I think the one thing that most would agree with is that almost (if not all) tasks for turning pens can be done on the lathe, with no other machines. You might need to be selective - like your question on blanks, but it doesn't take much more. Lots of sources for both round and square blanks that are ready to mount on a lathe either to cut and drill or just shape. Drilling on the lathe works exceptionally well for pens, especially if you use a collet chuck or a pen chuck to hold the blank. Squaring the ends, sanding and polishing all are easily done - just need some way to control the dust (which can be passive, like a curtain).
Possibly - does the independent living facility also have a shop? A lot of the places by us have full facilities for doing woodworking - they just require you to take a safety class, then you have access to the onsite shop. Hope yours is the same.
Advantage - you'll have a local bunch of possible clients!!!
Kevin
