Shopsmith Forums

Hey guys. It's been awhile since I got a chance to get on here. I tried searching this, but my computer was messing up. I got the chisels and the blanks. I am hesitant about gluing the brass tubes in the blank. I only have a handful and if (when) I mess up I will need to disassemble them. That is probally easier said than done. Can I just drill a hole the diameter of the mandrel? Then using the bushing make a couple practice blanks?

yes, you can practice by drilling a 1/4" hole rather than the 7mm required for the tubes on a slimline kit. however why not just turn the pen and if dissatisfied with the results turn the wood completely off the tube and reuse them. each wednesday evening throughout the summer our local woodturning club does pen turning at a ymca summer camp. by the end of the evening 10-12 kids who have never turned before have completed a dry flower pot/vase and a slimline pen. this is our 4th year and there has never been an unhappy child.

There is a nice woodcraft store there in Virginia Beach. They will have classes on turning pens. They are usually very helpful instructors and good classes. They were when we had a Woodcraft store here. And they have a pen supplies.

I did the class at Woodcraft, actually it was a free hands on demo. Very helpful. Also, if you do make a major mistake you can purchase replacement brass tubes rather reasonably from many sources, including Woodcraft and PennState. With my first pens I used the CA glue, which I was uncomfortable using. Following a thread I tried and now use Gorilla Glue. You need to moisten the hole with a drop of water, and the setup time is hours, I leave it over-night.
It gives plenty of time to situate the brass tube in the blank, and it doesn't glue your fingers together.
Enjoy...if you start with pen-kits on sale...Woodcraft, PenState, others, you can find kits starting at about $2.

http://www.pensupplies.com/Pens/slimline.shtml