JohnGreco
Member
I've been finding myself less satisfied with the results I'm getting from my pen mandrel and have been reading up on turning between centers (many thanks to those who have posted on this topic).
I found the Penturners Products website and started to look into what I would need. A dead center for my headstock was a minimum, and since I have a good number of slimlines on-hand I figured I'd need the special bushings that went along with being able to turn them (since unlike 8mm or larger bushings, 7mm ones are typically made to just slide over your mandrel without going inside of the pen blank).
I'll start with the beginning of the transaction when the owner, John Goodin, gave me a discount both for buying the bushings with the dead center as well as for being an IAP member. The order, placed Saturday morning, was packed and shipped the same day and arrived today, Monday.
The dead center is absolutely perfect. I put it in and have a tip-to-tip alignment between it and my tailstock. The bushings are equally impressive. Mr. Goodin explains on his site that his bushings are of a higher tolerance than most mass produced bushings (I imagine partly because each is made by him personally), but I wasn't expecting the part of the bushing that goes into the pen tube to be as good a fit. How good? I tested the bushings on a 7mm tube I had, and when I pulled out 1 side it Popped like a bottle of wine!
The bushings are bit more expensive than the standard bushings, but it's an investment in making my pens that much better. I suppose for larger bushing sets you could use the ones you get from the kit supplier, but between the better fit and special flare on the end of each bushing to accommodate the 60 degree cones, I don't think I'll be doing that.
I couldn't be more satisfied with the transaction, communication, and most importantly the end product. I'll definitely be replacing my bushings with those from Penturners Products.
I found the Penturners Products website and started to look into what I would need. A dead center for my headstock was a minimum, and since I have a good number of slimlines on-hand I figured I'd need the special bushings that went along with being able to turn them (since unlike 8mm or larger bushings, 7mm ones are typically made to just slide over your mandrel without going inside of the pen blank).
I'll start with the beginning of the transaction when the owner, John Goodin, gave me a discount both for buying the bushings with the dead center as well as for being an IAP member. The order, placed Saturday morning, was packed and shipped the same day and arrived today, Monday.
The dead center is absolutely perfect. I put it in and have a tip-to-tip alignment between it and my tailstock. The bushings are equally impressive. Mr. Goodin explains on his site that his bushings are of a higher tolerance than most mass produced bushings (I imagine partly because each is made by him personally), but I wasn't expecting the part of the bushing that goes into the pen tube to be as good a fit. How good? I tested the bushings on a 7mm tube I had, and when I pulled out 1 side it Popped like a bottle of wine!
The bushings are bit more expensive than the standard bushings, but it's an investment in making my pens that much better. I suppose for larger bushing sets you could use the ones you get from the kit supplier, but between the better fit and special flare on the end of each bushing to accommodate the 60 degree cones, I don't think I'll be doing that.
I couldn't be more satisfied with the transaction, communication, and most importantly the end product. I'll definitely be replacing my bushings with those from Penturners Products.
