Just started pen turning - bushing confusion

I just started turning pens and have done only a couple. As I look at the HUT site, I'm a little confused because it seems that you need to buy different bushings and drill bits for everything. Guess I don't have a real problem with that but how do you keep them all straight based on the numbers it says you need. My bushings don't have numbers on them.

Anyway, they turned out pretty well but I do have a couple of questions regarding speed of the lathe - I started out at the slowest speed (Jet Mini Lathe) and it keeps stopping the block. I can't tell if I'm trying to take too much or if I don't have the tailstock tight enough. Is there a way to get the corners off the block to get past this? Secondly, I'm trying to determine if there is a trick to keeping the wood even between the bushings - do you use different tools or a small gouge all the way down. Sorry for the ignorance, but I can't really find these things in doing research.

Don

Reply to
D. J. Dorn
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Hi Don,

First of all, when turning pens, put the lathe up to its highest speed. A pen blank is 3/4" or less and is traveling a lot slower than you think. When doing anything with that small a diameter you should always turn as fast as you can. That will help in not stopping the wood with the tool. The first tool I use is a roughing gouge. The large diameter of the gouge gives you a wider arc to the cutting edge. After I get down to near the finish diameter I use a skew chisel for the finishing cuts. That will make it easier to get the high spots out. Don't take it all the way down to the bushings with the tool--leave a little room for sanding, and try not to sand on the bushings. You can reduce their diameter with the sandpaper. Hope this helps.

-Jim Gott- San Jose, CA

Reply to
Jim Gott

the tailstock needs to be pretty 'snug', the speed needs to be at the higher end... also, you are not REQUIRED to make the pen the size of the bushings....some people like a thicker pen, some like thinner....and it is possible to shape and taper the blanks in various ways...experiment!

One more thing...the rules and techniques are not the same for different types of wood! I have turned pens from maybe 200 different woods, and they work quite differently....some are hard, but brittle, and will split lengthwise, some are softer and will sand more quickly....some are hard to drill, due to grain differences...Try different tools if you have problems (I 'sometimes' have to make little cuts with a sharp point of a skew and then gently bring the ridges down gently in order to keep the blank from splitting.)

It can be very useful to make some practice blanks from ugly practice wood (from the wood pile or cheap boards) and try every possible tool and technique before trying that Macassar Ebony!

have fun!

Reply to
Bill Day

I'm pretty new to pen turning too, but a couple of things I've discovered:

  1. If you are stopping the wood when trying to turn off the corners, try tightening the knob on the pen mandrel. It may be that the mandrel is turning, but the blank is slipping on it. You should be able to tell this, especially if the half of the blank you are working on stops but the other blank keeps going.

  1. When using light woods, like maple, be careful sanding with silicon carbide (grey) sandpaper. I've had a few problems with the grit getting stuck in the grain and some grey areas. I've found that using a very light, quick touch with the grey sandpaper helps.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Reynolds

Don, You have been given some good advice. Turn at fastest speed. Keep the nut on the mandrel tight(hand tighten) Another reason for slipping is if the ends of your blanks are not at right angles to the tubes they will not be flat to each other.I use a bowl gouge with swept wings for the entire turning. You can use any tool with which you are comfortable.

A good source for information is the penturners group at this site:

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thing to do is to begin with a slimline kit. They are moreforgiving than most others.In fact, I began with that kit and still haven't changed afterhundreds of pens.

The most important thing is to have fun.

Larry Hand Turned Pens at

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news:...

Reply to
Larry Gottlieb

In my experience, this is a problem *only* with cheap sandpaper imported from China -- the bonding agent that holds the grit to the paper apparently softens under the heat of friction, and the grit separates from the paper. I have

*never* observed this happening with American- or Canadian-made sandpaper such as 3M.
Reply to
Doug Miller

I'm still confused about bushings - I looked at different kits today and have no idea as to what I can make and what I can't based on the bushings I would need. The packaging doesn't even say - how do you solve this problem?

Don

Reply to
D. J. Dorn

The bushings help you judge when the end of the wood is flush with the part that touches the wood. The thichness of any other part of the wood can be anything you like.

Reply to
Bruce Barnett

"D. J. Dorn" writes: I'm still confused about bushings (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^ Let's see if I can state it clearly, but briefly. Obviously, the bushing MUST fit the ID of the tubing snugly. The larger diameter of each bushing is a gauge for the OD of the wood. If you turn the wood to that diameter, it will fit properly with the pen hardware.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

And different styles of pens require different size bushings. Bushings are usually sold in set, each set applicable to a style of pen.

If the plastic bag containing the pen kit does not specify a bushing set, you can find the proper bushing set in either of two places. The companies catalog or the instruction sheet that comes with the pen kit. Often you can download the instruction sheet for the pen from the companies web site.

Hope this helps,

Harry

Reply to
Harry B. Pye

Don, crank that lathe speed on up there to at least the intermediate speed or even higher. A 3/8" or 1/2" bowl gouge makes a mighty fine roughing gouge on pen stock. After you get the stock round and near the final diameter, switch to a 3/4" or 1" skew for the final finishing cuts. Good luck.

Barry

Reply to
Barry N. Turner

Amen! That Macassar Ebony turns beautifully, but it doesn't drill worth a damn. I went through three blanks trying to get just one drilled. I love to turn the stuff, though.

Barry

Reply to
Barry N. Turner

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