Looking to get started... what do I need?

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Hey guys. I'm looking to get started making pens. I don't want to go cheap, but I don't want to go all out at first either. I have nothing in the way of wood working tools. What would you suggest as far as a lathe, tools for the lathe, pen specific tools? Any links would be helpful. I don't want to buy something inexpensive I'll get frustrated with but I'm not looking to make any money off of this just yet either so a full blown shop setup isn't coming just yet.

 

[carlmorrell]

Run while you can. It's a pandoras box inside a rabbit hole. You might as well put your cc number on here, we are here to help.

 

[NZ Pens]

Welcome to IAP!

Try here for some good info:

Getting Started In Penturning

http://content.penturners.org/library/general_reference/Getting_started_in_pen_turning.pdf

Also try searching the forum for other getting started posts, they come us periodically.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[leehljp]

This is a little bit of a long thread and it is 12 years old, but it is very relevant today. I tried an update about 4 years ago, but there wasn't much that others could add that wasn't already there.

If I had known this earlier . .

I am on a fact finding mission. Can you help? What do you wish you had known earlier in pen turning? or in different words: Knowing what you know now - IF you could go back and start over in pen turning - what would you skip, change or do differently? answers for instance: - I wish...

www.penturners.org

 

[wolf creek knives]

First off, Welcome to IAP, great stuff here. I've had my woodworking tools for 40+ years. I adapted to my tools which are all imports via Harbor Freight/Post Tools. They are still in use today and will probably will be until I croak. When I got started on this pen adventure I invested in the PSI "PenPal" system. No sense wasting money on something you might hate. Still using it 4 years later and it still does what I need it to do except for larger items. Will I replace it with the same, nope. As for the big stuff, I still use my 40+ years old lathe that I got through Post Tool. You can spend a ton of money on tools, like Festool, and some will spend the money but I like to keep my bank account in the positive. You'll hear all kinds of people telling you what's best. There's things you can do to make your tools the best they can be, it's up to you.
As for "pen specific tools", I bought a set of Carbide tools through Peach Tree via Amazon at a great price. Other than than, I use the same HSS tools I've had for, again, 40+ years from Sears. So, you can blow your money on tools or blow it on blanks etc. It's all up to you. Best of luck and welcome to IAP

 

[wolf creek knives]

This is a little bit of a long thread and it is 12 years old, but it is very relevant today. I tried an update about 4 years ago, but there wasn't much that others could add that wasn't already there.

If I had known this earlier . .

I am on a fact finding mission. Can you help? What do you wish you had known earlier in pen turning? or in different words: Knowing what you know now - IF you could go back and start over in pen turning - what would you skip, change or do differently? answers for instance: - I wish...

www.penturners.org

Pay heed to what Hank has posted. It's all good stuff, trust me...or trust Hank.

 

[TDahl]

I would definitely check out the IAP library under Resources and go to Pen Turning 101. Lost of great information. Other information resources are the Pen Turners Bible, as well as Youtube.

 

[jttheclockman]

First of all welcome to the site. Good info on some of the links that can get you pointed in the right direction. Now I see this alot in my other hobby scrollsawing. People out of the blue want to start scrolling and ask what is the best saw. I can tell you what the best is but you may not want to pay this and further more you start making pens and in a month tire of it and now have all this equipment. So look for the better lathes and skip the oneway lathes for now. Jet is always a good brand as is Laguana which is hot right now and Rikon. A few carbide tools to get you started. Then it is blanks and kits and that is a whole other subject. Baby steps. Hopefully you have some shop experience to draw from because if you are shooting from the hip than I highly suggest you find another turner and or a turning club and join and pick their brains and get some hands on experience. Good luck.

 

[Dehn0045]

Drill with lathe, square with lathe, press with lathe. Turn between centers using a 1" skew and digital calipers, sharpen with a stone or sandpaper. CA finish with micromesh. I have a lot of other tools, but none of them are really necessary for making individual pens.

 

[dogcatcher]

A welcome to IAP. Have you ever used a lathe before? For tools, it is best to know at least a little about the lathe before you start buying. Ignorance costs money, and woodturning is not cheap even if you know what you need. There are 2 classes of tools, first are those that you need, and then those that you will want. Learn what you need, the others are toys that some you will eventually want.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Thank you! I'm thinking my budget cap is about $800 between supplies and a lathe. Is that do-able without going too cheap?

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

A welcome to IAP. Have you ever used a lathe before? For tools, it is best to know at least a little about the lathe before you start buying. Ignorance costs money, and woodturning is not cheap even if you know what you need. There are 2 classes of tools, first are those that you need, and then those that you will want. Learn what you need, the others are toys that some you will eventually want.

I have not. But I'm very mechanically inclined and pick things up rather quickly. Setup of the stock would be my only challenge I think.

 

[Dehn0045]

Thank you! I'm thinking my budget cap is about $800 between supplies and a lathe. Is that do-able without going too cheap?

Do-able, but you are probably going to be going with cheaper (low quality) tools. A better quality midi lathe will run you $800 alone. That said, you can go with something cheaper like the Harbor Freight 10x18 which is $260, but it has some limitations (only 5 speeds and belt driven, although I think belt drive is better when drilling on the lathe). The jet 1015 has 6 speeds (including 500 rpm which is better for drilling compared to 750 in my opinion) and is probably a little better quality, but it runs closer to $500.

At a minimum, you'll need a dead center, live center, digital calipers, lathe tools (carbide or HSS, a single budget carbide tool to start with is probably cheapest), method for sharpening HSS tools (stone is fine for skew and scrapers, but grinder is more appropriate for gouges), scroll chuck and jacobs chuck (if drilling on lathe), pin jaws or pen jaws for scroll chuck. My guess is that this list is about $350 depending on what you go with, but there is a lot of variability. You could blow $350 on a single Starrett digital calipers or get 'good enough' with the $15 ones. The scroll chuck with jaws is probably one of the bigger tooling expenses, I like my Nova G3, but you are looking at probably $220 or so for the chuck, adapter, and jaws.

Then there are the "consumables": glue, sandpaper, kits and blanks, drill bits, bushings/mandrel (unless you TBC), finishes. This might be $50 or $100 just to get set up for your first pen.

So, in summary, the cheapest I think you could do at this time if buying new is: $260 for lathe, $350 for tooling, $75 for consumables. So you might be able to sneak in under the $800 mark, but you are going to sacrifice at least some on quality of tools and 'ease of use' or functionality.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Do-able, but you are probably going to be going with cheaper (low quality) tools. A better quality midi lathe will run you $800 alone. That said, you can go with something cheaper like the Harbor Freight 10x18 which is $260, but it has some limitations (only 5 speeds and belt driven, although I think belt drive is better when drilling on the lathe). The jet 1015 has 6 speeds (including 500 rpm which is better for drilling compared to 750 in my opinion) and is probably a little better quality, but it runs closer to $500.

At a minimum, you'll need a dead center, live center, digital calipers, lathe tools (carbide or HSS, a single budget carbide tool to start with is probably cheapest), method for sharpening HSS tools (stone is fine for skew and scrapers, but grinder is more appropriate for gouges), scroll chuck and jacobs chuck (if drilling on lathe), pin jaws or pen jaws for scroll chuck. My guess is that this list is about $350 depending on what you go with, but there is a lot of variability. You could blow $350 on a single Starrett digital calipers or get 'good enough' with the $15 ones. The scroll chuck with jaws is probably one of the bigger tooling expenses, I like my Nova G3, but you are looking at probably $220 or so for the chuck, adapter, and jaws.

Then there are the "consumables": glue, sandpaper, kits and blanks, drill bits, bushings/mandrel (unless you TBC), finishes. This might be $50 or $100 just to get set up for your first pen.

So, in summary, the cheapest I think you could do at this time if buying new is: $260 for lathe, $350 for tooling, $75 for consumables. So you might be able to sneak in under the $800 mark, but you are going to sacrifice at least some on quality of tools and 'ease of use' or functionality.

Would buying an $800 lathe and then buying good tools later on over Few months be the better way to go then?

 

[Dehn0045]

Would buying an $800 lathe and then buying good tools later on over Few months be the better way to go then?

Depends. Personally I would buy a cheap lathe or find a little bit better one on the used market for around the same price. I would want an MT-2 tailstock, that would be the only requirement. Then figure out what you like to do. If you stick with pens and smaller stuff then maybe upgrade to a nicer midi lathe at some point, for bowls maybe a big powermatic, maybe a metal lathe, maybe all of the above, who knows. A cheap lathe will have value in your shop or you will be able to sell it used for closer to what you paid and upgrade. Just my 2 cents, lots of people have the opposite philosophy.

 

[dogcatcher]

I have not. But I'm very mechanically inclined and pick things up rather quickly. Setup of the stock would be my only challenge I think.

I suggest taking a class at one of the local woodworking stores, or asking, aka "begging" a day from a penturner on this forum. We all have some of our "ideas" of how things are supposed to be done, most of them work. We also have different opinions of what you "need" and what you think you "need". You will get an idea of what works for that person. Cost of tooling up can be cheap, or as expensive as you want. There was a turner on IAP that used to use a drill press as a lathe. He did beautiful work, in my opinion and others his work was better than some that had invested a lot more dollars in tools.

The "road" of former woodturners has been loaded with used equipment, some good stuff, some middle of the spectrum, some cheap junk. There are multiple home shops that have all kinds of tools, that sit idle and collect dust. Only you can make the decision on what you need, and what you should buy. A little experience will go a long way in helping you make the best decision on what to buy.