What RPM do you turn at?

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medlongpens

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What is a good speed to turn pens at, and do you turn wood and acrylic at the same speed? I normally turn between 1500-1800 RPM. I wasn't sure if that was to slow.
 
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Turn at the highest speed you are comfortable with. If you are comfortable at 1800 that is the correct answer. I don't know how fast mine is turning. I could figure it out from the chart on the belt door, but it does not reallly matter. I usually turn wood and acrylic at the same speed. More important is to use sharp tools and small bites.
 
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Having a manually-adjustable 5-speed lathe and being naturally lazy, I've settled on 2200 (speed 4) for most of my pens (wood & acrylic) and leave it there for sanding & finishing. About the only time I adjust it is to drop it down to 1 or 2 (760 or 1100) for applying CA (which is seldom) or when the material dictates a higher or lower speed.

I started out using speed 5 (3200) for most pens & it worked great but that was a little fast for sanding (for me anyway) so I would drop it down to 2200 or 1600 for sanding then back up to 3200 for finishing (I mostly use friction polish). After some experimenting, I've found that I can get pretty much the same results just using 2200 for most everything.

If I was as experienced as a lot of the folks here, I might be more particular about my speed settings in which case I would get a VS lathe.
 
I turn at a middle pulley speed of about 700 -1800 , this allow me to apply CA at the lower speed without it flying in my face and fast enough to turn the pens at the higher speed. I started at the lower speed till I was comfortable with it.

I wonder if my pens would have a more consistent thickness (read less of a need to sand ) if I used a higher speed?
 
Currently...usually. 1200 truing a square blank then up to 2200 -3000 or more depending on mood. Drilling around 500ish Sanding around 1000-1200 Ca around 380 Polish fast as possible
 
I usually go from square to round at about 2800 (9 on the dial) so that I cut as little air as possible and save the bounce, then I drop to about 2500 for finishing cuts.
About 800 for sanding and then 450 for CA. Not much difference whether wood or acrylic.
gordon
 
The top speed of my delta is 4000 rpm. I generally turn pens at full speed or just a couple notches below. 8-10 on the dial. I sand at 5 or 6 ... Whatever that is ... And slow it down from there to apply the CA finish. Like PenMan1 said in another thread, and I'm paraphrasing, "I turn at 4000 rpm because my lathe doesn't have a 6000 rpm speed" ! :smile:
 
I keep my lathe on the highest setting for doing pens. It maxes out at about 3200, and I sand and apply CA/BLO at the minimum speed - approx 1200. Plain CA I switch it to the middle setting and do it around 900. Most drilling I do as slow as possible, which with my lathe is 300.
 
I used to turn as fast as my lathe would go now I find that I'm more comfortable slowing it down 1 pulley. I think I get a little less vibration that way. Because it's turning slower you have to have a little lighter hand when turning.
 
2600 for turning most stuff, faster if it is hard and pounding me.
750 sanding and micromesh
300 CA

Are you seeing a trend? If so let us know since I am not sure what the right answer is, other than what you are comfortable with. Most of us probably started slower and cranked up the speed as we became invincible :eek:

Harry
 
edohmann said:
Having a manually-adjustable 5-speed lathe and being naturally lazy, I've settled on 2200 (speed 4) for most of my pens (wood & acrylic) and leave it there for sanding & finishing. About the only time I adjust it is to drop it down to 1 or 2 (760 or 1100) for applying CA (which is seldom) or when the material dictates a higher or lower speed.

I started out using speed 5 (3200) for most pens & it worked great but that was a little fast for sanding (for me anyway) so I would drop it down to 2200 or 1600 for sanding then back up to 3200 for finishing (I mostly use friction polish). After some experimenting, I've found that I can get pretty much the same results just using 2200 for most everything.

If I was as experienced as a lot of the folks here, I might be more particular about my speed settings in which case I would get a VS lathe.
Click to expand...

My experience is so similar I could have written this myself.
 
This has been an interesting topic for me. When I had my first starter lathe, I had it set at one speed and left it there for everything - turning, sanding, finishing. Too lazy to mess with changing belts. Then I bought the Delta 46-460. Fell in love with the variable speed, but left it set on the middle belt. Since reading how fast many of you set the RPM's, I thought I'd give the high speed a try (4000 rpm). Boy, what a difference it makes! Not only does it turn the wood faster, but much cleaner.
That's what makes this forum so great - always something new to learn and see if it works for you.
 
Depends on the diameter, Surface speed is what is what is important. At 1000rpm the surface speed of a 1 in round is about 4-1/2 ft/sec or 3 mph. a 10 bowl is 10 times as much, about 45 ft/sec or 30 mph. Too fast and you generate too much heat, too slow and the cutting rate and finish is poor. A good performance range is about 20-40 ft/sec. A good rule of thumb is for diameter times rpm to be in a range of about 6000 to 10,000. This provides a good starting point and can be modified to meet specific situations, such not round, out of balance heat sensitive, etc. I typically turn pens in the 2000rpm plus or minus. Sanding may require reducing the speed if it creates too much heat or other issues.
 
To those turning up the lathe speed, please remember goggles and/or face shield. An exploding pen blank won't kill you, but eye protection is a must.
 
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