Newbie p-turner needs your advice

[iwouldworkwood]

Hello Everyone!

I'm an amateur turner and want to break into the pen turning scene.

I've been checking out the pen turning kits on Amazon and such. Looks like an entry level kit will be about $150. My question is am I better off to buy just tooling? Obviously I don't need sandpaper or finish and I have plenty of cool scrap wood. I have plenty of full size turning tools.

What does the beginning pen turner really need? It looks like if I bought mandrels, trimmers, turning tools, etc all separate I could add up to $150 pretty quick.

I don't want to buy stuff I don't need but I also live 60 miles from a Woodcraft store, otherwise everything has to be ordered online. I'd rather get what I need upfront instead of having to wait for UPS every time I need another piece.

Thanks for your input!

 

[BayouPenturner]

tooling seems like a good option

 

[Jim Burr]

Library and a use of the Search function will bring up all the times this has been brought up in the last month.

 

[its_virgil]

No special tools are needed for turning pens. You mentioned full size wood turning tools. Full size tools are my choice and the choice of many others. The small mini tools are not needed for turning pens. My favorite is a 1 1/4 inch skew. A good place to start would be some of the reading in the library…especially the articles in this section: http://www.penturners.org/forum/f139/iap-library-penturning-101-start-here-90772/

Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[ljpilcher@suddenlink]

Beginning

Here is my two cents. You can read all this or not. I am new also. I didn't know what to start with except a lathe and didn't know what to buy. I got a Jet mini lathe because I didn't have the space of money for a big lathe. Turns out the mini is probably best for pens. I knew I would need turning tools, so bought what was touted as a pen turning and it was very expensive (Crown gouge, skew and parting tool) and was one of the few that said they were sharp and ready to use out of the box. Rockler had a beginning pen turning kit they said was all you need besides a lathe. Well, that depends on what you already have. As soon as I got the kit, lathe and turning tools, I realized I need something to drill the blanks with. I had no drill press. I considered setting up to drill on the lathe, but both were pretty expensive, so I decided to build a jig to do it. Third generation works pretty well. I did a couple dozen pens with good success then things started going wrong. I could no longer keep my turning tools sharp with the little diamond things I bought for that. Ok, so I need something to sharpen my tools. Got a good Rikon grinder from Woodcraft on an introductory offer for $100 (it is $139 now--still a pretty good deal, considering has the correct wheels for grinding HSS tools). Ok, so, I still need jigs and they can be pretty expensive. A little research showed I could make them pretty easily, so I did. Ok, I have sharp tools. Now my CA was taking for ever to cure (wasn't using accelerator then). I would take 30 minutes to cure so I could put another coat on. Bummer. I got a 2 oz pump bottle of accelerator to try and that was definitely not the way to go as it was very uneven and caused foaming and lumping of the CA. I tried a hair drier (weather is cooling off) to speed up the cure. Could get it to cure in 6 - 8 minutes but had to stand there and hold the hair drier all that time for however many coats I used. Finally ordered a finishing kit from Rockler that had thin CA. medium CA, a 3 oz aerosol can of accelerator and two bottles of finishing material. Also bought a can of debonder, just in case. The new CA with the accelerator is working well. My old CA still didn't work even with the accelerator. I will use the rest of it to glue tubes in. No big hurry there an it even gives me more time to get the tube in without setting up on me. Finally back in business. Sill need that drilling capability.

 

[Sabaharr]

1. The ability to cut your blanks. (Small handsaw will do if on a budget)
2. The ability to drill blanks. (Clamp and hand drill will work but be ready to ruin some blanks)
3. Lathe and turning tools. (Includes mandrel and centers, .....)
4. Glue or epoxy and finishing supplies (CA, sandpaper,....)
5. A way to keep your tools sharp.
6. Blanks and pen kits.

You will add as you go but that will get you started. I have been adding for 5 years. Getting into stabilizing and casting blanks now. That is a whole other nightmare.

 

[iwouldworkwood]

Thanks for the advice guys! After reading the helpful suggestions, I think I will buy the pieces I need rather than a kit. Considering I have lathe, tools, wood, finish, etc. mostly I need ways to chuck up blanks, drill blanks and assemble the pens.

 

[PMisiaszek]

Basic penturning shop

I'm a few years ahead of you in the penmaking hobby, and unlike what you might expect, I've downsized my equipment over the years. For a long time, I had a complete woodshop at one location and a very basic shop at another. I sold the "big" shop, and much of the equipment at the other shop, too. I now have a minimalist but very functional pen shop consisting of just a Jet mini-lathe and some hand tools. I have a great Japanese handsaw that I use to cut blanks that I hold in a small benchtop clamp. Everything else, I do on the lathe, from drilling to finishing. I get my turning between centers equipment from John at Penturners Products! and I can't speak highly enough about what he sells or the improvement in my pens from switching to TBC penmaking. I buff on the lathe and assemble using a small homemade jig on the lathe as well. My workbench is a small kitchen island that WalMart sells that has two drawers and some shelves. It's on wheels and easily stores out of the way in my garage. I wish I had started out turning between centers. I really like the process and the results.

 

[ironman123]

You said you are 60 miles from WoodCraft and you would rather not wait on UPS. I am not knocking WoodCraft but there are other suppliers out there and vendors on here. Compare prices and quality and sometimes you can save money by waiting for UPS. Just my 2 cents.

Ray

 

[iwouldworkwood]

You said you are 60 miles from WoodCraft and you would rather not wait on UPS. I am not knocking WoodCraft but there are other suppliers out there and vendors on here. Compare prices and quality and sometimes you can save money by waiting for UPS. Just my 2 cents.

Ray

I just meant I would like to buy the bulk of what I need to get turning all at once. Driving into Woodcraft or waiting on UPS every time I need a new tool would be a PITA.