Pen Turning Parts...

[Joe Suelter]

This post is probably for Ken, but others please feel free to chime in. Somebody last week posted about using a ShopSmith as a lathe for pen turning. I posted a reply at the bottom of that post asking for all the necessary parts to turn pens. I think it might have gotten lost in the thread. Could someone please post a list of everything needed to begin making pens. I know the basic tools needed, but a complete list would be nice, one stop shopping! I too have a ShopSmith that I will be using, for now anyways. Also, is there a recommended supplier that you use for your pen parts--bushings, tips, etc... Most all my catalogs sell them as a kit with wood. I've been stock-piling blanks for quite sometime for a day when I bought the correct stuff to start turning them. Thanks everybody!

[Brad Hammond]

Other than the lathe.... lemme just list the stuff.
---Spindle gouge, Skew or Scraper, Parting tool
---Mandrel -- the bushings and pen blanks ride on the mandrel when mounted on the lathe between the head and tail stock.
---Pen kits of choice. (these include the brass parts and brass tubes for the blanks)
---Bushings. (they are specific to each style of pen that you'll be making. sold seperate or with a starter kit for each style of pen)
---Sandpaper and Micro Mesh. ( i use wetdry sand up to 1500 and go up to Micro Mesh which starts at 2k and goes up to 12k)
---Pen Mill (squares the end of the pen blank riding against the bushing to the brass tube)
---Drill press( although i made my first pens without one, but a press has made my life alot easier, i also use it to press the parts together)
Finishes...........here's where the personal preference comes in.
CA glue, Shellac, BLO, Crystal Coat, Mylands.....on and on.
i think that pretty much does it for starters.
find some books by dick sing and they'll give you some good info.
oh yeah.

suppliers are Craft Supply USA, Berea Hardwoods, Penn State Industries.
also, try looking at Yahoo http://groups.yahoo.com/ search for "penturners". there's a big penturners group where there's a great deal of info and great people like you'll find here.

cya
brad

[John Showler]

You could call any of the supply places mentioned previously and ask them to put together an initial set up.

I've ordered from most of the major suppliers, and my personal preference is Craftsupplies - www.woodturnerscatalog.com Pen kits, tools etc. are super high quality. PSI also has lots of nice kits and good tools.

In time you'll get a bunch of stuff from various places. Get their catalogs and window shop!

[Scott Greaves]

Hi Joe,

I'll take a stab at this as well.

Basic Equipment

* A Lathe - with the capability of holding a mandrel in the head end, and preferrably a live center with a 60 degree angle.
* A Skew or a Gouge, or better yet, both! A parting tool is also handy.
* A mandrel that can be attached to the drive spindle of the lathe, preferably by means of a Morse taper.

Basic Supplies

* Pen Kits of your choice.
* Bushing set to match the pen kit.
* Glue - CA, poly or epoxy.
* Pen Blanks - wood, plastic, etc.
* Sandpaper - 120 through 600. Micro Mesh
* Finish - Hut Crystal Coat, Mylands Friction Polish, Shellawax, etc.

Also

* You need to have the ability to cut the pen blanks to size - bandsaw, tablesaw, whatever.
* You also need to have the ability to drill holes through a small piece of wood - drill press or drill attachement for your Shopsmith.

I would recommend that you contact one of the suppliers and get one of their beginner kits, because it will include most of what you need. I highly recomment Berea Hardwoods. They are great to work with. They also have about the best mandrel out there, the only other one close is the Woodcraft Pro Mandrel. Ken Salsbury gets most, if not all, of his pen stuph at Berea. Craft Supplies USA (The Woodturners Catalog) is also an excellent source for pen making. If you do go to Berea, be sure to get the better mandrel, the one that works with a drill driver.

A lot of places urge you to start with slimline pen kits, which is probably OK, but also look at the Euro kits and the cigar pens. They are both nice to learn on because they leave more wood on the pen, thus are a bit more forgiving.

Of course the best way to learn is to just glue up some pen blanks and start turning! I use poly glue (Gorilla Glue) myself, and haven't had any glue failures. But you'll find about an even number of people in each camp - CA, epoxy and poly. Take your pick and start gluing.

After the glue sets up you need to square up the ends of the pen blank. Many people us a sander. There is a specialized tool that does this as well, which is what I use - a pen mill.

Now you're ready to turn. Just follow the directions that come with the kits. Then you need to sand. Sanding is quick and easy on pens. Leave the pen barrels on the lathe and sand with the lathe on. I usually start at 180 or 220 grit, but go coarser if you need to do some shaping. Remember, sandpaper is just as much a turning tool as a gouge is. I usually sand through 600 grit, and then use Micro Mesh through 12000. After this the finish is applied with the lathe stopped, and then is cured by holding a towel agains the pen barrel with the lathe turing.

Of course, this is all pretty simplified. But the process itself is not terribly hard. One good suggestion from above is to find the Yahoo Penturners Group. I am a member of that group, and there is a lot of great experience waiting to be tapped there. For general questions check out the FAQ and archives there. Oh, and check out the pictures for some inspiration!

Scott.

[Joe Suelter]

Thanks Scott and everybody. This helps out a lot. I ordered a Berea catalog yesterday, do hopefully it will be in the mail this week yet (wishfull thinking on my part!). I'll also look for Yahoo Penturners Group...one question about that...do you have to ba a member to browse around? I think I tried a Yahoo group once before and you had to be a member to do anything there. Once again, thank you for all the reply's.

[Scott Greaves]

Hi Joe,

Here's the link for the Yahoo Penturners Group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/penturners/

You don't need to be a member to look. At Yahoo you can set up groups in different ways, and some are private. At the Penturners group we enjoy Fresh Blood .. er, New Members! ;-)

Be sure to check out the pictures!

Scott.