How did I make pens before. . .

[edicehouse]

I was in the shop working and using three things that got me thinking about how did I made pens before I got them. What I am looking for is the tools you say why didn't I have all along, or you wish you had thought of when you started. It can be something you modified to suit your needs or something someone suggested. I think this can help others.

My first is a sewing thread holder, it is a wooden stand with a bunch of small dolls that 7mm tubes can even fit in. My grandmother got it for me at Walmart a couple years ago, because I had no idea where to find one. I use it to hold the tubes before they are glued into the blanks, and after the glue is dried and after squared, and so on.

My second is a buffing wheel. It makes the nail on my thumb so shiny.

The third is an Arbor press my in-laws got me for Christmas about three years ago. I took the metal wheel off where you press and have a piece of wood I use. I drilled a hole in it to be able to do different things and move the wood as needed. I have not fastened it to my bench or anyplace. However I wish I had told them I wanted the 1 ton vs the 1/2 ton. Just to get the extra inch of clearance.

 

[mecompco]

I would have to say:

1) PSI Blank drilling chuck. Used to use the huge 4 jaw chuck on my metal lathe, which did work, but the thing must weigh 20 lbs. and was a PITA. The PSI chuck works great and is so much more convenient.

2) Rick Harrell's Off-set Sanding jig. Have ditched the wretched pen mill after the first few pens, I made a sanding disc for the lathe. While it worked to just use the center, being able to use the outside of the disc is so much faster.

3) Bob's Magical Skew. My Loser Train prize (thanks again, Bob). This little gem, with the 2" radius carbide just works so well. My productivity has tripled not having to stop and sharpen the gouge/skew multiple times per pen (especially w/acrylics). This thing peels off wood at an astonishing rate, and leaves a super finish on acrylics. It even eats up Corian with no problem.

Honorable Mention: My three wheel buffing system. Much better than polish and a paper towel for acrylics and the Carnauba wheel shines up wood nicely.

Regards,
Michael

 

[thewishman]

The third is an Arbor press my in-laws got me for Christmas about three years ago. I took the metal wheel off where you press and have a piece of wood I use. I drilled a hole in it to be able to do different things and move the wood as needed. I have not fastened it to my bench or anyplace. However I wish I had told them I wanted the 1 ton vs the 1/2 ton. Just to get the extra inch of clearance.

That's a good tool and easy to add the extra clearance. I mounted the press on a short piece of 2x12 and usually just lay a piece of pine 1x4 across the feet. If I need more clearance, I put a small piece of wood between the feet, or for more space, I can press directly onto the 2x12.

 

[Skie_M]

I really should have started off with just the 1/2 inch drill chuck for my MT#1 lathe (PSI ~ 30 dollars). I got the 3/8" one first, as it was only 16 dollars, but quickly found that I was hampered when trying to drill holes for the larger pen kits.


Utility Grip Chuck (though I should probably put the Barracuda 2 chuck in this slot ... it's on sale for 140 bucks WITH accessories through PSI right now). Being able to turn larger items is a blast ... wish I had gotten it sooner.

3-jaw scrolling jaw chuck #1MT (30 dollars, Harbor Freight Tools). I regularly use this to drill my blanks (I turn them round between centers first)... seriously, it beats the pants off of drilling on a drill press!

Tool Storage Rack/Shelf ... Under my lathe is a simple shelf made of cedar (leftover fence board). In this shelf I drilled a series of holes approx 1 inch wide each, using a Forstner bit, and my lathe chisels simply drop in place and hang there. The board simply sits in place across the leg braces of the table. Having my tools easily accessible and within reach makes such a big difference!

Portable Lamp - DIRECTLY over my lathe work area, I have a CFL bulb installed into a portable lamp from Harbor Freight. It clamps onto a board that I have suspended from a nearby shelf, about 5 inches over my lathe spindle. It's not shining in my eyes, but it gives me excellent light right where I need it!

 

[ed4copies]

The third is an Arbor press my in-laws got me for Christmas about three years ago. I took the metal wheel off where you press and have a piece of wood I use. I drilled a hole in it to be able to do different things and move the wood as needed. I have not fastened it to my bench or anyplace. However I wish I had told them I wanted the 1 ton vs the 1/2 ton. Just to get the extra inch of clearance.

That's a good tool and easy to add the extra clearance. I mounted the press on a short piece of 2x12 and usually just lay a piece of pine 1x4 across the feet. If I need more clearance, I put a small piece of wood between the feet, or for more space, I can press directly onto the 2x12.

Or, taking this a little farther, you can raise the arbor press by putting a one or two inch piece of wood under it, cutting out the section that is under the arbor ram. In this case, you do need to bolt the arbor press to the bottom piece of wood which is not cut out, to provide the resistance you need to assemble pens.

 

[thewishman]

1. MT2 drill chuck - HF $19.99 It has drilled, accurately, thousands of pen blanks from pine to rebar.

2. Carbide tool Yes, I have regular HSS tools and I sharpened them on a whetstone, then (years later) upgraded to a slow speed grinder. For me, it is the perfect tool.

3. Norton 3X snadpaper I tried to save money on this tool and it cost me way too much. High quality and dependable. I don't use much, but it performs so well that I don't have to even think about those steps in my routine.

 

[jttheclockman]

How did I make pens before....... "this site"

 

[budnder]

1) Magnetic Bar - Mounted above lathe, holds the twenty or so things I used constantly - centers, drill bits, skews, collets, etc. ( Amazon link )

2) ER32 Collet - After I turn a blank round between centers to get a peek at what it looks like, I chuck it up in a collet to drill it on the lathe. I think the back end grip of the collet helps alot with blow outs. The collet seems so much more accurate than the pen grips I used to use for lathe drilling. I started with the PSI collet set that included the holder along with an ebay metric set of collets. Later I got the Beale holder and it's quite a bit better than the PSI one. In retrospect, I'd just get the Beale holder ( Woodturnerscatalog link ) and the 2-20mm ebay metric collet set ( ebay link ), and add the large 21mm that I turn to to drill ( ebay link ).

3) Harbor Freight Reamer - So quick and easy to clean any glue out of the tube ( Harbor Freight link )

 

[Curly]

What no dead centres? Ditching the mandrel for turning between centres was the way to go here.

 

[SteveG]

Abranet...but not just SOME Abranet! confused:What?)

>>>>> Abranet bought by the roll.<<<<

Buying it in quantity means unit cost is much lower, but more importantly, I always have lots of it on hand. Of course, I cut it into small strips convenient to use. The result of having lots of the stuff on the shelf is that I replace the little strip VERY OFTEN, meaning that I am always using fresh sanding medium. (Forget using that poor, abused little strip that has only a few grains of abrasive left!) That means I smile more when making every pen!!

TRY IT...YOU WILL LIKE IT!!:biggrin::biggrin:

 

[leehljp]

VSR with reverse and largest lathe I could have afforded!

 

[mecompco]

What no dead centres? Ditching the mandrel for turning between centres was the way to go here.

Ha ha, that goes w/o saying. I think I ditched the mandrel after my first few pens.

 

[Carl Fisher]

1. Metal lathe
2. Collet chuck and full set of metric collets
3. Rick Herrel tool rests of varying sizes from 3" up to 8" (I really need to add a 2" to this mix)

 

[lhowell]

1.) Mandrel Saver. Still get bent mandrels every now and then but not like I used to!

2.) Nova Pen Jaws for my G3 Chuck

3.) Abranet Sandpaper

4.) MicroMesh pads

About to get my first set of TBC adapters that will allow me to use the bushings I have but I'm going to go ahead and put these on the list because I am sure after a few times using them over a mandrel I won't look back at mandrel turning!

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

1. Pen jaws for my scroll chuck. Had to use DP for drilling before that.

2. VS lathe for sanding / finishing - belt changes previously.

3. The little NEJE engraver for names - had to contract for that previously ($$$).

 

[Bob in SF]

Aurora Bright Magnetic Lamp from Woodturners Wonders - per Tony L's kind suggestion.

Bob's Magical Skew

Fred Wissen's various tube-in molds

Peachtree Woodworking pen vise

Lots of extra pen tubes

Harder & Steenbeck Pro Infinity "Two-In-One" Airbrush for extreme detail work on barrels

Best regards to all, and gratitude for all the abundantly shared knowledge and experience on this special site - Bob

 

[TattooedTurner]

My older brother turns pens so when I got my lathe earlier this year I had an idea what I would need and got a good setup for a new penturner (chuck, pen jaws, etc). For me the list would be:

#1 with a bullet - This place. The help here is amazing, and seeing the fine work done by members is a true inspiration to give it my all.

#2 - Square radiused carbide tool, indispensable for this new turner to get smooth, mark free finishing cuts. I'm still practicing with my skew, when I turn a pen from start to finish with one you'll hear about it!

#3 - My Rikon 12" lathe I got on sale at a great price. I had no idea how much I hated my 10" HF until I first used a VS. The HF lathe is now a buffer. I heard about the sale and got feedback on the lathe here, so thanks! (Which takes us back to #1)

I hope to add an offset sanding jig soon, the mill wore out its welcome shortly after moving in. I don't like it at all, especially with 7mm tubes.