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bowersox1

Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
5
Location
Lewisburg, Pa
Greetings,
I want to thank the members for allowing me to become a member of this fine site. My names Mark Bowersox and I'm from Lewisburg, Pa. I'm 49 and trade I am a Boiler Maker, Pipe fitter, Plumber and Boiler Operator (Co-Generation and Coal Fired plants). Due to a hernia surgery over 2 years ago gone bad and 4 surgeries since (due to damaged and nerve entrapment) and many nerve blocks I am now living a life of not able to work and do stuff I use to enjoy. My life is chronic pain that is livable with pills but can change just with a sneeze, moving or walking. My life has changed and for a while I could handle it but I'm growing nuts with not able to do things. I enjoy reading but can only read so much.

Many years ago (20+), me and my father was somewhere and dad seen a fellow that was selling homemade wood pens. Dad fell in love with them and bought one. I must admit it was the sweetest looking and feeling pen I've ever seen or held. I never gave it any more thoughts. Dad died in 2006 from cancer. We don't know what ever happen to that pen. So now with me looking for things to do to settle my mind and give me things to do I started looking at pen making as a hobby and way to pass time.

As I said, I am a metal type of man. If it doesn't fit get a bigger hammer, grinder and throw weld on it. To small, weld it in place. LOL. My grandfather had a wood lathe when I was growing up. I tried using it once but it wasn't good. I never got the hang of it and ended up with a broken wrist cause of the tools and not holding them correctly. This was in the late 1970'S.

I'm reaching out to you folks in the hopes that you can give me some ideas on how to learn how to turn using a lathe without hurting myself and damage to other objects. Maybe you can give me ideas how you learn to use a lathe and the tooling. I haven't bought anything yet as I'm trying to figure out if this would be a lost cause and I end up getting mad. I also hope you folks can prove me with some ideas of what items to get that would serve me best and where to get items that would be best as well.

I thank you for your time and understanding and look forward to hear from you.
 
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WriteON

Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Messages
3,266
Location
S. Florida
Welcome aboard. Have fun...safety first each and every time. Protect your eyes, ears, face, lung, fingers ...What did I miss.
Everyone will offer their knowledge. IAP is great place to start. Learn good/safe habits now.
 
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plantman

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
3,437
Location
Green Bay, Wi
:bananen_smilies022: If you can't take up Dan of his offer to show you some moves, see if there is a local woodworking or turners club in your area. Attend a meeting, ask questions, and see if there is someone there that would be willing to help you out. Next see if there is Woodcraft or other woodworking store near you that gives demonstrations or will let you try out one of their lathes to see if you are comfortable with it's operation. Look in the library on this site for videos and threads on turning. Use YouTube for videos on this and other related subjects. You can also buy many books on the subject, but turning is a hands on experience , and has to be felt not read. As a last resort, you could go to Harbor Freight and buy a mini lathe for around $100, try it, and if you don't like it, return it. You really need someone to show you the proper way to approach turning, overcome any fears you may have, watch you turn and correct any mistakes that are made, show you how to properly sharpen your tools ( most important to enjoy turning ), and give you hints and tricks that they have learned over the years. And most helpful, ask the people on this site if you have any questions no matter how mundane they may seem. Welcome to our family, and I hope we can be of some help to you !! Jim S
 
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bowersox1

Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
5
Location
Lewisburg, Pa
Thank you everyone for the welcomes and thee invites to come and talk and learn. I look forward to picking you folks skills. The traveling at this time isn't something i'm able to do. A short 10 mile road trip becomes painful. I'm in thee hopes that the Dr's will soon have my meds regulated better and able to control my pain better so i can make road trips.

Like anything else i know there's good and bad advice. Can you folks provide me the names of some books that would be good for someone to read that can provide me with some what a bit more details and information?

Someone also told me to watch or search youtube for videos but the best thing to do is have someone show you then let that person watch you can correct you so you don't pick up bad habits. That is some of the best advice i've ever gotten.
 

jpittssr

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2015
Messages
5
Location
Pinson, Al.
Someone also told me to watch or search youtube for videos but the best thing to do is have someone show you then let that person watch you can correct you so you don't pick up bad habits. That is some of the best advice i've ever gotten.

You tube is good but it depends on who you are watching.
The best help I received was from my local Woodcraft store. If you can go there and IF they have a pen turner working there you may be able to get some good instruction for free.
I was a beginner with zero knowledge of pen turning and also wanted to buy needed supplies to get started. I already had a Jet 1014 lathe and a couple of tools but that's all.
Terry (at Woodcraft in Pelham, Al.) is a pen turner and teacher. They have hundreds of his pens on display.
He started in the shop and discussed tools, how to use each tool and how to sharpen them. (Only the ones I would need for pen turning)
He was very careful to point out the dangerous things about using the tools.
Then we discussed a few of the different style pen kits. His advise was "don't go crazy and try to stock up on every kit ever made. Start with a easy kit until you get comfortable with it".
They had a special deal with a package of 5 slimline kits for $5.00
I bought a few accessories while I was there but I came home eager to try my new found knowledge.
I wish I had taken notes because I found that I didn't remember everything.

I now use mostly 2 turning tools, a 3/8 round nose scraper and a 3/4 roughing gouge. These came in the trad I made for the lathe or I would probably have bought a 1/2 roughing gouge for pens.
1. Don't waste your money buying a set of tools.
2. Buy HSS tools (High Speed Steel) softer steel will dull easy.
3. Learn how to sharpen each tool or find a friend that will do it in the beginning.
4. Start with a cheap pen kit. (The slimline is what I started with) about $2.00
5. Don't buy expensive wood to start with. if you have a saw you may be able to cut your own blanks.
6. If you don't have a drill press you can use a chuck on your lathe to drill the blanks.

Don't waste your money. Buy only what you absolutely can't get by without for now.
 

jttheclockman

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,082
Location
NJ, USA.
Welcome

As many have said having someone show you is by far the best way to get the basics. I am sure you had this in your field of work so you should know this first hand.

With that being said it is not the end all be all answer. I learned on my own by reading books and watching videos. There is a ton of info here. Yes it is scattered but that is to be expected. It makes it worthwhile looking through past threads and the library. You are a person who is hands on and are not a stranger to tools and power tools from your line of work. You have that sixth sense of things being safe so do not be afraid to try things. It is not rocket science. Get the basics down and go from there. Yes there is much to learn but you learn as you go. I have been turning for over 10 years now and still learning. I have worked as an Electrician for 42 years and have been retired for 2 and I am still seeing and learning things in that craft.

Enjoy the ride and have fun. Here is your pat on the back. Go get em.
 

Marnat3

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2013
Messages
394
Location
St Paul Minnesota
Ask lots of questions here, the people here are fantastic about sharing. Be safe and start by just turning round stock. Try different things and just enjoy the time in front of the lathe.
 

Sabaharr

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2009
Messages
598
Location
Slidell, LA
I have learned a lot from Youtube. Capt Eddie rules (Sorry, he was president of my local turning club). Lots of tips on there. Every time I watch something new I pick up a little something and it all adds up. Nothing is a substitute for actually going hands on with the tools though. If possible take a lesson at a nearby Woodcraft shop and see the tool selection they have. Keep in mind they have a lot of gadgets you don't need though. Such as a pen press is nice, but you can do pen assembly on a vise or even use your lathe. A drill press is nice to drill your blanks with a blank vise to hold them but you can drill on the lathe with a Nova 4 jaw chuck and drill chuck. When it comes to pen turning there are almost as many successful ways to do different operations as there are pen turners. You just have to figure out which works best for you. Visiting one of the guys and working a bit with their tools is a way to eliminate a lot of trial and error, which can discourage you from something you could end up enjoying a lot. My first stop getting home from work is to pass thru my shop to see what I am going to get to play with that evening after supper. Watch some vidios and see if its something you can get into.
 

Charlie_W

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
5,918
Location
Sterling, VA USA
Mark,
Welcome from Northern Virginia!

A lot of good advice has been given. As far as books, pick up or order a copy of
" The Penturners Bible" by Richard Kleinhenz. It starts with the basics and builds from there.
Barry Gross also has one or two penturning books as well.

Also, check for local woodturning clubs near you. There is usually several Penturners in a club and one of these may even be willing to come over with a mini lathe and help get you introduced again to turning.

Good luck!
 

farmer

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Messages
807
Location
NV
Greetings,
I want to thank the members for allowing me to become a member of this fine site. My names Mark Bowersox and I'm from Lewisburg, Pa. I'm 49 and trade I am a Boiler Maker, Pipe fitter, Plumber and Boiler Operator (Co-Generation and Coal Fired plants). Due to a hernia surgery over 2 years ago gone bad and 4 surgeries since (due to damaged and nerve entrapment) and many nerve blocks I am now living a life of not able to work and do stuff I use to enjoy. My life is chronic pain that is livable with pills but can change just with a sneeze, moving or walking. My life has changed and for a while I could handle it but I'm growing nuts with not able to do things. I enjoy reading but can only read so much.

Many years ago (20+), me and my father was somewhere and dad seen a fellow that was selling homemade wood pens. Dad fell in love with them and bought one. I must admit it was the sweetest looking and feeling pen I've ever seen or held. I never gave it any more thoughts. Dad died in 2006 from cancer. We don't know what ever happen to that pen. So now with me looking for things to do to settle my mind and give me things to do I started looking at pen making as a hobby and way to pass time.

As I said, I am a metal type of man. If it doesn't fit get a bigger hammer, grinder and throw weld on it. To small, weld it in place. LOL. My grandfather had a wood lathe when I was growing up. I tried using it once but it wasn't good. I never got the hang of it and ended up with a broken wrist cause of the tools and not holding them correctly. This was in the late 1970'S.

I'm reaching out to you folks in the hopes that you can give me some ideas on how to learn how to turn using a lathe without hurting myself and damage to other objects. Maybe you can give me ideas how you learn to use a lathe and the tooling. I haven't bought anything yet as I'm trying to figure out if this would be a lost cause and I end up getting mad. I also hope you folks can prove me with some ideas of what items to get that would serve me best and where to get items that would be best as well.

I thank you for your time and understanding and look forward to hear from you.

I know you are only planning on making pens.

This lathe is extremely portable, and you will be able to make kitless pens .

Large bore headstock
 
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