How do I get started turning pens?

[Alex Franke]

Hi all,

Now that I have a $122 Delta lathe on the way , I was hoping to get some advice here on what I might need to get started when it arrives. I've been wanting to get a small lathe for some time now, but I've never worked with one. I also don't have any turning tools yet.

I understand turning pens is a great way to get started, and I'd love to be able to make some as Christmas gifts. Can any recommend any reasonably priced kits and turning tools to learn with? I saw a pen kit at Grizzly (item H2330), but one of the Amazon comments says it's incompatible with the Delta lathe.

Please let me know if you have any advice!

Thanks!

[Russianwolf]

have a look at pennstateind.com they have a starter kit that will give you all the basics. (basic set of tools, mandrel, 10 pen kits, some basic blanks, finishing supplies, etc.)

Also look around arizonasilhouette.com and woodturnerscatalog.com

one warning though. It is not a cheap hobby. kits range from $1.30 up to about $100, blanks range from .50 up to about $50 (rattlesnake for example). Yeah you can make a nice basic pen for $2, and your creativity can add a lot, but you will want to go further and further and it all adds up. I'm about to order my first $10 kits.

[Ken Massingale]

Alex,
RUN over to Woodnet quick. Brian has a Crown mini set and a penturners set on sale while they last. Crown is one of the better tools.

[BigguyZ]

Alex- I'd like to reiterate the warning that you shouldn't expect to get into pen making "cheaply". It's waaay to easy to get over board quickly. Also, I'd recommend starting with Cigar pens, as they're easier if you ask me than slimlines, and they assemble easily. Lastly, a mini turning set is OK, but I'd personally recomend to get a decent cheap full-size chisel set and go with that. The HF HSS set or PSI's Benjamin's Best are good tools, and they come pretty sharp in the box. The larger size is more stable, which is important with the delicate details of pens. If you have a small chisel, you have to use more force to keep the chisel vibration/ chatter free.

[Anna]

There are a lot of resellers that are cheaper than the original company's prices. I get most of my PennState (PSI) stuff from woodnwhimsies.com, although they don't carry all the PSI items yet.

I took a pen turning class at Woodcraft to get me started, so you might want to look in that direction, too. You should also look up penturners.org. A more dedicated group of penturners you will never find.


From what I remember, you'll need:

1. A pen press. I read some guys use their vise, but I bought a pen press anyway.
2. A drill press for drilling the holes in the blank. I don't have one of those, but I got a drill chuck that goes in the tail stock. Works great.
3. A mandrel. I got mine from Woodcraft.
4. Some extra bushings. The most common, I think, are the 7 mm bushings for the American slim type pen. There are other bushing sizes for different kinds of pens, but, at least in my meager experience, they work with the same mandrel.
5. CA glue. We use that to glue the bushing inside the blank.
6. More importantly, CA solvent. Unless you're very very special, you'll get to a point where you will glue your fingers together, if not other stuff to miscellaneous parts of your body.
7. Sanding sheets. There's a whole religion connected to how to finish a pen, so you might want to research that further.
8. Oh, lathe tools. I got Sorbies even before I got my lathe, but that's because they were on sale. I heard good things about the PSI starter lathe tools (Benjamin something or other) and Crown tools. I'm sure others will have suggestions, though.
9. Sharpening supplies. Get a slow-speed grinder ala-Woodcraft's, and some jigs, unless you're intrepid enough to do the fancy shapes free-hand. I actually did that, and scared the heck out of myself. But that's just me.
10. Don't forget the face shield. Apparently, our guys and gals are still beautiful because they had their face shields on when their lathe pieces came flying towards them.


That's all I can come up with in my chocolate-infused consciousness. (I should stop eating so much sweets. Clouds the brain and muddies the mind.)

Have fun! And don't forget to come up for air once in a while. That's a slippery slope you're going down on.

[RayintheUK]

A while ago I described the process, with pictures and a link to a supplier, for another Forum member. It's here if it's of any help.

Ray.

[TB Roye]

I have the Delta LA200 coming also. I am about ready to pull the triger on the PSI starter set with the mandrel that fits the Delta and the 2 free DVD's. I have put some other stuff on different wish lists and notified my family as to what I want for my birthday this month.(This is the 1st time I have asked specificly for any thing so we will see what happens) I figure I can always upgrade the tolls if I enjoy the turning and have some success. That to all who answered Alex as it helped me also.

Tom

[ragswl4]

I have the Delta LA200 coming also. I am about ready to pull the triger on the PSI starter set with the mandrel that fits the Delta and the 2 free DVD's. I have put some other stuff on different wish lists and notified my family as to what I want for my birthday this month.(This is the 1st time I have asked specificly for any thing so we will see what happens) I figure I can always upgrade the tolls if I enjoy the turning and have some success. That to all who answered Alex as it helped me also.

Tom

Let us know how you like the Delta Lathe. I almost pulled the trigger twice on that Amazon deal. I got so many other irons in the fire right now, I could see that lathe sitting around for a couple of years like an orphan. Still, one of these days.............

[DonHo]

I'm not sure what PSI set you are talking about but I got the basic starter set from PSI and I don't think you'll be happy with the tools that come with the set, at least not the set I got. It was carbon steel not HSS and would not hold an edge and the cut quality wasn't that good either. I've bought several PSI turning tools and have found them to be a good buy but only buy HSS tools. The starter set of tools from HF is a good starter set at a good price. Of course you can buy better tools for a lot more money but I'd wait until I not only had experience turning so you know more about what tools you might want but also until you've had some experience sharpening the tools. You don't want to grind away too much of that high priced steel


DonHo

[TB Roye]

Don

Thanks for the information on the tools. Will check into substituting the better set for the one in the basic starter set. See what kind of deal I can make.

Tom

[Alex Franke]

Wow -- great info. Thanks a bundle everyone! I'm really looking forward to this.

Ray, I love the tutorial you have online. Thanks for taking the time to get that up there!

I want to wait until after my Amazon order (the lathe) ships, though, before I acutally place the order for the kits. I had a router/dovetail jig order get cancelled once before, and I'd hate to get stuck with a pen turning kit and no lathe to use it with!

Thanks again!

[TB Roye]

I too did not order any turning kits or accessories. Put them on my wish list and Emailed the list to LOML, and my 2 sons. Will wait till after my Bday and see what I get and then buy what I want or need. In the mean time I have to to some remodeling in my shop to get more organized. New workbench and storage along one wall and remove wall mounted cabinets from another to make space for lumber rack. Will be building a modified version of Norm" Workbench/Hutch The New Yankee Workshop. That will give me plenty of stroage and allow me to get rid of some BORG KD cabinest I have used and free up wall space. Then I will have space for the Lathe in it's own area. Will post pics as I go along and when finished. I had planned to start this week until the bargin alert came up so I had to redo my woodworking budget so I still had money for the shop redo. I will never add up how much BT3Central has cost me, but it has saved me probably as much, by using advice from the forum, member classifieds and bargin alerts. I think the only big tool I paid full retail for was the BT3100.

Tom

[Tom Hintz]

I have an overview of turning pens at the link below. Be fore warned though, like just about anything having to do with a lathe, turning pens can be addictive.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/turning/trnpens.html

[Russianwolf]

I will admit that the starter kit is not the best of all worlds, but it does give you all the absolute must have materials.

I agree that Cigar pens are much easier to do than slimline, but I think it's better to start on the slimlines since they are cheaper (about $1.50 per kit rather than a minimum of $3.75 for cigars), and once you are able to turn a good slimline, you are definitely ready for other kits (in some cases, more than ready).

As far as the pen press goes, I do the job with my drill press. It takes a few seconds to align things and make adjustments, but it does the job just as well. Clamps can also be used for assembly, but you need to be more careful when doing this.

The tools that come in the starter kit aren't great, but they are good to practice sharpening, and I get decent results from them. I have a more expensive HSS set also, but I generally use the CS set for roughing the blanks and for times when I'm working a hard material (aluminum for example) and don't want to risk my "good" tools.

[phrog]

Great instructions

A while ago I described the process, with pictures and a link to a supplier, for another Forum member. It's here if it's of any help.

Ray.

Great instructions, Ray. Thanks. Now I wish I had ordered one of the Delta LA200's. Almost pulled the trigger twice. May be I wll next time after reading your instructions.
Richard