Need everyone's 2 cents here...

[Palmetto_Dave]

I have found myself asking a ton of questions to a ton of people. This is my attempt to simplify the questions!

I am a new turner. My primary desire is to turn out pens. My love is fountain pens, which is what brings me here in the first place. What tools do I need, in order to produce a decent pen. Answer this question assuming I have nothing (which is pretty much the case... I do have desire, that's pretty much it...)

 

[TAld]

Good morning Dave,
I would say you already have one of the most important tools and that is your desire. Napoleon Hill said "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve". Look under "Forums" at the top of the page and there is a forum dedicated to fountain pens. Good luck and welcome to this addiction.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Hi Dave, welcome to the group.
First you'll need a lathe..
Learn to use a skew.. I think I get the best looking pens when I can cut with the skew.. I watched Ed Brown at the Midwest Pen Gathering last year show how he made the plastic pens with a skew.. practice, it works. Before that I used a round nose scraper to round the blanks and cut to size, but required a lot of sanding as I really didn't get as smooth of a cut as with the skew.
Then practice, practice and you'll need to practice.
This hobby is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.[]

 

[Dario]

Turning a regular pen and a fountain pen is the same. You will need to get "educated" about the finer things about FP later though.

For now you need the following:

1. Protection; dust mask, dust collector, face shield
2. Pen kit
3. Pen blank
4. Saw (bandsaw, tablesaw or hand saw)
5. Drill (drill press or hand drill)
6. Drill bit (to match your kit tube(s))
7. Glue (CA, Gorilla glue, epoxy)
8. End mill + guide sleeve to match your tubes
9. Mandrel (there are 2 designated as A & B or 7mm and 8mm)
10. Lathe
11. Turning tools (I can turn most pens w/ just 2 tools)
12. Sandpaper + MM (micromesh)
13. Finish (CA, Enduro, lacquer, friction polish (I won't recommend this), etc.)
14. Polish (TSW, RenWax)
15. Presentation box
17. To show off...photo setup

I forgot a few important tools...
...a caliper,
...Pen press,
...sharpening set-up

 

[fiferb]

Hello Dave,
I'm going to follow this up with an email, but, why don't you come and pay me a visit? I'd be happy to let you try out a variety of tools on some scrap wood. You can determine what works best for you. I can show how to sharpen, make a pen, pretty much anything you want to know or learn.

 

[Palmetto_Dave]

Bruce, that would be awesome! I need to take you up on that. My schedule stays pretty hectic as a police officer, but I will try to set up a time to do that.

I have noticed that the WoodZone store here locally offers a pen turning class for something like $25. I don't know how detailed it is, but it sure seems reasonable.

 

[mdburn_em]

This is a topic that gets asked quite often. Maybe someone with better search skills can find one of the threads and post it.

A lathe.

Second, assuming you are going to buy all your blanks and don't intend to resaw them, you need a way to cut the blanks in half. You will find that the Grizzly is a popular bandsaw on this forum. You could get by with a small miter box.

Next, you need a way to drill the blanks. That involves either a drill press with as close to 3" of travel as you can afford or some people drill on the lathe. You will also need about a Gazillion drill bits.

Glue, sandpaper, Multi-Mesh

A way to trim the barrels. Either a disk sander, a barrel trimmer and/or one of the new ones from Firefyter-emt.

Bushings, kits

Turning tools. Some will say, get the best you can afford. Crown Pro-PM are good. Others use cheap ones from Harbor Freight and just sharpen more often.

Some way to sharpen your tools. Slow speed 8" grinder, slipstones, strops, Tormek, Jet wet grinders. Again, according to what your pocketbook can afford. If you buy the best first, you'll probably save money in the long run. You'll probably end up buying them eventually anyway.

Some way to keep the dust out of your lungs. A very good dust collector (cyclone style) would be preferred. I use a half respirator with cartridges. I think masks are a waste of time, that's purely my opinion though. A lot of people like the Triton respirator. Mine is only powered by my lungs.

That's what I have for starters. BB at Arizona Silhouette has some books for sale that would show you how to get started. He also has a video which is where I really got started. Get his and Ed Davidsons (YoYoSpin's) video together and you'll be well set up.

 

[mdburn_em]

Funny, when I started, there were only two posts to this thread. darned fat fingers.[:I]

 

[negid]

This is the topic I went by when buying my starting gear.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31825&SearchTerms=whimsies,starting,out

The post by MLK is very informative.

PS - Run to Bruce's offer and learn everything you can. Actually doing this hobby is the only way to learn.

 

[negid]

Almost forgot.

When looking for tools always look at Craigslist!!

http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/sc

I don't know what part of SC you are in, but here is the main SC page.

My family and I visit Charleston every year in the summer. Maybe I'll be able to swing your way while I'm there. [8D]

 

[fiferb]

Originally posted by Palmetto_Dave

Bruce, that would be awesome! I need to take you up on that. My schedule stays pretty hectic as a police officer, but I will try to set up a time to do that.

I have noticed that the WoodZone store here locally offers a pen turning class for something like $25. I don't know how detailed it is, but it sure seems reasonable.

Save your $25 and I'll show you the basics when you come visit. Use your money to buy pen kits.[]

 

[R2]

Dario's list is prettty comprehensive.[]

 

[leehljp]

Do a search for mandrel-less or mandrel less, or Turning between centers. With this you don't need a mandrel. You do need bushings for the initial turning. In going this route, you will also need a dead center (Grizzly) and live centers.

Mandrels are still the overall norm, but most people who try it like it. The problem with mandrels, especially from the inexperienced, is that a tad too tight from the tail stock, or a tad too tight on the knurled nut, or a hint of a bent mandrel produce problems that take a while for beginners to notice or figure out. These problems, in addition to stuck bushings on the mandrel or bushings stuck with CA to the blank - are bypassed on the mandrel less method. It does not correct out of round bushings.

 

[Daniel]

I would take Bruce up on his offer. Hands on is priceless and give you a good idea of what you like and don't like for now.