their kits. Of course it is the only place you can get some of their high end kits.

Corey

[Bob Noles]

Bart,

The single most valuable tip I have to offer is to get the 2nd DVD by Kip Christensen & Rex Burningham. They make pen turning simple, easy and less expensive. Look at the jigs and methods they use before buying anything. The savings will pay for the DVD many times over.

[Bart Leetch]

Whoa spinny stuff is gettin to me.

[Bob Noles]

Hey Bart.....

Pens ain't for sissys, huh? :D :D :D

[Bart Leetch]

Ya your right Bob....

The more I read on pens the more I'm feeling like I just got skewered & stuck on a very slow tuning lathe :eek: with hot coals underneath ooops I think that may be a BBQ underneath ouch ooch seems like everyone has their own brand of skewering :confused: to do & uses a different brand of BBQ sauce & spins it a different speeds. some is beef some is chicken others just plain turkey no fancy trimmins.

I just found a feather & have trimmed up a nib... oh wait a min... it looks like a turkey feather :eek: nooooo this just couldn't happen to me. Man we got all kinds of Bald Eagles up here why oh why couldn't I get one of those feathers?:eek: :D :D :D

[W.C. Turner]

Bart,

I know what you mean about: <<<" Whoa spinny stuff is gettin to me.">>> At one time I'd thought about turning a few pens, but, after doing a little reasearch, like you, I decided it wasn't worth the trouble, or expense for me.

Good Luck!

[Scott Donley]

Bart, make life ez, you might try this (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/pkstart1f.html) starter set from PSI, a quick clamp for the press, an old wood clamp to hold blanks for drilling. With this set you will "NEED" nothing else to turn your first pens but sandpaper. If your ever over this way from the Island, stop by and we can turn a pen or two.