off center turning

[ctwxlvr]

I turned my first pen today and will post a picture tomorrow. but it has a flaw, the nib end is off center. the wood is Sassafras and the kit is a Woodcraft Atlas. I no longer have the pen as I did the turning very quickly and a 3 coat finish of CA buffed to a satin sheen. It was a gift to my current boss who's last day is Saturday and today is the last day I will see him.

The nib end was turned on the outboard side. If you use a drill size guide the end is round and looks centered but when you screw the nib on one side is low and the other side is high, the clip side has no flaw I can see other than the clip being proud of both the wood and the cap.

 

[JimGo]

search the archives for "out of round" and "bent mandrel" or check Russ Fairfield's site (http://www.woodturnerruss.com ). You'll find a LOT of good information in both.

 

[ctwxlvr]

hmmm not out of round and not a bent mandrel, the finished blank is round, and not oval, the tube looks centered within the turned blank with no gaps but attaching the nib it is like the blank shifted off center. Am I making any sense here?

 

[wudnhed]

Can you post a picture? Duh.....I re-read, sorry! Where did I put that dunce hat??????????

 

[JimGo]

I'm with Becca - I'd like to see a pic. I'm having trouble envisioning it, because, assuming you squared the ends properly and that nothing is wrong with your bushings, the barrels should always be circular - it's just a question of whether the tube is sitting in the middle of that circle or not. If the tube looks centered in the turned blank, the only thing I can think of is that the ends aren't square to the tube.

 

[clewless]

Sassafras is very open grained, therefore has soft and hard spots, I think you may have sanded a little too hard and flattened out the soft spot relative to the hard....DAHIKT []

PS--You are now an addict.......[]

 

[Grizzlyss]

Actually I have had it too. I thought maybe the mandrel was bent, but I took the rod part out, rolled it on a flat table and it is not bent at all. But the odd time when turning the blank I can feel it, the bushings are new, and I even have a new live centre. The only thing I can think of is the Universal Pen mandrel I have from Lee Valley Tools, is adjustable with one set screw on the side near the end of the holder itself. Maybe this skews the rod ever so slightly to cause this. But when sanding the blank it seems to goes away, and Honduran Rosewood isn't soft at all so I can't see it having a soft spot. Who knows, stranger things have happened.

Sheldon

 

[ctwxlvr]

Here is my First Pen a WC Atlas with Sassafrass

The photos don't show the problem very well. will have to check when I finish my second pen and see if it happens again.