Help Needed on the Berea Euro

[DCBluesman]

A fellow turner posed some really good questions to me on the Berea Euro kit. Perhaps some of you who love making this pen can help out better than I.

I have a caliper, but it is in inches, not decimal, so I guess I will order one. I didn't realize one had to be an engineer to make pens. Heck, turning a bowl just requires some calipers to insure the sides are close to the same thickness. So I have learned from my first pen most of what you mentioned below. I do appreciate the lesson as seting up the part will certainly make my life go smoother.

I will also try turning the pieces separately (a pain in the butt). I thought the bushings were guides for turning, but you are saying that they are on three ends of the pen, except for the center which has to be measured, and measured again and again until perfection. I see the pain you are talking about. Well I only have 99 kits left to go before I try another style (grin). I certainly should be an expert on this style by then. Why can't they make the bushings correct for the 4 ends, and then just allow for a tenon to be cut? Common sense should take over here.

Thanks for helping out here! [8D]

 

[melogic]

Lou I have turned a few hundred of these things, but I feel I am no expert but I will give it a try. I used the instructions on Woodcrafts web site for the European, same as Berea. I just set the blanks on the lathe like it says to and for the center band I just measure from the center bushing 3/16" on the top piece and mark it. Then I use my parting tool which is 1/16" thick and cut down to the other part of the center bushing. While I'm cutting the depth, I occasionally use the center band bushing to test for tightness. When it is snug, I stop. I just make sure I don't take off too much on the depth. I hope this helps.

P.S.
Try this link (http://tinyurl.com/42dor)and click on "Instructions"

 

[thostorey]

The bushings I have for my Euro style are for the "4" ends of the two blanks. As Mark states above, the centre bushing has a slide out feature that is used as Mark relates. The whole operation of fitting the centreband is not time consuming or particularly difficult.

fwiw

 

[Guest]

You can alwas omit the supplied centerband and put a different wood in there or as I have done in other cases use a different grain orientation of the same wood for a different effect.