woodbutcher
Member
My first mandrel was the WC beginners unit. It cost around $10.00. Not bad. Shortly after that I went with the WC Pro Model...$25.00. Shortly after that the Live Center on my shiny new Delta Midi began to wear and not quite round pens were the result. My next move was to a Oneway Live Center with a noticeable improvement. Still even rotating blanks 180 deg on the mandrel just prior to sanding still produced slightly out of round results. I then read a post here concerning the use of a Beal Collet. Made sense to me. I then did something unusual for me. I bought a WC collet system. It cost me $80.00 which is not quite 50% cheaper than the Beal. That really helped a lot! I strive for perfection in my turning whatever the finished product is. It seems a Collet and good Live Center will help eliminate variables in wood to metal fitment on pens. Still the most important piece of this puzzle is experience. I suggest to new turners to buy 50 slimline kits from the cheapest supplier and start making all the mistakes you can as soon as possible. Do it in groups of five kits at a time. After 20 or so kits the lights in your head should be well on their way to shining brightly. Keep the first 5 for yourself. After that you may want to call the rest gifts or sale items. Most of my first 40 were gifts. I sold the next 10. Those sales paid for the Oneway Live Center. I wish you all the best.
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