Mechanical Pencil in Zebra Wood

[teslabolt77]

First post here. Newbie turner and this is my second creation. I do have a question now that I am official. What causes the barrels to be offset? Assuming it goes back to the drill press but want to be certain. It's very minor and I don't think most people would notice.

Offset as you can see in the middle there:

 

[MichaelD]

Good effort. As to the offset, go to the Library section at th top of the web site and look under the Techniques tab. Down at the bottom of that list there is a PDF titled "Why are my pens not round" or something to that effect. That explains the whole problem.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Not the drill press. It's out of round I believe.

Did you look at the end of the barrel after turning to see if the wood was thinner on one side?

If so... Several causes. Something's not running true or putter too much pressure on when cutting maybe?

Does it feel like there's a lot of vibration when turning?

Welcome!

 

[mikespenturningz]

Nice job on your pen. The biggest reason for this to happen is that something is off center. Put your center drive and your live tailstock center in and put them up to each other. Do they line up properly? It would be my guess that they don't. All you have to do if this is the case is to align them. If they are in line it could be a mandrel problem do you get any wobble? Either way you should be able to get things aligned again.

 

[teslabolt77]

Thanks, Dan.

I didn't notice any vibration out of the ordinary. Then again, I'm not sure what normal is.

Wonder how I can rule this out.

 

[teslabolt77]

I will check the library out.

Here is a video of the mandrel without the live center:
Wobble | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Here is a video with the live center snugged up:
LiveCenter | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[teslabolt77]

Here are some more shots:


Looking Down:

Looking from the side:

 

[ossaguy]

If you can,try to get a 60 degree live center.The one that's on there isn't made for a mandrel.

A mandrel saver is a good thing to use instead of it.

Eventually switching over to turning-between-centers is the real fix.All of my out of round problems went away once I switched.

Your pen looks great,I like how you got the grains to match up perfect!


Steve

 

[teslabolt77]

If you can,try to get a 60 degree live center.The one that's on there isn't made for a mandrel.

A mandrel saver is a good thing to use instead of it.

Eventually switching over to turning-between-centers is the real fix.All of my out of round problems went away once I switched.

Your pen looks great,I like how you got the grains to match up perfect!


Steve

Yeah, I learned that from another post so I ordered this:
Live Tailstock Center w/ 60 deg point - #1MT at Penn State Industries

Also ordered this:
#2 MT Pen Mandrel Saver Package at Penn State Industries

 

[ossaguy]

If it's not a typo,you have ordered a #1 MT on the 60,and a #2 on the saver.If it's got the more common #2,you'll have to get PSI to change the order so you get the right one you need.



Steve

 

[teslabolt77]

If it's not a typo,you have ordered a #1 MT on the 60,and a #2 on the saver.If it's got the more common #2,you'll have to get PSI to change the order so you get the right one you need.



Steve

Thanks for the eye on that. It was just an inadvertant link. I checked the order and confirmed I got both #2 MT.

 

[monophoto]

All very good suggestions.

Sam Angelo posted a video on pen turning a couple of days ago (link below) in which he suggested a step that I had not seen before - as you are approaching completion of the turning, he suggests rotating the blank on the bushings to even out areas that are slightly out of round.

Pen Turning with the Robert Sorby Micro gouge - YouTube

 

[Brian G]

First, I like the pen! Great job aligning the grain, and the satin finish makes me want to pick it up and write with it.

I'm curious whether you notice the same offset at the nib end and at the clip end. If you rotate one barrel 180° and re-assemble, does the offset rotate with it (i.e., is the offset diagonal)?

Is it possible that the centerband is out of round?

 

[teslabolt77]

I think it was just a fluke. I turned another pencil in cottonwood, and checked it a couple times by stopping and rotating the barrel.