Duplicator feasable for pen turning?

[Scottydont]

I am curious about the feasability of using a lathe duplicator (like the Vega) for pen turning. I am all about the enjoyment and pride in the nuances of hand cutting turning but I have an opportunity to produce a larger amount pens and I would like to know anyones thoughts or experiences about applying a duplicator to help in volume production.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DCBluesman]

LOADS of people use duplicators. In fact, all of the overseas "dumpers" do it. As long as you don't mind selling machine made pens and your customer(s) know that's what they are buying, I certainly think it's feasible.

 

[Scottydont]

Lou, Let me respond by saying that my follow up message is not a rant or a slam against you as you are entitled to your opinion. While I appreciate your opinion that is not exactly what I was looking for. My intention is not to turn this post into a philosophical discussion about the purist notion of handturned pens. If I wanted to start that war I would post it in on Woodnet Power tools vs. hand tools forums. Lets let them have their flame wars and keep it friendly here. I too get my hackles up about the folks that crank out the $10 variety straight grained, slimline, so-so finish pens at craft fairs. I am not one of them. We all use technology in the art of producing things from wood, CA glue, accelerator, acrylics, friction polishes etc. for convenience, efficiency, quality of finish so that discussion can be debated ad naseum.

I already had a full time job, a wife and a kid. I have sold a few hundred dollars worth of pens this last month at the expense of not spending enough time with the family. I take pride in my pens as much as anybody. I buy high quality exotic woods and spend as much time on the finish or more than most. What I am interested in is does anyone have any experience using a duplicator on the pens? Pro's and con's.

 

[low_48]

I tried a Vega duplicator once with the right to return it, I did. The cutter will not come close to duplicating the quality of cut that comes from a gouge or definitely not a skew. I use a Legacy Milling Machine to make my rope twist pens and that is cut with a router. I still take the mandrel back to the mini lathe and polish the work. The finish is pretty good off the router, but still not as good as the skew. Legacy is coming out with a pen mill late this year/early next year. I saw it at the IWF show in Atlanta. It will have a ball bearing follower that rides on a steel template. They will have several templates that will match the stock profiles of all the different size pens. Not only will you be able to do the profiles, but will also be able to spiral cut the blanks to the profile. They told me that they are shooting for a price point of less than $300 without the laminate trimmer used instead of the router on my rig. It looks really great and is definitely cheaper than the duplicator.

 

[DCBluesman]

Scott...if my response came across as a slam of any sort, I apologize. All I meant to indicate was that these duplicators are already in heavy use. I was trying to address the feasibility part of your post, as I have not used a duplicator and cannot guide you in that area.

That being said, Woodwrite makes lathes with duplicators designed for them such that a pen can be cranked out in about 3 minutes - from blank to finished pen. I visited them and saw it done. I also know that there are a lot of duplicators made and sold that fit Delta's, Nova's and Jet's. Now I have no idea about your lathe or what duplicators you might be looking at. Maybe it will work as well as the setup I saw, maybe better, maybe not. In either case, I think duplicators have their place. And it's not in the five and dime.

I sincerely hope that someone in our organization can give you assistance and guidance in this area and that this is a fiscally good move for you and your family. I know that you will produce a more professional product for your customers than the cheap knock offs from the dumpers in the third world.

 

[Scottydont]

Hey Lou! No harm no foul. Thanks again for the other info.

 

[jwoodwright]

Ad Nauseum... I like that. I tried the Shopsmith Duplicator and with very sharp cutters and a nice wood like Birch, what detail. Softwood needed cleaning up... I'm waiting for the little Legacy Mill. I have a soggy catalog from drooling all over it...[]

 

[its_virgil]

My vote goes to the Legacy Mill for pens It should be available soon. I toured their plant in Provo during the Utah symposium and actually used the Legacy proto-type and it will do so much more than just duplicate. Its price should be competivite with the duplicators I've seen and a much more superior tool. We were told in June that it would be available this fall but an earlier post had more recent info on availability. I also saw the large Legacy Mill demoed by the owner and designer of the Legacy line of mills. It is some sweet machine. Now where did I hide that $5K?
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[daledut]

I had a PSI duplicator for a short time. It might be okay for roughing in but it is not precision.

I personally found that I could have a pen done by hand before I could, set up, rough in, tear down and then finish by hand. I used it to rough cut a dozen pens for my daughter's wedding. The wood was cross cut mahogany. The cutter tended to tear out the grain. I gave up on it and went to hand tools for the control.

I guess in short, I would say don't try to do the duplicator on the cheap, it will only frustrate you.

 

[pen-turners]

Scott,
I also had a duplicator for awhile but found I can turn a pen just as fast and almost as accurate by hand. Also, the duplicator takes such small cutting passes that it throws a ton of dust into the air. I still use the duplicator for a couple things such as aluminum pens and I also prefer it to rough out antler and corian to save the edges on my Sorbys. If you have some extra cash it might be worth it but otherwise stick to the old fashioned way.

Chris

 

[chgrjim]

Scott, I got started turning pens about two-and-a-half years ago because my father-in-law wanted to sell them at his watch repair shop. Because I was new, and he wanted a certain amount, I used a duplicator from PSI. I used the duplicator almost religiously for two years. After taking about a six month hiatus from turning I finally went back into the shop and got started again. The first thing I did was remove the duplicator from my lathe and, believe it or not, I turned out four of the very best pens to ever come off my lathe. And I felt I had done them faster than ever. It's been a couple of weeks now and I still feel the same about the pens I'm turning now.

That being said, I think using a duplicator is a very feasible option if you are going to need to make a large amount of pens in a short amount of time. Just be ready to take a little extra time with sanding down the actual bushing size.

JIM

 

[Scottydont]

Legacy is going to be at the Woodworking Shows. I am going to the one in Portland on the 23rd.