mandrels

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gswolf63

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Chandler, Arizona, USA.
I have been looking at mandrels on the sites . I need to purchase a new one but I thought this would be a good place to ask what some of you people use and where you got them and $$$. I'm not mr. moneybags but I will invest in good equipment that will last. Cheap sometimes is just that cheap and it cost you more in the long run. I have an (older) Jet Mini. Thanks in advance for any info and advice.:D
 
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I think most of the mandrels out there are of reasonably comparable quality. Hut sells a really inexpensive mandrel; but the threading on it is different than most others and it will only fit In HUT arbors. Probably would be best to avoid the particular unit. I got mine from Berea and have not had any problems. You shouild be able to purchase the same mandrel from www.arizonasilhouettes.com for a buck or two less.
 
On a similar note, I'm going to be buying a piece of M2 HSS rod to try as a mandrel - see if the increased hardness and stiffness helps (my berea "B" mandrel feels too limber for my tastes) If it works out well, I'll let everyone know.. oh, and a 36" piece of 19/64" (.29685") M2 drill rod is about $10 + shipping.. but has to be machined somewhat, depending on how you're using it.. I use a metal lathe with collets, so I only need to thread one end. Should be hell on my threading dies.
 
Thank you! I'll check out all the sites everyone offered.
I was so jazzed after reading the different posts last night .
I went out and started working on my shop getting everything in it's place. I made new tables to put my drill press and band saw on. I ready to start turning again. Thanks for the great ideas.
 
I have bought mandrels from PSI. I started with a regular length mandrel which I bent pretty good. THen I upgraded to the adjustable madrel which I love. Last night I managed to bend that one two! Luckily I bought replacement shafts.[8D] I guess I still use too much pressure both turning and sanding. I have recently been thinking of getting a stronger rod and getting it machined so any feedback on your experiment would be great Tom. I was reading in "Turning pens and pencils" about split madrels but haven't found them for sale. Are they avaible and are they a good choice for an overly agressive turner like me?
 
Wayne: That's possible, but if we were using a hss mandrel it couldn't bend permanently - it would break (and if you broke a HSS mandrel, it would take a lot of pressure).. I myself am looking to eliminate any potential out of round problems - I use a Taig metal lathe with collets and consistently have a problem with the 'far' end of the mandrel being turned off-center, and I want to eliminate any possibility of the mandrel (ever) being an issue.. I usually spend 5-10 minutes eliminating the runout (.001" or less) at the tailstock end of my mandrel when I chuck it into the collet - a huge waste of time. I believe my problem may be that the 'socket' for the live center is not machined in the center of the rod..

I've gone through the entire fix-it list and it did help, to a point - I'm still getting .006+ out of round at the end of the stick. So I'm taking it to the next level - whether it's necessary or not.. Sometimes I just like to mess around and tinker..

As for the sharpening - I have the means to sharpen my tools, and keep them as sharp as possible. At the moment I'm using metal cutting carbide tools - not so great for extreme sharpness - I have some HSS bars on order to whip up something more chisel-like.. I never use any more pressure than is required to remove material. I take shallow cuts at a feed rate appropriate for the material I'm cutting.
 
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