Woodchuck Pen Pro - Good way to go?

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mdwilliams999

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Apr 18, 2011
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Just thought I would get some opinions regarding the Woodchuck Pen Pro.
- Do you think its the way to go?
- If your using it, how long do the tips last as they cost $8 a piece and up. - - Sounds like you would want 2 of them so your not having to switch back and forth for a single pen.
 
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I generally turn the carbide cutter (4 sides to each cutter) after about a dozen blanks, plus or minus depending on the material....gator eats them very quickly, softer woods can turn many more).

My turnings and turning experience have greatly improved since buying the woodchuck from Ken. i wouldn't want to go back to not having it!
 
Others may tell you differently but I would use nothing but carbide. I don't have the woodchuck but something similar + carbide tipped skew,gouge and parting tool from PSI. I broke a tip off one time out of carelessness but you can have them brazed back on by someone who knows what they are doing.
 
Just a thought, if you get the Bowl Pro you can use it to turn pens, bowls, boxes what ever. I have both and I use the Bowl Pro more often than the Pen Pro even on pens. Either one is a great tool.
 
I am going to offer a differing opinion. I toyed with getting a Woodchuck Pen Pro maybe a couple months ago, and decided to wait. I started turning in October, and I've turned 25+ pens, a number of wine stoppers, some tool handles. I felt I had to master all the different "standard" tools, and especially the skew. I've learned to grind my tools (which you have to do if you stick with HSS tools!). I've successfully turned spalted wood that would crumble in your hands, and I've turned some pretty challenging composites.

I am getting to the point where I may take the plunge for a Pen Pro, but do not regret getting better on regular tools.

Just my 3 cents (adjusted for inflation).
 
I've only been turning for 9 months and I use mine 100% of the time. Used regular tools at first but kept reading about it, bought one and never looked back.
 
It is good -- but if that is all you know how to use, you are a one trick pony in a circus.

I like mine, but still use skews, and gouges (I really like Thompson Gouges - especiall detail gouges)

I also use hunter style cup carbide tools and shear scraper a lot.
 
I'm not sure I understand your question? Do you think it's the way to go?

I own one and use it. My woodchuck is a great tool but it's just one of my many great tools. The material I'm using and what I'm trying to accomplish dictates the tool used.

That being said... as much as I like the Woodchuck, to me there's nothing quite like turning with a razor sharp skew or a gouge.
 
Dave,
I have only just started and bought 2 chisels, but don't have an effective way to sharpen them. I currently have a 6" grinder (36 grit/60 grit), and trying to decide if I should invest in an 8" grinder, better sharpening stone, and a jig - all of which will be about $250+ or if I should just go with the woodchuck going forward.
 
I purchased a woodchuck a couple of weeks ago and love it. I still like my skew for wood but for soapstone, acrylics and such the chuck is great. Having just started in turning I am still learning but I see no drawbacks to the chuck other than do not use your thumb to wipe the insert off. :rolleyes:
 
OK, that makes sense. The Woodchuck is ideal for your situation in my opinion. You can turn a lot of wood & acrylic pens with a single insert. I've even used my Woodchuck turned 90 degrees as a parting tool to cut grip marks in a blank before burning them in with a wire.

Keep in mind while the Woodchuck could get you by a little longer without doing any sharpening, you shouldn't put off the sharpening setup for too long. Get a good 120 grit wheel for your 6" grinder and with your existing 60 grit wheel, your grinder will be ready for sharpening. Buy a Wolverine jig or build a Wolverine jig and you'll be setup to sharpen your own tools. There's a lot of information on building your own Wolverine type sharpening jigs. Search and you'll find plenty of reading material. You might, or might not, want to upgrade to an 8" grinder later on. A lot of people stick with a 6" grinder for their sharpening.

It's great when you finally get setup to sharpen your own tools. Turning with razor sharp tools is an amazing feeling.

mdwilliams999 said:
Dave,
I have only just started and bought 2 chisels, but don't have an effective way to sharpen them. I currently have a 6" grinder (36 grit/60 grit), and trying to decide if I should invest in an 8" grinder, better sharpening stone, and a jig - all of which will be about $250+ or if I should just go with the woodchuck going forward.
Click to expand...
 
Rolland said:
I purchased a woodchuck a couple of weeks ago and love it. I still like my skew for wood but for soapstone, acrylics and such the chuck is great. Having just started in turning I am still learning but I see no drawbacks to the chuck other than do not use your thumb to wipe the insert off. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Agreed. Hands off the inserts unless you want blood stained blanks. The only drawback to the Woodchuck is when you want to turn more complex shapes. Adding tight curves & beads is very difficult using the Woodchuck. Turning bushing to bushing for the most part isn't a problem.
 
I stand behind every one of them, if you don't like it send it back, full refund. Woodchucks were born on this forum and so far nearly a thousand have found homes. all the way from Norway to Japan and Australia as well as South America, Canada and Hawaii, not to mention the UK and of course here in the states. Our shop got a little battered Monday and Tuesday, but we are still working now that we have electricity again.
 
Ken---Mine arrived yesterday, haven't had time to make a handle for it yet, but those cutters seem pretty darned sharp for carbide! Will have to wait for the weekend to give it a go. Looks really good. Does anyone put lead shot in the handles of the PenPro?

Dan
 
Dave_M said:
I'm not sure I understand your question? Do you think it's the way to go?

I own one and use it. My woodchuck is a great tool but it's just one of my many great tools. The material I'm using and what I'm trying to accomplish dictates the tool used.

That being said... as much as I like the Woodchuck, to me there's nothing quite like turning with a razor sharp skew or a gouge.
Click to expand...


^^^this. The art of what we do requires lots of time, practice and patience. Using a Woodchuck (to me) seems like something for guys that have put in the time to gain the experience on the traditional tools. Watching videos of turners (noobs and vets alike) and seeing the tools being used WAY wrong just makes me shake my head. When someone uses a 45* skew like you would use a scraper the ENTIRE time they use that tool, that tells me they have no clue what they are doing. They make a scraper tool for that specific purpose.
Folks will argue that the Woodchuck will create a smoother finish with little to no sanding. My reaction is, "So will my skew.....more so in most cases". In fact, I'd be willing to put my skew finish up against ANY Woodchuck finish out there. Search the SOYP forum for my posts. I pride myself on my finishes. Most of them are skew finish, every other MM, 20/20 lotion....done!
You do what works best for you. But my personal suggestion is to learn the correct way to use the traditional tools, learn to sharpen them, and when you have become good at those you will understand better what makes the Woodchuck work like it does.
That being said, I still believe "to each his own". I believe the saying goes; "There are 100 ways to do this, 99 of them work.....I use the other one".:biggrin:
 
mdwilliams999 said:
Dave,
I have only just started and bought 2 chisels, but don't have an effective way to sharpen them. I currently have a 6" grinder (36 grit/60 grit), and trying to decide if I should invest in an 8" grinder, better sharpening stone, and a jig - all of which will be about $250+ or if I should just go with the woodchuck going forward.
Click to expand...

By the way....I have a Worksharp tool sharpener (think 45 record player) bone stock with absolutely no jigs of any kind. Got it as a gift a few years ago. I sharpen ALL my tools on it freehand. This allows me to put any angle, bevel or profile I feel like. It takes time to learn, but once you get the hang of it, all that time and work will pay HUGE dividends. Get one, learn to use it, thank me later. :biggrin:
 
The woodchuck or any carbide insert tool probably will not be able to to intricate detail or sharp angles but this guy is just starting out and I would never go out and buy HSS tools if carbide is available. Just because the other HSS tools are avalible does not mean he needs to learn how to sharpen tools. He does not need to learn how to type on the standard from back in the day called the typewriter before he should use a computer does he ? or should he?
 
my dad bought a rougher and the guy said he get the carbide inserts from a place that makes carbide inserts from jointers, so they are pretty cheap for my dads tool, he does whole cocobolo peppermills with that thing. Chips everywhere by the end.
 
bitshird said:
I stand behind every one of them, if you don't like it send it back, full refund. Woodchucks were born on this forum and so far nearly a thousand have found homes. all the way from Norway to Japan and Australia as well as South America, Canada and Hawaii, not to mention the UK and of course here in the states. Our shop got a little battered Monday and Tuesday, but we are still working now that we have electricity again.
Click to expand...
Ken, You forgot to include the one you shipped to Singapore.
Stephen
 
Ruby pen turning said:
.... He does not need to learn how to type on the standard from back in the day called the typewriter before he should use a computer does he ? or should he?
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He doesn't need to know how to type at all to use a computer but it does help. Your example isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison but point well made. It depends on the goal. If all you want to do is crank out pens, that works but there is much more to the art of turning. If all you want to do is type text into a document that's fine, but there's much more to the art of wordsmithing. It just depends on the goal.
 
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I have one, I have yet to master it, I continue to get chip outs with it that I don't think I would have gotten with my gouge. I'll keep at it...
 
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