Hello from sunny San Diego, CA

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SDTurner

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
29
Location
San Diego, CA
Hi fellow turners!

I'm Andy from San Diego. Just got interested into pen turning after I wanted to make my own shave brushes. I have recently bought my self a HF 10x18 wood lathe the 10X18 5 speed one. I was originally going to buy their smaller cheaper version with the speed control knob one but then i scored a sweet 25% off coupon and decided to upgrade it to the bigger one.

BTW just to put it out there, this hobby is expensive!!!!!!! i had no idea that trying to turn a simple shave brush will make me end up spending a lot more than i was expecting. LOL I'm still waiting for next paycheck so i can buy me a chuck so I can use it to drill holes in the pen blanks and drill 24mm holes for shave brush knots.

I did end up getting some carbide tools as i don't have any other tools or anything else and i did not want to spend too much on a slow speed grinder and traditional tools and sharpen them.

Tools Bought:

HF Wood Lathe 10X18 Item 65345
HF 1/2in MT2 Drill Chuck
MT1 Adjustable pen mandrel from Peachtree Woodworking ( I know i bought the wrong size :eek::eek: but this was bought before me buying the lathe as i had the cheaper lathe in mind.)
Harrison Specialties Mid Side 3 piece carbide tools Package of 3 mid size Simple woodturning tools with Interchangeable handle


Tools still need to buy:

Lathe Chuck (need recommendation on this please)
Multiple size drill bits from HF. ( i've been reading around on this forums and i've read a lot of people refer to buying a set from HF with different drill bit sizes, but if someone can point out the exact set, i would really appreciate it)
Mandrel saver tail stock thing.
Digital calipers from HF.
Cool and fancy Pen Kits!!!!

Oh I also poured a few of my own blanks from PR, I'll post a pics of that when I get home tonight. I think they came out ok.

Thanks,
Ankit
 
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terry q said:
Welcome from Illinois. Are you a member of the San Diego Woodturners club? They have an awesome program to teach and support our wounded warriors. SDWT.org
Click to expand...

yes I am. I joined the club last month. once i get good at turning, i have already asked to be part of that program and i'll help volunteer soon.

I got in touch with one of the mentors and he showed me his shop and a few things. Once i get all my accessories, he will show me how to turn my first pen hands on. But before i go to him, i want to try and turn the pen by myself and then see his techniques and compare the two pens.
 
Welcome from Texas, Andy.

I bought the Rockler equivalent of your HF lathe 3 years ago when I got started & it has served me well.

That HF drill chuck will work fine in the tailstock, which is what you need for drilling on the lathe. It's not a good idea to use it in the headstock though because it has a tang on the end. If you ever want to mount a Jacob's chuck in the headstock to hold other things (like stopper blanks), you should use one that has a threaded end so you can screw a drawbar into it to keep the chuck from jumping loose while turning.

As far as a chuck to hold your pen blanks for drilling, you can get a dedicated pen blank chuck. If you can afford it though, you might want to consider a general purpose 4-jaw chuck. I like the Barracuda2 System, but there are several others to choose from. Like many things, it depends on personal tastes, turning objectives & budget.

Be sure to jump in on some of the BASH contests & activities going on right now. There's still time to enter some of the pen turning, blank making & photography contests and there's prizes to be won in the Trivia & Puzzle games for the rest of the month. Let me know if you have any questions.

Edgar
 
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