Mandrels, trimmers, and other stuff

[Xander]

(Posted in tools section but thought it might be better here. Admin, delete if needed)

Hi all. Just got my lathe and now I need all the other tools. I know there are a few places to get things like mandrels and barrel trimmers and presses, etc from but what I'd like to know is...

is there one place that has better quality ?

PSI has a kit for $86 with mandrel, trimmer, 5 pen kits, 5 pencil kits, pre-drilled blanks, glue, shellawax,... and 3 crappy chisels. Is this a good deal?

I plan to get their (PSI) 3 piece CARBIDE chisels ($47) and pen press ($39.95).

Is PSI ok or should I look elsewhere? Money is tight.

All constuctive comments appreciated. Thanks

 

[eupher58]

Stay with the cheap chisels to learn a bit with, and spend the extra on a pen pro carbide. worth eveery cent. Those were my starter set and served well. got tired of trying to figure out the sharpening thing, still cant except by luck. added a 1 inch roughing gouge because its easy to hone, and a 1 inch skew, just because. a set is a bit cheaper than trying to find individual pieces, but shop around. There are a lot of vendors handling PSI line for a few bucks less.

 

[1080Wayne]

If you have a vice , forget the pen press . I believe some have also used the drill press as a pen press .

 

[ctubbs]

Forget the PSI 'Starter Kit'. For beginning tools, HF has a set of HSS tools, not the best, but good for learning and they are High Speed Steel. for a mandrel, get the adjustable one on a MT that fits your lathe. PSI is OK for this. Their press is workable but there are better alternatives. If you have any scrap wood, you can go to Marley Turned Plans for his set of instructions to build what looks like a really good one. There is a fee for the download and, no, I haven't built mine yet. For slimline pen and pencil kits, our local vendors here have some better ones for less. The blanks I got in my SS were poorly cut, short and had to be redrilled. Monty on here sells much better glue for way less. The Shellawax is not a strong durable finish. On the good side, the trimmer they sent me was a 4 wing trimmer and you can turn your own sleeves to make it fit larger kits. It works pretty well as long as you are paying attention and do not make the tube too short. DAMHIKT either. The 7mm drill bit included was alright. You will need to check it for being bent, though. One I bought later had a slight warp in it giving a not good hole in the blank. It wobbled in the chuck way bad. They did quickly replace it once told.

My $0.02 on the carbide tool, I talked to ken before I bought his Woodchuck Pen Pro. If you only intend to turn pens with it, go ahead and buy the PenPro. It will do a bang up job on pens. On the other hand, It only does pens easily. I bought the BowlPro and it does pens beautifully, (Note I said it does) not so much me. I still have much to learn, but with the Bowl Pro I am able to easily work much larger turnings.

In the log run, it is your money and your budget. I bought the PSI SS before finding this vast source of info. My pen size tools lie in the bottom of the drawer. Most of the rest of the SS is in the trash ans long gone. My advise, buy the best tools and equipment you can afford. To paraphrase someone here, Tis better to cry over the price of a great tool once than the quality of a cheep tool every time you pick it up.
Charles
P.S. I forgot to mention one good thing about the cheep chisels, they will give you much great practice in sharpening. So when they are worn to a nubbin' you have not lost all that much and have a pretty good idea how to keep your good chisels well sharp without grinding away high priced steel.

 

[ghostrider]

What ctubbs said.

If you think you not going to like sharpening, then understand that it will just be that much more difficult with the carbide chisels. And yes, you will need to sharpen them. Putting it off will only give you less practice. Carbide tools get dull also, but they are just harder to sharpen. Also, when most people around here talk about carbide tools, they are talking about the insert type, like the Woodchuck Pen Pro. If you save your money and buy the Pen Pro instead of the PSI set, you'll be very happy. If you buy the PSI set, you'll only regret it when you purchase your Pen Pro. Furthermore, IF you decide this isn't for you, when the time comes to sell, you'll do better with the Pen Pro as I doubt you'd get many takers for the PSI set.

I got impatient, and bought the EWT Mini-finisher, instead of ordering the Pen Pro. The EWT has a thinner shank than the Pen Pro, and that translates to less vibration, and easier turning IMHO.

If your going to do pens, then you'll have to drill holes. That will require either the lathe for drilling, or a drill press.

You can buy 10 pen kits from Smitty for $26.

Buy a mandrel from any vendors who sell them (get the adjustable one). AS, PSI, WoodnWhimsies, Woodturngz, CAUSA, etc... All have them. $16.79.

Look at all the vendors from this site. You can buy 10 pen kits from WnW for $17. That's just an example.

For tools, I agree to not go with "Pen making" tools. I find that a smaller takes more skill than a larger one. At PSI, you can buy a 3/4" roughing gouge for $18.95, and a parting tool for $9.95. You can also get a 3/4" oval skew for $14.95 (1"-1 1/4" are better if you can find them for a decent price). Another $11.95, and you can get a 3/8" spindle gouge (comes in handy). Many people here use the Woodchuck exclusively for pens.

You also won't need a diamond hone to sharpen those HSS Tools. I can tell you from experience that a belt sander won't sharpen a Harbor Freight carbide tool, but I do know that they get dull. Really, some even use a skew from start to finish on pens. I've done it, and it isn't so bad as long as the tool is sharp. Skews are also easy to freehand sharpen because of their large bevel.

I wouldn't use shellwax. My first pen had a finish using CA, and EEE Ultra-Shine. It actually looked pretty good considering I didn't know what I was doing. I found a tutorial on how to apply the CA using the EEE. IF your hesitant to start with a CA finish, you can get Myland's Friction Polish, and Sanding Sealer in 1oz. bottles (that's more than enough) for less than $3/ea at Wood N Whimsies (there's probably other vendors who do so also).

I never used a pen press for my shop. I have a woodworkers vice I bought at HF, and used it with leather(for protecting the pen plating) for assembly. You can also make a Pen Press easily if your of a mind to. Heck, if you have to you can even use one of those pistol grip clamps you see around (I sometime do when I'm putting a pen together at home). Here's the vice I used:
6" Portable Carpenter's Vise

I learned what it felt like when the pen had reached the point where I'd pressed enough with this vise, now I use it at home since my friend has a pen press.

Lets see:

10 pen component sets: $17.00
Roughing gouge: $18.95
Skew $14.95
Parting Tool $9.95
Spindle gouge $11.95
Mandrel $16.79
Friction polish/sanding
sealer $6.00

Total $80.08

Another $20 for you barrel trimming set brings it to $108.08.

That's about the same you were looking at (maybe even less) before.

 

[PTsideshow]

I will also say go with the better HF chisel set gives a wide assortment of chisels The one that has 8 pieces the web site has the wrong picture on the page for them. They are made by the same company as other more expensive sets. and if you are sharpening them then you will have a couple extra to practice with.
Remember that HF has a 30 day return in addition to their other warranties.
I will also say that I too am a pen pro owner and love it since I am still playing with the lathe and tools learning what they will let me do! In addition to redoing the basement shop area for wood turning/pen making.
Also get some calipers, so you can measure the turnings on the lathe.

here is a link to Harbor Freight coupon wiki scroll down and pick your coupon/print it out and enjoy. New ones are added all the time.
Check to make sure that your head stock, and tail stock both are the same size Morse Taper size mine is a #2MT. Nothing wrong if they are the same size other than you will need two different sized set of centers etc.

My HF lathe has #2MT on both ends.Two other tips, If you live near Hobby Lobby and or Micheal's check your Sunday newspaper for 40%/50% off coupons for one regular price items. Hobby Lobby is in our living section of the paper and you have to look good as it is a very small strange looking coupon or you miss it. They are in every week here. The Micheal's are in their color advert insert. They are a nice bonus savings.
:clown:

 

[GrantH]

Why not start out without a mandrel and just go between centers? It's far more accurate, and it's a lot more fun in my opinion.

 

[PenMan1]

You can get the same PSI pieces individually from WoodTurninz or WoodenWhimsies for less money. Additionally, if you order from either of these places you'll actually get them delivered in a timely manner.

I own a WoodChuck Pen Pro and use it on most every pen. But, I like to finish with a carbide skew, just because it does a little better job at finish detailing.

I wouldn't bother with the PSI HSS chisel set. Those tools will encourage bad habits and since after a few uses they refuse to hold an edge. You'll spend a lot of time trying to figure out why your finish doesn't measure up to others. Sometimes cheap tools are just that -cheap.

 

[TerryDowning]

For pen presses, I have used my drill press, a pipe clamp, a self adjusting style bar clamp (the kind where you squeeze the handles and the jaws close). Lots of options in a reasonably equipped shop.

I agree with what other people have said. Do your research and purchase decent tools (not the most expensive but not the cheapest either) you're likely to use and skip the starter packages.

 

[Xander]

Thanks everyone for the input and suggestions. All I need has now been ordered.

Just waiting for delivery...:befuddled:

 

[Lenny]

As for a pen press I made one similar to this ....

Woodturning Online :: Building a pen assembly press - Woodturning Online offers wood turning projects, woodturning plans, articles, and information on wood turning, bowl turning, pen turning, the wood lathe, segmented turning, lathe tools, and more f

+1 on the HF 8 pc HSS set (pretty much just use the skew for pens now)
+1 on The carbide Pen Pro

Regardless of whether you turn between centers or use a mandrel you should have a 60 degree LIVE center in the tailstock. The Cup center that comes with most lathes DOES NOT usually have a 60 degree point! There have been many mandrels ruined by using an improper center in the tailstock.

At some point you MAY want to investigate TBC. For that (when the time comes) you will need a 60 degree dead center (in the headstock) and a short tool rest. Johnnycnc's bushings are great but not neccesary to try it out. His triple play package will do several different styles of 7mm pens and is a great way to get started Turning Between Centers!

 

[dogcatcher]

Everyone of these places charge for shipping. If you spread out your buying sources and you will pay about $8 in shipping for every place you order from. So look at the overall picture or you could be supporting the post office instead of yourself.

As an example, 5 orders could equal $40 in shipping where one might only be $8, that leaves $32 to buy more stuff. Buy good, but also buy smart.

 

[Xander]

Everyone of these places charge for shipping. If you spread out your buying sources and you will pay about $8 in shipping for every place you order from. So look at the overall picture or you could be supporting the post office instead of yourself.

As an example, 5 orders could equal $40 in shipping where one might only be $8, that leaves $32 to buy more stuff. Buy good, but also buy smart.

Exactly.
I now have ordered everything I need. Got all but 1 item from one place. The odd item I got SHIPPED for less than the cost of just the tool from the other outlet. Now just have to wait for the stuff to arrive.

Thanks everyone for the input.