Welcome. I rarely comment on the, what seems to be an ongoing discussion, regarding TBC method and mandrel. I personally use a mandrel, my pens are not out of round, so I never really had the need to change. My suspicion on this issue Is that the reason some people get an out of round pen using a mandrel is that either their lathes are slightly out of tune, meaning the headstock and tailstock are slightly out of kilter with each other or there is some play between the mandrel and mandrel saver. I buy my tools with an eye to quality, most of the time that means they'll be a little more expensive, but usually you get better results with quality equipment. I know that's not always an option. I have seen some post pictures here where they are using a live center that isn't the 60 degree variety, that one was one of my first mistakes as well, it's all a learning experience. It's more expensive to try both methods, but probably the way to go to see what one you prefer, there isn't a wrong answer. Since you're just starting out, I assume you haven't made a big variety of pens, now would be the time to choose your preferred method. Later on, if you decide to switch, you'll have to re buy a lot of bushings, even though I know some don't use bushing at all. Good luck, this isn't rocket science, you'll do fine.