I've noticed in my process I can turn down and sand a pen pretty quickly, but what hogs time is the on-lathe finishing. Using General Finishe's Woodturner's Finish I can take up to an hour to finish with many light coats and time in between. I like the results of this finish as it ends up looking pretty good and is very resilient. I currently work with two jet lathes and waiting on the finishes is holding me up. The lathes I use are also not at my shop, so I end up sitting around doing nothing while I wait for the finish. I don't currently have a lathe at home for pens. I'm hoping to sell a few pens, sell my old lathe, and buy a new lathe in the near future.
I find myself considering some other small lathe set-ups with which to do my finishing. I would turn and sand on a legit lathe, then transfer the complete mandrel over to the small finish lathe
Grizzly Drill Powered
Penn State Penn Pal
Harbor Freight Hobby
I wouldn't normally consider any of these for regular use, but for primarily applying a wipe on finish and buffing, it seems like they might do the trick. My main concern is simply running them for extended periods of time, even if not under load. For instance, I imagine running the drill full speed for long at all will burn it out.
Many of these small lathes are also MT1. Meaning I would need to transfer mandrels or use an MT1 adapter on my main lathe. Anyone used one of those?
Of course, I can get a Rikon 70-105 for about $250 OTD, which may not be the best lathe in the world, but is a legitimate 10X18 mini with 1/2 HP motor.
Am I way off base with my thinking? Should I just switch to a different finish?
I find myself considering some other small lathe set-ups with which to do my finishing. I would turn and sand on a legit lathe, then transfer the complete mandrel over to the small finish lathe
Grizzly Drill Powered
Penn State Penn Pal
Harbor Freight Hobby
I wouldn't normally consider any of these for regular use, but for primarily applying a wipe on finish and buffing, it seems like they might do the trick. My main concern is simply running them for extended periods of time, even if not under load. For instance, I imagine running the drill full speed for long at all will burn it out.
Many of these small lathes are also MT1. Meaning I would need to transfer mandrels or use an MT1 adapter on my main lathe. Anyone used one of those?
Of course, I can get a Rikon 70-105 for about $250 OTD, which may not be the best lathe in the world, but is a legitimate 10X18 mini with 1/2 HP motor.
Am I way off base with my thinking? Should I just switch to a different finish?
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