2 Sierras

[cowchaser]

New pens to me. These are the 3rd and 4th ones I have turned.

First is a Curly Hunduras Mahagoney (bigrob). I like the way it turned out.

Second is a Lignum Vitae. First pen turned completely with a skew. Not sure how it happened, but I think a tear rolled down my cheek. Beautiful ribbon shavings flying everywhere. Not sure what happened on this one. If you look at the bottom right you can see where I could not get it turned round. I am using a 27/64 bit, but it seems there is just a little bit of space between the blank and tube

 

[rhahnfl]

Nice looking pens. Good job!!

 

[txbatons]

Good work! I like the woods.

 

[johncrane]

Very Nice pens and photo Dustin!![]

 

[Ligget]

Good work, I love the Curly Hunduras one best![]

 

[guts]

Great looking pens,Dustin

 

[louisbry]

Nice work, Dustin. I like the Curly Hunduras Mahagoney best.

 

[cowchaser]

Anyone have any idea as to why I seem to not be turning round on these? I am turning between center.

 

[DCBluesman]

If you have a slightly loose bushing that can cause an out of round condition. Wrap a layer of scotch tape around the step of the bushing that fits inside the tube. That should snug it up and get your turnings back to tround.

 

[Brewmeister35]

Nice pens. Definitely like the curly mahogany one best. Two possibilities that come to mind for not being round and turning between centers is 1 - your bushings are not concentric. 2 - your tailstock is not in line with your headstock. You could try marking your bushings and see if it's the same bushing that causes the out of round condition and swap them from headstock to tailstock to see if the problem follows the bushing or the tailstock side. Good luck.

 

[johnnycnc]

Turning between centers is a great idea,but if your bushings
are poorly made,you won't get much benefit.
Are they loose/wobbly on the part that goes in the tube?
Every factory sierra bushing I have is.
Are your blank ends good and square?if not,when you tighten things
up,you will push things out of alignment.
I hope you find your solution.

Originally posted by cowchaser
<br />Anyone have any idea as to why I seem to not be turning round on these? I am turning between center.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

John is correct, Many of my oroginal style bushings fit poorly when compared to the ones that I made myself, heck... I need to make them for the Jr.Statesman kit next. Every time I removed the blank from the lathe the dang bushings would fall off the blank!

One more thing to check. Do a basic alingment test on your lathe by bringing the live center and the dead center up so the points line up. I also like to rotate the points just to make sure they stay true. If you have them out of alingment it can throw off your blanks as well. I would put my money on the wood not milling perfectly flat. Some woods are harder in spots than others and the mill may "jump" at that spot and leave a high spot. I use a custom made pen mill sander to perfectly square the blank once I get most of wood off. This gives me a perfectly flat face that the bushings ride on.

As for the skew... it's nice when you "get it" Huh?

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

It looks as if the end was not milled perpendicular to the tube. Are you useing a pen mill and if so have you made inserts from 7mm tubes that will slip into the tube? I emailed you and if you need I'll send you some inserts I made for the serria and baron and Jr. Gents.Here are some pictures of what I'm talking about. Usinfg 7 MM tubes and scrap wood.

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[cowchaser]

I believe it is the blanks are not milling square since I haven't used a insert. I will head out to the garage in a few and see if I can't turn a few inserts to correct this problem. One question though. Are the inserts completely into the tubes? It almost looks like part of it is in the tube and part of it turn a little larger so that it doesn't go down into the tube? Thanks for all the help guys. Great to know people are willing to help a newb. Just think, I will probably try the jr. gent next and a whole new set of problems will begin..lol

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Dustin, I just left some of the insert out to show you it. If your going to make your own make it as close as you can to the size needed. I have inserts for all my kits.

 

[Brewmeister35]

Are you using standard or custom bushings? I didn't think standard bushings could be used to turn between centers.

 

[cowchaser]

Standard. Also after doing some testing and checking I have found 1 of my pen mills does not seem to be square. So, I'll have to find some place to send it to be sharpened and squared up. I will also be finding some custom busings. I think I am only a couple grand in the hole so I might as well keep digging [:0]

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Standard bushings can be used, you don't need custom bushing to turn between centers. But if you do get custom bushings make sure your live center and dead center are the same degree as the bushings. I have both standard and custom I use and the custom are from Johnnycnc and are 60 degree.

Originally posted by Brewmeister35
<br />Are you using standard or custom bushings? I didn't think standard bushings could be used to turn between centers.

 

[BigRob777]

Dustin,
First of all, thanks for the mention. I made a tool handle out of some of my bigger stock (curly mahogany) and I love it. You did a nice job with that one.

I have bought 3 sets of bushings for my sierras and all 3 have been out of round. If you look at the hole, through which the mandrel passes (or in your case, into which you poke your centers), you might see that they aren't dead center, which causes problems. I also had trouble with the step being too small, which can be fixed, as Lou has said, with tape. Of course, it could be your lathe too. Some folks turn their barrels 1/4 turn, which gives you a more even barrel, but it's a pain and it takes so much longer to sand.

I didn't know you were new to pen turning. Keep it up. Also, try another type of pen, like a cigar. They don't seem to have the same out of round problems with their bushings.
Rob