I'm new to all of this help needed

[NeophyteCraftsman]

So I have gotten into knife making. And found that I have wood left over that fits the bill for pen blanks and though I might give it a try.
I built a bootleg power drill wood jig setup as a lathe.
It seems to turn a small block of wood well but my chisel is not super sharp and it does not work so well.
I would like to see about what's the best single chisel to start with for turning pens, also is there a way to make a pen mandrel for about the cost of ordering one?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[D.Oliver]

You're probably going to get several answers on this but if it were me I would start with a spindle gouge or a carbide tool. When I first started making pens I mostly used the spindle gouge. Now I use the skew as much as the spindle gouge but it takes a little bit more practice to learn the skew than it does to learn the gouge. Carbide cutters would be another choice, though they are much more expensive. However if you don't have a way of sharpening you tools (i.e. a grinder) then they might be the way to go. A pen madrel is nothing but a 1/4 rod. However it needs to be perfectly straight or you will get out of round pens.

 

[NeophyteCraftsman]

How would I secure pen blanks to it i guess is kind of the question?
I can find a cheap piece of 1/4 inch rod thats straight and anything that's just over that size could be bushings to keep the blanks apart. Just not sure without being able to form threads on it how to secure it all together.

 

[chartle]

How would I secure pen blanks to it i guess is kind of the question?
I can find a cheap piece of 1/4 inch rod thats straight and anything that's just over that size could be bushings to keep the blanks apart. Just not sure without being able to form threads on it how to secure it all together.

Thats the tough part just bought the cheapest lathe that Harbor freight sells and have no issues at all with it. Then its just a little more for a real MT 1 mandrel.

Just afraid that going super cheap maybe frustrating.

But one thought is try to find old magazines from when pen making was in its infancy. I'm pretty sure the first pen mandrel was a rod in a chuck.

 

[chartle]

1. A pen madrel is nothing but a 1/4 rod.

2. However it needs to be perfectly straight or you will get out of round pens.

1. I thought it was a tad smaller.

2. Threaded rod seems to be the correct size which would be a great mandrel its just I have never seen a straight piece of threaded rod ever.

 

[Edgar]

Check out this post from George Valentine (Robutacion) a couple of years ago. This might help.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/turning-pens-electric-drill-jig-poor-mans-choice-116370/

 

[NeophyteCraftsman]

My setup is almost the same but useing a block of wood fastened and a 3/8 threaded rod and some nuts to secure it. I will have to figure out how large of mandrel to make.

 

[Kragax]

That is classy. A great way to get started on the cheap.+++

 

[KenV]

1. A pen madrel is nothing but a 1/4 rod.

2. However it needs to be perfectly straight or you will get out of round pens.

1. I thought it was a tad smaller.

2. Threaded rod seems to be the correct size which would be a great mandrel its just I have never seen a straight piece of threaded rod ever.

Actually is it is a little smaller -- A "D" sized piece of drill rod is just right. Berea specs the A mandrel as being 0.247 +0.000 -0.002. The PSI is very close to the "D" rod.

One can purchase "D" sized drill rod from industrial supply sources for a few bucks, but that size is not available in the big box stores.

 

[NeophyteCraftsman]

So I tested the lathe this morning. It works but I am awful with the wide chisel from ace that I got as sharp as possible. I need to secure a proper height tool rest. Also need to make some kind of smaller gouge like chisel, I have some old ones I can reshape for this purpose. We. I turn a piece of wood into a round rod I will try to post some pics of my setup and tools. Thanks for everyones input so far it has been a fun few days of learning and playing. Also where is the best place to get pen kits. From reading I will do slimline or the likes of 7mm pens because they appear to be standard and entry level pens. Thankfully I have a fresh downed pine tree in my mother's backyard courtesy of a neighbor to cut up and play with so no shortage of test wood.

 

[Edgar]

Check the Vendors Forum for links to our IAP vendors. Any of them that sell pen kits will be a great source. I pretty much use them all and I hesitate to promote any of them over one another.

Slimlines are inexpensive, but you might also consider the Sierra or its many single-barrel clones. These are generally 3/8" or 27/64" kits, but they are great entry-level pens because there is only one tube & they are very easy to assemble.

 

[NeophyteCraftsman]

Thank you. I will look into that tonight. My last concern is how do I square the barrels of the pens without one of those fancy drill bits?

 

[Edgar]

Thank you. I will look into that tonight. My last concern is how do I square the barrels of the pens without one of those fancy drill bits?

If you have a disk sander, you can make a jig to mount a shaft perpendicular to the disk. The shaft should be the same size as the inside diameter of the tube. Slide the shaft with the blank mounted to it as close to the disk as possible, clamp it down in your jig, then carefully push the blank into the disk to sand the end square. Go easy, a disk sander can remove material quite quickly.

Something like this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pen...-squaring-blanks-102107%2Findex2.html;800;600