New Mandrel saver design

[ToddMR]

Well I got the new PSI catalog and on pg. 43 they have the newly designed mandrel saver. It is a complete piece now for the main part unlike before. I think it might be worth trying personally. I emailed them today since the new picture is not on the site. I asked them if I order will I get the new design. Looks like they have some new pen styles, Princess line etc. Just thought I would let everyone know.

 

[Drcal]

Todd,
I have one of these and I guess it is the "old design" and I love it. What problems were users having with it and what is different about the new design?

Carmen
Tampa Bay

 

[Smitty37]

Mandrel Saver

Well I got the new PSI catalog and on pg. 43 they have the newly designed mandrel saver. It is a complete piece now for the main part unlike before. I think it might be worth trying personally. I emailed them today since the new picture is not on the site. I asked them if I order will I get the new design. Looks like they have some new pen styles, Princess line etc. Just thought I would let everyone know.

I just got one this week....It is the one shown on p43 but...have no idea what the difference from the old designwould be (if there is an old design)...it seems pretty simple to me.

 

[ToddMR]

The old design had a small metal bushing pretty much that was fit in using a small O ring. The O ring many times failed on these. I have had two fail over time for me. The "new" design at least in the catalog to me looked more like one piece, instead of having the silver metal piece on the inside of the cone, the cone and piece that the mandrel slides into appears to be all in one which would correct the O ring issues. I have included pictures of the Old design and the New design and circled in red the difference. Sorry about the quality, the new one is a picture out of the catalog.

 

[bitshird]

Why not just buy a 60 degree live center, that way when you get tired of out of round pens caused by bent mandrels you are already to start turning between centers with better bushings. A 60 degree live center won't damage your mandrel either, only the stock wood lathe type with the tiny spur and the ring will wallow out the center recess in your mandrel which oddly enough is 60 degrees, (can you say they saw me coming) sure you can. Better question is since PSI sells most of their lathes for pen turning WHY don't they include a live center that is compatible with the mandrels they sell??? or why don't they at least tell you this when you buy your lathe and mandrels from them in the first place? Actually it's not any thing against PSI, but ALL of the large Companies that sell lathes that are pretty much just for pen turning.

 

[ToddMR]

I have a 60 degree live center already that I bought for my Jet 1014. I prefer the mandrel saver system as it makes having to adjust my mandrel or using spacers not needed. All the pressure isn't on the end of the mandrel and instead on the bushings and material with the mandrel saver. Same reason why some people like wheat and some people like white bread, its what they prefer. I am not brave enough to try turning in between centers yet. :biggrin: Especially since it would mean all new bushings, and this is a hobby for me still.

 

[sefali]

I have a 60 degree live center already that I bought for my Jet 1014. I prefer the mandrel saver system as it makes having to adjust my mandrel or using spacers not needed. All the pressure isn't on the end of the mandrel and instead on the bushings and material with the mandrel saver. Same reason why some people like wheat and some people like white bread, its what they prefer. I am not brave enough to try turning in between centers yet. :biggrin: Especially since it would mean all new bushings, and this is a hobby for me still.

If you really do want to try TBC, all you need to get started is a 60 degree dead center and a set of calipers.

 

[toddlajoie]

Especially since it would mean all new bushings, and this is a hobby for me still.

Quite the contrary... Turning between centers can be done with no bushings at all. The bushings serve 2 practical purposes:

1: They make it quick to get close to size, since you can see the rough target size you're looking for.

2. They prevent the blank from cracking if you over-tighten the tailstock.

Either of these can be overcome when not using bushings. The first just takes time, since you need to stop the lathe every so often and measure the blank with a set of calipers to check the size compared to where you want it to be ( by measuring the pen components. ) The second by being careful not to over tighten the tailstock. It should be tight enough to keep the blank spinning while making light cuts, but if the tool catches, the blank should stop spinning. This has the bonus of minimizing many blank breaks. It does tend to flair out the tube a bit on the ends, but I've never had that cause a problem, since it's usually just a little bit of the tube at the ends.

You will likely find that every so often you will need to tighten the tailstock a bit, but you'll quickly get the hang of it. And it's a great method for doing pens that you aren't sure you are going to do all the time, just to try before you invest in the bushings

The big downside is that you can only do one barrel at a time, so it can take almost twice as long to make a pen...

 

[ToddMR]

Not sure how this got so off topic lol. Currently I have no interest in TBC etc etc.....Just was letting those who wanted to know that the mandrel saver was redesigned. LoL Thanks for all the information on TBC, but like I said currently I like the mandrel method with its pros and cons all the same.

hehe

 

[sefali]

Not sure how this got so off topic lol. Currently I have no interest in TBC etc etc.....Just was letting those who wanted to know that the mandrel saver was redesigned. LoL Thanks for all the information on TBC, but like I said currently I like the mandrel method with its pros and cons all the same.

hehe

Sorry about that. I wasn't trying to convert, or derail. Was just throwing out some info.

 

[Smitty37]

Shipping new

The old design had a small metal bushing pretty much that was fit in using a small O ring. The O ring many times failed on these. I have had two fail over time for me. The "new" design at least in the catalog to me looked more like one piece, instead of having the silver metal piece on the inside of the cone, the cone and piece that the mandrel slides into appears to be all in one which would correct the O ring issues. I have included pictures of the Old design and the New design and circled in red the difference. Sorry about the quality, the new one is a picture out of the catalog.

Then as of last week they (PSI) were shipping the new design....I bought one last week and I got the new one.

 

[ToddMR]

Thanks Smitty!

 

[OLDMAN5050]

I use the mandrel saver and I would not go to anything else. pros outweigh the cons and all have their on way of doing things. what ever works stay with it......... just my thoughts

 

[patsikes]

I had the original one and it was making lots of noise and heating up so I emailed PSI and they sent me one of the new style Mandrel Saver. Still noisy but does not heat up.

I think I am going to invest in the TBC gear after the Miami Pen Show next weekend (that is if I sell some pens!)

 

[witz1976]

I am curious if this thing does what it is advertised to do, save the mandrel? All I hear is complaints about noise and issues with the o ring. But does it actually save the mandrel?

Personally, I consider the mandrel a consumable just the bushings and sand paper.

 

[ToddMR]

I am curious if this thing does what it is advertised to do, save the mandrel? All I hear is complaints about noise and issues with the o ring. But does it actually save the mandrel?

Personally, I consider the mandrel a consumable just the bushings and sand paper.

The O ring problem should be gone with this new design. Not sure of anyone that has the new one. My wife had the original design MT#1 on a 1930's lathe she uses and loves it. I myself after giving it more thought and some comments made on this thread decided to try to go mandrel-less