New Guy Trials and Tribulations

[Dtcjem]

Hey all -

Took a class on Basic Pen Turning at Rockler and walked out with an Elxisler mini-lathe, a pen making kit and a small set of tools. So far so good.

I have made two slim lines with blanks given to me by the instructor, Ron Blais, who was awesome to work with. Since then I have spent more money than I care to admit, or atleast admit to my wife

Couple of questions.....

In the pen turning kit, there is a Rockler Pro mandrel. In the package there is a brass nut for the live center end, but there is also a compression nut. What is that for? I am also having a problem where the mandrel is unscrewing from the MT2 end. Why? Do you put lock tight or anything on it? Is this where that compression nut comes into play?

Other than that doing okay. Finish is just a friction finish followed by some wax, turning getting better and starting to think a grinder and jig is in order.

Can I sharpen by hand with a stone? Using only a roughing gouge and beginning to try the skew.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to all

 

[CREID]

The brass compression nut is simply there as a stop so that you don't need too many or too long of a spacer. As to why the mandrel is unscrewing from the taper, no idea unless it is not tight to begin with, you can try Loctite if you want. Now for the money part :biggrin:. That is part of the fun. :laugh:
Seriously though, like most hobbies it takes a lot to get started and after that it's just how many extras you want to play with. Hope this helps, and have fun.

Curt

 

[stonepecker]

You can sharpen on a belt sander but you should use a diamond card to put on the finish cutting edge.

Look at UTube for some videos on how to sharpen and start there. Soon you will know the way and how you want to do your sharpening

 

[Mr Vic]

Recommend sharpening the skew before using it much. Most are a bit on the dull side right out of the box. Then go get some 2"x2" boards or equivalent branches or ripped 2x4 and practice, practice and then sharpen and then practice some more. Once you learn to use it and are comfortable using one it's an awesome tool.

 

[thewishman]

Welcome! You certainly can sharpen with a stone, I did for the first six years. I cut blanks with a plastic miter box for the first 8 years. You don't have to spend a lot of money to make pens, but you can if you want to.

Mr. Vic is right about practicing, but pine turns terribly - I hate trying to turn pine. Get some cheap maple instead and practice will be more productive and less frustrating. I gave up on turning pine after about two pieces, it almost made me quit trying to turn pens.

A big thing that will cut down on frustration is to buy extra tubes for the kits you want to make. That way if one barrel blows up, you don't have to reclaim the tube right away to finish the pen.

Here are a couple of threads that describe different ways to start out:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f18/starting-out-inexpensively-what-do-i-have-have-134740/

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f18/starting-out-i-only-want-buy-things-once-what-best-134739/

 

[Dtcjem]

Thanks for the help. I keep learning and appreciate all the advice. Made my first, other than slimline today, a Manhattan Kit from Rockler. The wood is " Zebra wood"??

This is the first tube I glued, and blank I drilled. WOW, that CA sets fast.

Lots to learn, but enjoying all the advice, and will get better with each pen.

 

[ed4copies]

Thanks for the help. I keep learning and appreciate all the advice. Made my first, other than slimline today, a Manhattan Kit from Rockler. The wood is " Zebra wood"??

This is the first tube I glued, and blank I drilled. WOW, that CA sets fast.

Lots to learn, but enjoying all the advice, and will get better with each pen.

Don't use thin CA to glue in tubes and don't try to glue the tubes in while the blank is still hot from drilling or wet from lubricating while drilling.

Use thick CA, it will fill gaps. Both water and heat are CA accelerators, make sure neither is present.

ENJOY!!!
Ed

 

[magpens]

Welcome to IAP, Dave !!!

 

[MTViper]

When I first got my lathe, I went to Lowe's and bought an 8' Cedar 4x4 for $11. I cut it in short pieces, long pieces, crooked pieces. I turned it til it was nothing but shavings then bought another one. Learned a lot about my tools. Pine and cedar are both a pain to turn, but when you get your skew cuts to the point you are getting a smooth finish on them, you know you're where you want to be. Then you can move to expensive woods. Welcome aboard.

 

[qquake]

Like CREID said, the compression fitting is a stop for turning shorter blanks on the mandrel. When I tried one in the past, I found that it tended to "creep", I couldn't get it tight enough. I much prefer an adjustable mandrel, with which you can adjust the length of the mandrel rod based on the length of blank you're turning.

Adjustable # 2 Taper Pen Mandrel for Pen Turning Kits | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

Also, I tried gluing tubes in blanks with CA when I first started turning pens, but had a couple where the CA set before I got the tube all the way inserted. I started using 5 minute epoxy then, and that's what I still use.

 

[Smitty37]

Hey all -

Took a class on Basic Pen Turning at Rockler and walked out with an Elxisler mini-lathe, a pen making kit and a small set of tools. So far so good.

I have made two slim lines with blanks given to me by the instructor, Ron Blais, who was awesome to work with. Since then I have spent more money than I care to admit, or atleast admit to my wife

Couple of questions.....

In the pen turning kit, there is a Rockler Pro mandrel. In the package there is a brass nut for the live center end, but there is also a compression nut. What is that for? I am also having a problem where the mandrel is unscrewing from the MT2 end. Why? Do you put lock tight or anything on it? Is this where that compression nut comes into play?

Other than that doing okay. Finish is just a friction finish followed by some wax, turning getting better and starting to think a grinder and jig is in order.

Can I sharpen by hand with a stone? Using only a roughing gouge and beginning to try the skew.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to all

My recommendation is: Don't use CA to glue tubes in first, it sets too fast. Also CA does not have good sheer strength and when you are turning the force between the blank and tube is sheer force and epoxy will hold better.
.

 

[qquake]

My recommendation is: Don't use CA to glue tubes in first, it sets too fast but also epoxy does not have good sheer strength and when you are turning the force between the blank and tube is sheer force and epoxy will hold better.
.

Your statement contradicts itself...

 

[Smitty37]

My recommendation is: Don't use CA to glue tubes in first, it sets too fast but also epoxy does not have good sheer strength and when you are turning the force between the blank and tube is sheer force and epoxy will hold better.
.

Your statement contradicts itself...

It should say CA does not have good sheer strength. Thank you.

 

[CREID]

My recommendation is: Don't use CA to glue tubes in first, it sets too fast but also epoxy does not have good sheer strength and when you are turning the force between the blank and tube is sheer force and epoxy will hold better.
.

Your statement contradicts itself...

No it does not.

If it doesn't, then you could have worded it a lot better. It sounds like you say that epoxy doesn't have good sheer strength so use it because you need good sheer strength.

Curt

 

[Smitty37]

My recommendation is: Don't use CA to glue tubes in first, it sets too fast but also epoxy does not have good sheer strength and when you are turning the force between the blank and tube is sheer force and epoxy will hold better.
.

Your statement contradicts itself...

No it does not.

If it doesn't, then you could have worded it a lot better. It sounds like you say that epoxy doesn't have good sheer strength so use it because you need good sheer strength.

Curt

It has been corrected....You must have replied to my post faster than I could edit it.

 

[CREID]

My recommendation is: Don't use CA to glue tubes in first, it sets too fast but also epoxy does not have good sheer strength and when you are turning the force between the blank and tube is sheer force and epoxy will hold better.
.

Your statement contradicts itself...

No it does not.

If it doesn't, then you could have worded it a lot better. It sounds like you say that epoxy doesn't have good sheer strength so use it because you need good sheer strength.

Curt

It has been corrected....You must have replied to my post faster than I could edit it.

I did, i'm always a day late.:biggrin:
planning ahead for my funeral.

Curt