Revised Plan for Lathe and Accesories

[Mengtian]

Delta 46-460 610.00

Delta Industrial 46-461 Reversible Nova G3-D Woodturning Chuck 125.00

NOVA 6034 PEN PLUS JAWS, and here with 3 Gold Plated Standard Twist Pen Kits (7mm) 25.00

PSI Woodworking Products PKMSTS2 2 MT Live Mandrel Saver 20.00

PSI Woodworking LCHSS8 HSS Wood Lathe Chisel Set, 8-Piece 75.00

Milescraft 4700 Turners Press for Joining Pens and Other Turned Projects of All Types by Milescraft 50.00

Grizzly H5600 6-Piece Measuring Set by Grizzly 19.00

= 924.00

I want to do bowls and pens and other items of such size.:laugh:

The only change would be to get the Comet II with chcuk so the price would be:

689.00

 

[thewishman]

Go with the Delta, I love mine.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Looks reasonable. You need something to sharpen. And a drill chuck.

 

[stonepecker]

Delta is the way to go........IMHO

And what Dan said. And for the stuff you don't want to breath.......DUST CONTROL. Some of those woods are toxic.

 

[Leatherman1998]

You can drop the pen press and use a hand screw. Use the money to buy a drill chuck or a nice D-Way tools skew. I never used a pen press till a couple weeks ago at another persons shop.

 

[Mengtian]

I go back and forth about the pen press. Some folks seem to love them and other think they are a waste of money.

And what is a handscrew?

 

[Drewboy22]

I go back and forth about the pen press. Some folks seem to love them and other think they are a waste of money.

And what is a handscrew?

A large clamp that has a threaded press. Or at least that's my guess

I use one from Sears and ended up gluing pieces of a cutting board to it cause the pen was poking through the plastic ends

 

[mikedealer]

i use this with foam at each end, i like the control i have over a pen press.
BESSEY 4 in. Drill Press Vise-BV-DP40 - The Home Depot

 

[Sabaharr]

For a press I just use my vice. I attached 2 pieces of MDF across the faces to cushion in case I get a bit heavy handed. Sold my pen press on Ebay. Of course I bought other stuff I didn't need with that money like a pen vice for my drill press and I am now drilling on the lathe, which itself makes a great pen press if you have 2 flat ended #2 MT inserts.

 

[Edgar]

That's a pretty good start for turning pens & you can build from there.

I would also recommend a Jacob's chuck - besides being able to use it for drilling on the lathe, you can also use it to hold stopper mandrels, sanding disks and a host of other things. Look for one with a threaded shaft that will take a drawbar like this one from Woodcraft
Heavy Duty 1/2" Keyed Lathe Drill Chuck

You can find Jacob's chucks as cheap as $10, but they usually have a tang on the end of the shaft. That will work fine in the tailstock for drilling, but if you put the chuck in the headstock, you should secure it with a drawbar to keep it from backing out while turning. A drawbar is simply a piece of all thread rod about a foot long that you can get from the big box hardware stores - insert that through the headstock, screw it into the end of the chuck shaft and tighten it down with one of these Four Arm Knob with Through Hole

You'll probably want some additional tools when you start turning bowls, like some longer turning tools and a way to secure the turned bowl when you're finishing off the bottom of the bowl.

Enjoy!
Edgar

 

[mecompco]

I would forget about the mandrel saver--get 60 degree live and dead centers and TBC. Your lathe makes an excellent pen press. And I second the 1/2 drill chuck--the lathe also works great for drilling blanks.

Regards,
Michael

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Just buy the milescraft press. You won't regret it.

 

[Leatherman1998]

This is what I use, $5 at menards locally, use it for drilling and assembling.

Wooden Handscrew Clamps-Clamps - Rockler Woodworking Tools

 

[Mengtian]

This is what I use, $5 at menards locally, use it for drilling and assembling.

Wooden Handscrew Clamps-Clamps - Rockler Woodworking Tools

I have handscrew clamps (did not know that was wht you were talking about) that I use for drilling and other things for woodworking.

Granted..I have never done pen before but I would think they would be hard to use for assembling a pen. Got a pic of how you do it?

 

[Skie_M]

PSI Woodworking Products PKMSTS2 2 MT Live Mandrel Saver 20.00

Hmmm ... kinda useless without the mandrel. May as well buy the kit, as that will come with the mandrel, mandrel saver, 7mm drill bit (brad point), and 5 7mm bushings. Plus it's only about 8 dollars more, right there at PSI.

Of course, if you plan to use your chuck and simply MAKE your own mandrels out of 1/4 inch bar stock .... keep in mind that 0.25" is a tiny bit TOO big. You'll have to sand it down to 0.245" or so to fit your bushings.

You'll still be missing the 7mm bushings though...

 

[BSea]

I'm with Michael. At least consider TBC (turning between centers). I've never even owned a pen mandrel. There's several good articles in our LIBRARY about TBC.

Here's a good article: TBC It's an older article and some of the references are out of date. For example: JohnnyCNC no longer makes TBC bushings. But several of the IAP vendors do sell many sets.

And before you buy anything, you should read: If I had known this earlier . . .

I do think the difference in cost for the Delta is worth it. But Delta was bought out a several years back, and there have been reports of some people having problem getting parts. I had a Delta 46-460, and loved it.

 

[wyone]

The milescraft pen press is worth every penny I paid for it to me. even gentle but firm action..

 

[Fish30114]

Just buy the milescraft press. You won't regret it.

Dan's and old hand at this and I totally agree with him--there are a lot of shortcuts, or alternate methods--but a dedicated tool usually does it's job the best--I've used all the method suggested and several others, such as an arbor press, and my lathe with flat ended MT2 mandrels, but I always end up using my Milescraft at the end of the day.

I will say that although I have personal issues with the ethics of Nova/Teknatool, I have a friend who has the Comet II lathe, and it has/does very well for him--I personally have a Nova DVR XP, and although I have had some issues with it, I've got them worked out, and I have to say, I think it is a pretty damn good lathe. I have a friend who is a master woodworker, and he has sworn of the 'New Delta'...apparently they were bought out not too long ago, and he says the new outfit sucks...I can tell you that you can't get parts from them for a 6 year old Miter Saw, which I think sucks. I like your list, turning between centers is fine, but for pens I personally like a pen mandrel and a mandrel saver with the appropriate bushings for the pen I'm making.

You will get endless input on this but I think you have a good target list, and have a good idea what to get--so jump in, you will continue to buy stuff one odd piece here and there for--well a long time probably......

Welcome to the obsession!