A couple of Turning Q's

[John Grabowski]

1. I am looking for a mentor to help me with finishing pens in a CA finish in NE Ohio. I will travel and also provide materials for the fun.

2. I am thinking I am going to get a midi lathe and put in the basement so I continue to play even in the frigid winter months up here near the lake. I was wondering if anyone turns in their basement and what they use to control dust and debris?? Any suggestions?? I am not going to be doing much but pens, stoppers and other little things.

3. What midi lathe do you guys recommend and why??

Thanks for all the support.

John G

[Ben Gastfriend]

For a midi lathe, I'd go with the jet. I think the VS is an added bonus if you decide to go that direction.

I do work in my basement, and my DC solution is fairly simple. I have a dust hood for my lathe that I hook up to a shop vac, and a box fan with a filter on it for fine dust particles.

[Ron Drew]

Hi John,
I too have my lathe in my basement, not having any other shop space. There really isn't much dust except when sanding, and then I run the shop vac right at the lathe to catch as much dust as possible. The shavings just get swept up now and then. The mess is really confined, and I don't find that it migrates to other areas of the basement. Good luck with your setup, and I also would recommend the Jet mini. Nice little lathe for the money. Ron

[Gordon Seto]

John,

I am sure you can get some help here:
NCWT.org (http://ncwt.org/)
BWWT.org (http://bwwt.org/)
They each have over hundred members.
BTW, NCWT has their meetings at the basement of Rockler. On meeting day, we have a 15 to 25% discount. Rockler expanded their pen turning stuff recently.

[Bill Bolen]

My shop is also a basement dungeon type setup. Because the pension won't allow a dust collection system I use 2 box fans. One in front of me with a furnace filter on the entrance side and blowing away fom me. One on the floor behind me blowing across the late towards the front fan. Keep the back one on low the front one on high. Doesn't get it all but picks up enough I don't get into trouble anymore!...Bill..

[David Wilhelm]

You left out the key factor, Is price an issue? There are a couple lathes that would be great depending on how much you wnat to investand aslo what you may think you would be turning on them. If I were only goign to turn pens I would look for who was running the best price on a jet 1014 there has been a $25.00 rebate going on. I dont think i'd go VS for the money because you still have to change belts to get all your speeds. why pay 100.00 more to still move the belt. I turn pens on a 1014 and move the belt one time take 10secs max. Take that money and put it toward a good DC or a nice tool. I also like the 1220 jet and they are going to come out with VS but I do not know who that one works as of yet. I do think I would invest in a nice 1hp 6-700cfm DC with something like a Wynn filter to keep the finer dust particles out of your lungs and your house. I got some great help on here in the CA finishing steps for pens search this forum for CA finish and you should find it if not Email me and I'll see if I can send you a copy. I don't follow it exact but it gives you a great idea and they turned out great. ........Will

[Bernie Weishapl]

John another one to look at is the Rikon. I have one and it is a good machine. Easy to change belts and if the belt breaks you don't have to take the lathe apart to put a new one on. Also the Delta midi is a good machine. I had one and gave it to my nephew for pen, bottle stoppers and lidded boxes. It is 3 yrs old with the same belt and going strong. Just a couple of more ideas. I agree with paying the extra $100 for VS. It takes 30 seconds to change belts on my Rikon.

[Jon Behnke]

I have a Jet 1220 that I use in my basement shop and it works very well. Dust is only an issue during sanding, I have a dust collector in the garage that is piped through the wall with a remote to turn it on and off.
Attached is a tutorial that I made to do a CA finish for a demonstration at the turning club I belong to. There are many different ways to do a CA finish, this one works for me.

[John Grabowski]

I appreciate all who have offered suggestions...I liked the handout on the CA glue finish and I am going to attend the next meeting at the Rockler site for the North Coast Wood Turners Ass.I am thinking that I am going to buy a jet mini....I think I can work within the price of a variable speed lathe for the basement.

Gordon, Are you in one of these clubs? Or in NE Ohio?

Thanks Again,

John G

[Gordon Seto]

John,

Yes, I belong to both clubs. Several Creekers belong to one or both.
Pens are not my strong suit and I hate CA finish. I don't like the fumes from CA; I am afraid the chemical may not be too good for the health long term. I use CA to fill in the cracks. I try to avoid my exposure if I can.
I heard people have very good results with Enduro finish for pens. If I am going to do pens, I would explore that route.
I can give you some fundamentals on tool usage and grinding to help you start your first step.

[David Wilhelm]

CA does burn........ I avoid breathing it in as much as i can. I am like Gordan on this. I have a time with sinus issues. I was expecting a worse reaction from the CA finish than what I've gotton but to me after the base coat it's nothing compared to patch work on a larger piece. I still dont' want to do the CA finsish very often. I have used thin for the sealer for the 300+ pens i've made and tried several different finishes. To me the one that last the longest with the most shine with the least effort is a high build friction polish. Not all finishes work on all woods the same due to oils ect. I use Mylands and the key is to not over do it or you will get lines in your work.

[John Grabowski]

I have been trying a number of finishes...I would like a high gloss finish that is going to last...I have worked with a friction polish and I have been less than impressed by the results, though I have not tried Mylands...David, do you use a sanding sealer before applying the friction polish? I am working in my garage currently so using CA is no big deal for the fumes. I also work with a low tech filter respirator that I bought at Home Depot for 25$$ and I cant smell anything while I have it on...I use when sanding and finishing. I am going to give CA a try with some tutorials I've gotten on here and other places. We'll see how it goes.

Gordon, I think that my skills are getting pretty better with cutting, I am looking for sharpening skills. That is something I am going to be investing in over the next few months!! I have a cheap slow speed grinder from Sears, it takes a long time to grind. I will definitely join up and meet you on Feb 2nd.

I will post a few pics later of some of my work and a pic of me so you will know who I am.

Thanks again for all your help,

John Grabowski

[Gordon Seto]

When a friction finish doesn't hold up, we call it patina. I guess it also has to do with the user's body chemistry. My son's pens started to get patina in less than a week.
You may want to start a separate post about finishes for pens. There are a lot of pens experts here, may be they can shine some lights on the pros and cons of various finishes.
May be at the meeting, you can borrow the 3 DVD set about finishing by Russ Fairfield.

[Bill Wiggins]

I just bought the Jet Midi-Lathe (10x14 I think). I did not spend the extra $75 for the Variable Speed, but did purchase the bed extension. My first turnings were in the basement. This was the only place with a long enough table for the lathe and bed extension. The shavings are easy enough to clean up, but the dust from sanding was another story. That got me in trouble with the LOML.

I justified the purchase because one of my puppies had chewed up the spindles on my oak chairs. To get them repaired locally was $270 plus I had to wait 1 1/2 months (It was around Christmas Time).

Instead I bought the lathe and an inexpensive set of 5 tools. I finished turning 6 spindles in two days. My wife was impressed (as was I, since I hate working with Oak).

I have since moved the lathe to the garage, since I will rarely need the bed extension.

[David Wilhelm]

John, I use Thin CA to seal. I have my first pen and it wasn't sealed so to speak. just has two coats and only because it looked like crap. It's walnut deep heart wood right out of the wood pile from outside I was whittleing a ball in a cage out of the piece and gave up on it. The pen still shines like new and i carry it in my pocket on Sunday use it some what. I just pushed out about 80 pens November and December some with Hut ppp and most with mylands. I had a few guys helping, so who knows what may have not been done. Different common woods with different results. I saw some that looked as if they were not sealed??? placed them back on the mandrel and refinished they came out nice. I have a dear dear friend who is like my dad. see's what i do with the Mylands. He has gone through 4 bottles and has never gotten the finish i get. I gone through 1/2 and bottle counting bowls, pens and everything, in say 3 years. I do buff the outside of the big stuff. I will sometimes sand to 1000 B4 and after sealing with the CA. If i'm doing something like tree bark I may run several sealer coats. Honestly it depends on what it looks like. You will learn things that will work and they will come in handy from time to time and sometimes you wont need them. Like i said not all woods need the same treatment. keep a notebook of what you did on different woods. Hope this helps ........ Will

[John Grabowski]

I want to thank everyone for the quick reply. I have gotten a lot of responses and emails to help me learn and even the possibility of buying a mini lathe. I am definitely going to be moving a lathe into a basement closet/workroom with my shop vac so I can continue working in the cold winter months of Ohio.

John G

[Bob Hallowell]

John,
I live in Dubois, Pa 15801 about 1 1/2 east of youngstown on I80 and would be more than willing to help. I also just saw on the Pittsburgh craigs list- a delta midi with a 4 jaw chuck for $150 that's a good deal.

One thing you will find up here in the northeast is ca doesn't finish as nice in the winter as the rest of the year do to the lack of humidity.

[Don Vito]

That Delta with the Nova Midi Chuck in Pittsburgh is the way to go. I don't think the VS is worth it in a midi lathe--I had the Delta with the Nova until I upgraded and I could change the belt in less than 15 seconds on it. The chuck will really open up some possibilities for you and make turning more efficient. Save the money on the VS and spend it on safety gear (face mask, quality dust mask), tools, or sharpening gear.

[John Grabowski]

I am looking at 2 used minis right now...I already have a 14 " delta out in the garage with a talon stronghold on it...I have lots of tools : ) I do need to get a better sharpening system so I will have to consider both lathes that are pulley changes, both around my price range.

Is the delta better than the rikon???

John G