How do you do it?

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Psychmike22

Psychmike22

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2013
Messages
149
Location
NY
This might be a dumb question I am prepared to learn anyway. I use a metal lathe for getting my kitless pens to dimension and all drilling and tapping. Then I finish shaping, sanding, and polishing on my wood lathe. In my metal lathe I use a three jaw scroll chuck because of the speed of holding a
part centered. I love starting with a round blank on the metal lathe but, I have an ever growing pile of great looking squared blanks that I want to use.

Since I can't center them in a three jaw and don't want to swap it for the four jaw each time, I have been rough rounding them in my wood lathe then going to the metal lathe next.

How do you do it? Is there an easier way? Or should I just spend a day rounding all the square stock I plan on using.

Thanks in advance.
 
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If you're just looking to remove the wood lathe & chuck-swapping from the equation, you could try grabbing a straight-shank dead/steb/drive center to put in your 3-jaw chuck, and then turning your blank round between centers (probably after putting 60° holes in the ends with a spot/center drill, which would likely require a quick stop at the drill press). Some lathe/chuck combinations (I can do this with at least some of the chucks on my 10in South Bend) also allow enough room to stick a center in the spindle taper while the chuck is still attached.

I don't have a good solution to turning square blanks in a 3-jaw, though. I suppose "request triangular blanks from your supplier" probably isn't viable.
 
Mark center
Drill with a 60* bit on both ends
Dead center in a 3 jaw chuck and a live center in tail stock. (If you dont have a straight shank dead center hit up Rick Herrel on here, his are perfect and you can get the diameter and length that you want)
Simple and fairly fast.
If I am doing a lot of blanks I will use my horizontal router table to remove the bulk of the waste before it goes on the lathe.
 
Bats said:
If you're just looking to remove the wood lathe & chuck-swapping from the equation, you could try grabbing a straight-shank dead/steb/drive center to put in your 3-jaw chuck, and then turning your blank round between centers (probably after putting 60° holes in the ends with a spot/center drill, which would likely require a quick stop at the drill press). Some lathe/chuck combinations (I can do this with at least some of the chucks on my 10in South Bend) also allow enough room to stick a center in the spindle taper while the chuck is still attached.

I don't have a good solution to turning square blanks in a 3-jaw, though. I suppose "request triangular blanks from your supplier" probably isn't viable.
Click to expand...
😁 triangular blanks would be a help. Thanks for the ideas. I should be able to make a dead center out of brass that would work. That's why I asked. The creative ways we all solve holding and turning problems never ceases to amaze me. Thank you.
 
Mike, I think your best method would be to make the transition to Turning Between Centers, which is what I use ALL the time, when making a pen . . . TBC for rounding the blank . . . after which you can put the rounded blank directly into your 4-jaw chuck (which provides bigger throat diameter than a 3-jaw) for drilling. . After gluing in the brass tubes, you can go back to TBC for shaping, etc.
If you WANT to use mandrel you can. . You can also buy TBC bushings if you want. . But neither mandrel nor bushings is a necessity.

Dead center in headstock, live center in tailstock . . . . no mandrel, no bushings are really necessary . . . . use calipers to get to final diameter.

I cannot recommend TBC highly enough !!!!!

One other thing . . . . leave the 4-jaw chuck on your lathe ALL the time . . . . I have been doing ALL pens ALL the time using TBC and a 4-jaw.

Before you start rounding a blank using TBC, just mark an "X" on each end and drill a small hole at the center of the X to receive the points of the two centers.
 
Last edited:
magpens said:
Mike, I think your best method would be to make the transition to Turning Between Centers, which is what I use ALL the time, from start to finish, when making a pen.
Click to expand...
TBC is great, but it's not the solution to everything. It really doesn't work very well for drilling and tapping, which is part of Mike's issue. I suppose you could get it to work with a faceplate and dogs, but... well... no.
 
You could, of course, do the same with a 3-jaw.

But I have never found a reason to NOT use a 4-jaw.

@Bats

The 4-jaw works PERFECTLY FINE for ALL drilling and tapping on a metal-working lathe.

NO PROBLEM whatsoever . . . . I emphasize that . . . . NONE !!! . . ( And I realize that I'm contradicting you . . you haven't made your case )
 
I have one of these
www.pennstateind.com

Dedicated Pen Blank Drilling Chuck

No Drill Press? No Problem! Drill a perfectly centered hole in your blank on your lathe using this unique lathe chuck. The chuck includes two 2 jaws that will hold your blanks perfectly centered at the headstock. Mount a drill chuck with your drill bit into your
www.pennstateind.com
and just put it into my three jaw chuck on my metal lathe. When I bought mine though they were about 69.00 though. I do 10 to 15 pens at a time, so this is much quicker.
 
Bats said:
TBC is great, but it's not the solution to everything. It really doesn't work very well for drilling and tapping, which is part of Mike's issue. I suppose you could get it to work with a faceplate and dogs, but... well... no.
Click to expand...

@Bats

I think you have totally missed the point . . . TBC has nothing to do with drilling and tapping

For drilling and tapping you put your already rounded blank (done with TBC) into the jaws/throat of your metal-working lathe chuck.

The 4-jaw chuck is best because it provides a larger throat diameter to accommodate a 0.85" diameter round pen blank ( Sieg lathe/chuck).

I have been using my metal lathe in this way for 10 years . . . 4-jaw chuck purchased from LittleMachineShop . com
 
magpens said:
@Bats

I think you have totally missed the point . . . TBC has nothing to do with drilling and tapping

For drilling and tapping you put your already rounded blank (done with TBC) into the jaws/throat of your metal-working lathe chuck.

The 4-jaw chuck is best because it provides a larger throat diameter to accommodate a 0.85" diameter round pen blank ( Sieg lathe/chuck).

I have been using my metal lathe in this way for 10 years . . . 4-jaw chuck purchased from LittleMachineShop . com
Click to expand...
Yep, that is the way I have done it for eons too.
 
magpens said:
@Bats

The 4-jaw works PERFECTLY FINE for ALL drilling and tapping on a metal-working lathe.

NO PROBLEM whatsoever . . . . I emphasize that . . . . NONE !!! . . ( And I realize that I'm contradicting you . . you haven't made your case )
Click to expand...
Except I never said anything about using a 4-jaw, so I don't know what you're contradicting. In fact, I agree - a 4-jaw is perfectly fine for just about anything, as long as you don't mind individually dialing in the jaws each time you chuck something up. It's more accurate, too. It's not as quick as a plain ol' 3-jaw scroll chuck, though, which sounds like the reason Mike gave for leaving his on - and I'm not about to argue with that, either - I do the same because I'm lazy, usually deal with rod stock, and don't have to work to tenths.

magpens said:
@Bats
I think you have totally missed the point . . . TBC has nothing to do with drilling and tapping
Click to expand...
To repond in kind: I think you have totally missed the point - which is that you edited your post after I replied to it. I also feel like you're trying to pick a fight here, and I'm really not interested in arguing, so I'm going to bow out now.
 
@Bats

" 4-jaw is perfectly fine for just about anything, as long as you don't mind individually dialing in the jaws each time you chuck something up"

A 4-jaw scroll chuck is readily available, and the RECOMMENDED way to go for pen making !!!
 
@Bats

"To repond in kind: I think you have totally missed the point - which is that you edited your post after I replied to it. I also feel like you're trying to pick a fight here, and I'm really not interested in arguing, so I'm going to bow out now."

I AM NOT TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT . . . I am merely presenting some facts which you seem to be ignorant of.

Yes, I did edit my post . . . to clarify what I badly expressed in the first writing. . . You've the right to edit your posts and I wish you would .
 
magpens said:
@Bats

" 4-jaw is perfectly fine for just about anything, as long as you don't mind individually dialing in the jaws each time you chuck something up"

A 4-jaw scroll chuck is readily available, and the RECOMMENDED way to go for pen making !!!
Click to expand...
I know they are considered to be more accurate but I have a three jaw that I have verified as having zero runout.
 
magpens said:
You could, of course, do the same with a 3-jaw.

But I have never found a reason to NOT use a 4-jaw.

@Bats

The 4-jaw works PERFECTLY FINE for ALL drilling and tapping on a metal-working lathe.

NO PROBLEM whatsoever . . . . I emphasize that . . . . NONE !!! . . ( And I realize that I'm contradicting you . . you haven't made your case )
Click to expand...
 
magpens said:
@Bats

I think you have totally missed the point . . . TBC has nothing to do with drilling and tapping

For drilling and tapping you put your already rounded blank (done with TBC) into the jaws/throat of your metal-working lathe chuck.

The 4-jaw chuck is best because it provides a larger throat diameter to accommodate a 0.85" diameter round pen blank ( Sieg lathe/chuck).

I have been using my metal lathe in this way for 10 years . . . 4-jaw chuck purchased from LittleMachineShop . com
Click to expand...
Independent or 4-jaw scroll?
 
The 4-inch size is nice, because it has a bigger throat diameter, accommodating up to 0.85" diameter round blanks.

An adapter plate may also be required to mount to the headstock spindle of a Sieg 7 x whatever mini-lathe
 
Psychmike22 said:
For me the speed of the three jaw beats the individual adjustments of the four jaw.
Click to expand...

Don't even think about a 4-jaw with independent jaw adjustments . . . . not much good for pen making . . . . quite inappropriate.

Get the 4-jaw scroll chuck, preferrably 4" diameter chuck.
 
magpens said:
You could, of course, do the same with a 3-jaw.

But I have never found a reason to NOT use a 4-jaw.

@Bats

The 4-jaw works PERFECTLY FINE for ALL drilling and tapping on a metal-working lathe.

NO PROBLEM whatsoever . . . . I emphasize that . . . . NONE !!! . . ( And I realize that I'm contradicting you . . you haven't made your case )
Click to expand...
4 jaw scroll or independent?
magpens said:
Here's a link :

You are being redirected...

littlemachineshop.com
Click to expand...
Thank you for the link.
magpens said:
The 4-inch size is nice, because it has a bigger throat diameter, accommodating up to 0.85" diameter round blanks.

An adapter plate may also be required to mount to the headstock spindle of a Sieg 7 x whatever mini-lathe
magpens said:
Don't even think about a 4-jaw with independent jaw adjustments . . . . not much good for pen making . . . . quite inappropriate.
Click to expand...
magpens said:
Don't even think about a 4-jaw with independent jaw adjustments . . . . not much good for pen making . . . . quite inappropriate.

Get the 4-jaw scroll chuck, preferrably 4" diameter chuck.
Click to expand...
I should have clarified. I have a 4 jaw independent. The four jaw self scrolling is 122-165. Not sure if I want to spend that yet.
Click to expand...
 
@Psychmike22

"I should have clarified. I have a 4 jaw independent. The four jaw self scrolling is 122-165. Not sure if I want to spend that yet."

"Scrolling" ... OR ... "self-centering" ....... but not self scrolling
 
@Psychmike22

"The four jaw self centering is 122-165. Not sure if I want to spend that yet."

Think of it this way ..... transition to Turning Between Centers (TBC) and stop using bushings ($5 or more each set).
You won't be long recouping the expenditure for the chuck.
I assure you that you'll never look back.

Or think of it another way ..... you've got both a metal lathe and a wood lathe at present.
Sell your wood lathe ..... you really don't need it at all !!!!
That buys you the chuck . . . . and then some !!

Sell your wood chisels too and you'll have $$$ in the bank !!! . . Some of that can go to a really good set of calipers . . . and you'll still have $$
Carbide cutting tools are so much cheaper than wood chisels and you NEVER have to sharpen them. . Replace them occasionally @$12 or so.
I use a round carbide cutter, 11 mm diameter, from Global Tools in Portland . . . same cutter for about 3 years now . . .
I use for metal (brass and aluminum), wood, all "plastics", etc.

I got one of our IAP members to make me the holder for the carbide cutter and have used it for 10+ years . . . never wears out.

You won't regret it.
 
magpens said:
@Psychmike22

"The four jaw self centering is 122-165. Not sure if I want to spend that yet."

Think of it this way ..... transition to Turning Between Centers (TBC) and stop using bushings ($5 or more each set).
You won't be long recouping the expenditure for the chuck.
I assure you that you'll never look back.

Or think of it another way ..... you've got both a metal lathe and a wood lathe at present.
Sell your wood lathe ..... you really don't need it at all !!!!
That buys you the chuck . . . . and then some !!

Sell your wood chisels too and you'll have $$$ in the bank !!! . . Some of that can go to a really good set of calipers . . . and you'll still have $$
Carbide cutting tools are so much cheaper than wood chisels and you NEVER have to sharpen them. . Replace them occasionally @$12 or so.
I use a round carbide cutter, 11 mm diameter, from Global Tools in Portland . . . same cutter for about 3 years now . . .
I use for metal (brass and aluminum), wood, all "plastics", etc.

I got one of our IAP members to make me the holder for the carbide cutter and have used it for 10+ years . . . never wears out.

You won't regret it.
Click to expand...
I already turn between centers. I make the bushings on my metal lathe. I'm still keeping the wood lathe for bowls and other things.
 
Anther trick that my Dad taught me for holding square pieces in. 3jaw.
make a sleeve, copper pipe would work cut a slit along the length, slip it over the end of the blank and tighten in the chuck. It depends on tour chuck capacity.
 
Most straightforward way to do it. There's a straight section that will grip just fine in a 3 jaw.
www.woodcraft.com

WoodRiver Multi-Tooth Drive Center - #2 MT

The multiple drive teeth and spring loaded center point benefit both novice and experienced turners. The spring loaded center point holds your workpiece exactly where you want it and then retracts as tailstock pressure is increased. This keeps the point from drifting with the grain or splitting...
www.woodcraft.com www.woodcraft.com
 
Penultimate said:
Anther trick that my Dad taught me for holding square pieces in. 3jaw.
make a sleeve, copper pipe would work cut a slit along the length, slip it over the end of the blank and tighten in the chuck. It depends on tour chuck capacity.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I like the idea. I will give it a try.
 
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