Today started out like any other day. Went to the shop and started to try and turn a few pens. First thing I needed to do was to find a reamer to fit a few kits. But the one I wanted I do not have. In fact several sizes I want just do not seem to be made. I got tired of not having a perfect fitting pen mill reamer for each different tube size. I know you can make a custom turned sleeve to fit over a 7mm reamer. But I just do not like a sleeve that much. To much slop. I figured that I needed eight extra pen mill reamers to cover my needs.
So a short trip over to my old Atlas metal lathe was today's field trip. I made a reamer or pair of reamers to cover every pen kit I turn that I did not have a factory one for. Made eight total. Turned them, polished them and cut the end to clear extra glue from inside the tubes. Then back to the shop to try them out. I cleaned out more than fifty glued up pen sets in short order. Each reamer is stored with the kits in plastic storage boxes to keep them straight. Each box has a label noting which size reamer works on each tube.
Now to turning a few pens I thought. I started to mount a set of blanks on my mandrel and noticed how much play there was between the shaft and the bushing and even more between the bushing and the tube. I realized that a lot of the runout problems I work to overcome was due to the flimsy A size mandrel and poor fitting bushings. Why do all bushings fit a A size mandrel? They could be made to fit a B size mandrel which is much thicker and stiffer. Bushings only fit a standard pen shaft built for 7mm pens because it is simpler for the makers of bushings not the turner of pens. A thicker shaft will be much stiffer than a shaft meant for 7mm pen kit.
I considered just taking a set of bushings over to the lathe and drilling them to fit a larger mandrel. But they were just as sloppy in the tube as they were on the shaft. So I made bushings for pen kits that fit a larger B shaft, like Berea makes, size mandrel instead of the A size. I found that if I made the end that fits into the tube about .75 inches long and kept the tolerances to extreme close to perfect size the tube not only fit without any slop but were almost difficult to remove. I made bushings to fit almost all my kits that I turn.
So I ended up with a set of custom reamers for my pen mill setup. I ended up with a set of bushings for a B shaft mandrel that covers almost all of the different pens that I like to turn. I turned two extra B size shafts for use with the new bushings. Only thing that I did not get done today was turn a single pen. Well there is always next weekend.
So a short trip over to my old Atlas metal lathe was today's field trip. I made a reamer or pair of reamers to cover every pen kit I turn that I did not have a factory one for. Made eight total. Turned them, polished them and cut the end to clear extra glue from inside the tubes. Then back to the shop to try them out. I cleaned out more than fifty glued up pen sets in short order. Each reamer is stored with the kits in plastic storage boxes to keep them straight. Each box has a label noting which size reamer works on each tube.
Now to turning a few pens I thought. I started to mount a set of blanks on my mandrel and noticed how much play there was between the shaft and the bushing and even more between the bushing and the tube. I realized that a lot of the runout problems I work to overcome was due to the flimsy A size mandrel and poor fitting bushings. Why do all bushings fit a A size mandrel? They could be made to fit a B size mandrel which is much thicker and stiffer. Bushings only fit a standard pen shaft built for 7mm pens because it is simpler for the makers of bushings not the turner of pens. A thicker shaft will be much stiffer than a shaft meant for 7mm pen kit.
I considered just taking a set of bushings over to the lathe and drilling them to fit a larger mandrel. But they were just as sloppy in the tube as they were on the shaft. So I made bushings for pen kits that fit a larger B shaft, like Berea makes, size mandrel instead of the A size. I found that if I made the end that fits into the tube about .75 inches long and kept the tolerances to extreme close to perfect size the tube not only fit without any slop but were almost difficult to remove. I made bushings to fit almost all my kits that I turn.
So I ended up with a set of custom reamers for my pen mill setup. I ended up with a set of bushings for a B shaft mandrel that covers almost all of the different pens that I like to turn. I turned two extra B size shafts for use with the new bushings. Only thing that I did not get done today was turn a single pen. Well there is always next weekend.
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