pen supplies

[zapdafish]

Hrmm, that sounds like a great idea. I am not very happy with barrel trimmers. Depending on the wood they can be almost useless and I even upgraded to the whiteside barrel trimmer. It's really hard for them to bite into curly maple blanks but other blanks they shave the excess down in no time.

Don't you love it when you to that? If you have a disc sander you can square them up on that. Just stop once the brass is shiny.

You can borrow mine if you are itching to get started now. It's probably a little dull but it usable or you can glue your blanks up and we can trim them at my shop. Eitherway.

 

[hoosierbob11]

Ras, Try the wood hardener/stabilizer from home depot. I used it to stabilize a buckeye burl that was very soft, and it worked great. Cheap too, and goes a long way.

 

[kclark]

I am going to ask this pen turning/lathe question here since I started the thread but may need to go elsewhere. I was turning my first pen and I got one section about done in no time at all and was nice to see things going well, then it happened. I started seeing smoke and I looked and smoke was coming from the end of my mandrel that is connected to the live center. What in the world am I doing wrong. I now have to buy a new live center and the point is gone on my first pen.

 

[rcflyer23]

I am going to ask this pen turning/lathe question here since I started the thread but may need to go elsewhere. I was turning my first pen and I got one section about done in no time at all and was nice to see things going well, then it happened. I started seeing smoke and I looked and smoke was coming from the end of my mandrel that is connected to the live center. What in the world am I doing wrong. I now have to buy a new live center and the point is gone on my first pen.

Sounds like you may have had the live center on the mandrel to tight. When you bring up the tail stock to the mandrel just bring it up so it just sits in the dimple of the mandrel turn the lathe on slow speed and the adjust the center into the mandrel just enough that the center turn consistently. They don't have to be real tight.

 

[kclark]

I didn't think I had it tight, but oh well you live and learn. Some learnings cost more than others.

 

[rcflyer23]

I didn't think I had it tight, but oh well you live and learn. Some learnings cost more than others.

You may not have that's just my first guess.. How bad is the center now? You may still be able to use it for pens.

 

[kclark]

The point is gone. and my mandrel is wobbly now. It is from the point breaking off. I might be able to sand down where the point was and try the pen again.

 

[rcflyer23]

The point is gone. and my mandrel is wobbly now. It is from the point breaking off. I might be able to sand down where the point was and try the pen again.

Oh yeah you might have bent the mandrel as well. They are wobbly if you don't have a center on it but shouldn't be like crazy wobbly. If you got the pro mandrel you can remove the bar and roll it on a flat surface to see if it is bent.

 

[kclark]

It doesn't roll wobbly. I think the end of the mandrel is messed up.

 

[rcflyer23]

It doesn't roll wobbly. I think the end of the mandrel is messed up.

Well thats a good sign... Hmm. Not sure then. Does the end of the mandrel have a dimple in it where the center would have gone or did it get filled in with melted center?

 

[rsaucedo]

If you do get another live center, the end of some mandrels (the ones I buy at woodcraft) have a 60 degree angle in the concave end. universal kits have these tips, I think. Since I have a oneway live center I bought their tip specific for pen turning, it is quite different.

Also, since "all" mandrels will have a certain amount of runout I spin the blank on the madrel about 180 degrees without letting the bushing turn just prior to the final little bit being turned. this seems to keep the ends from being a tiny bit out of round and fits better.

 

[kclark]

There is a dimple but doesnt look good. As in factory made.

 

[DanR]

If Greensboro is not too far there is a pen turning demo this Saturday (Jan 14th 2012):

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Woodcraft Of Greensboro[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]504 Four Seasons Town Center
Greensboro NC 27407
336-235-0900[/FONT]​

Have you ever wanted to learn to "TURN A PEN"?​

Have you ever wondered what all the excitement was about?​

This weekend is your chance to find out. ​

In Celebration of our "NEW PEN WALL", this weekend we'll have a ​

Pen Turning Demo ​

on Saturday at 1:00pm​

We'll be glad to talk to you about pen turning, so you can see just how easy, fun, relaxing, and rewarding this hobby can be.​

On Saturday, we'll walk you through each step of making a pen process.​

Soon you'll be going from "blank" to "gift" in minutes.​

 

[rcflyer23]

There is a dimple but doesnt look good. As in factory made.

That's kind of what I thought. Hmm. I can't remember if Woodcraft sells just the bars for the mandrels or not. Sounds like you might need a new mandrel and center.

 

[rsaucedo]

They do sell just the bar. $3 last time I bought some at Woodcraft.

The dimple is correct, it just needs the 60 degree tip on the live center. The 60 degree tip holds the bar steadier because the center tip rests on the outer edge of that dimple. A sharp tip fits all the way in the dimple and may not fit well in the very bottom of the dimple allowing the bar to crush the tip and then wallow around.

I'm in Belmont, a ways away from you but I'd be glad to demo.

 

[mburke911]

Hi,

I buy a fair bit of pen supplies from Bear Tooth Woods . Great site, great serivce and overall great prices. Particularly on TruStone pen blanks which I use often. When you decide to try acrylic or stone I would recommend you consider a carbide tipped tool. They work great for everything (although I do have a tendancy to ruin the sizing bearings as the carbide will cut those as well). Small price to pay for an extremely sharp tool with a replacable head.



Mark

 

[kclark]

Went to woodcraft today and got a new mandrel and all is fine now. I turned an acrylic pen tonight, European style. Didn't turn out too bad. I have another stupid question, is there any place with actual diagrams as to which bushings go in what order for certain pen sets? I about messed.

 

[tryingtokeepmyfingers]

Went to woodcraft today

I also went today.... I was looking at the rikon on clearance again the other rikon and then fell in love with the delta but need more money.... lots more money .... not sure what I am going to do

 

[rcflyer23]

Went to woodcraft today and got a new mandrel and all is fine now. I turned an acrylic pen tonight, European style. Didn't turn out too bad. I have another stupid question, is there any place with actual diagrams as to which bushings go in what order for certain pen sets? I about messed.

You should be able to get online and look up the kit on Woodcraft's site just put in the model number of the pen and it will take you to the page and there should be an instructions tab.

 

[kclark]

You should be able to get online and look up the kit on Woodcraft's site just put in the model number of the pen and it will take you to the page and there should be an instructions tab.

I do feel stupid now, but glad I asked. I can see on the diagrams how the bushings go on each pen kit. There are a couple of sets that I wasn't sure about. Thanks for the tip.