Mandrel

[stilgar]

Does anyone know a good way to fix a bent mandrel besides buying one? Or where you can just get the rod without a lot of $$

My son leaned on one the other day while finishing and it is a little bent.

 

[Ryan]

Woodcraft has a replacement for $2.99. I would not recommend it however. All of them that I have tried have been bent worse right out of the package than the one I was replacing. It is not hard to fix it yourself however with some of the tips from this site. It may not be perfect but you can get it real close.

Put your mandrel in the headstock but do not bring up the tailstock. Put your tool rest close and use a black marker to just touch the mandrel in 3 or 4 spots while the lathe is running. Turn the lathe off and you will see which direction you need to bend the mandrel to get it straight. If you get close to perfect circles or perfect circles you are good to go.

As you bring the tailstock up and put some pressure on it things will get better still.

Hope this helps and thanks to whoever it was that shared this little trick with me.

Ryan

Ryan

 

[JimGo]

Check out Russ Fairfield's web site at http://www.woodturnerruss.com - he has a discussion of how to straighten mandrels.

 

[stilgar]

Ryan,

Thanks I will try that, but with a red marker. My mandrel is black for some reason.[]

As for woodcraft, I tried one of their mandrels once. I used it one time and now it is used for finishing only.

One thing I have learned was to use a separate mandrel for finishing if possible. This keeps my turning mandrel straighter and I don't have to worry about getting polishes and other stuff on the mandrel. My first mandrel was ruined when a piece of grit got under the bushings during sanding and harden on the mandrel. When I pulled the pen off, it left grooves in the mandrel.

I would love to find a place that just sold the rod and not the taper so that I can have extras when I work with my kids.

 

[Tea Clipper]

I would love to find a place that just sold the rod and not the taper so that I can have extras when I work with my kids.

Arizona Silhouette sells them for $7
http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/Pen_Madrels.htm

 

[wayneis]

Berea also has them as do most Companies but I prefer the Berea rods which is what I believe AS sells.

Wayne

 

[TomServo]

wayne: agreed, the berea rods seem to be annealed drill rod or chromoly, definitely not some cheap "market" steel like some of the mandrels seem to be made from

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by Ryan
<br />Woodcraft has a replacement for $2.99.

According to previous posts, the Woodcraft mandrels have a special thread and will only fit the Woodcraft arbor. To the best of my knowledge, mandrels and arbors from other companies are interchangeable.