Pen Turning

seajay62 · Post by **seajay62** » Wed May 21, 2008 8:31 pm

After seeing Nick's tutorial on pen turning, I decided to try it out for myself. I ordered the pen kit from Penn State Industries and everything works out well except that I can't get the tool rest close to the pen blanks. I don't have as much control working with the large distance between them. Nick didn't have that problem using the power station.

After searching previous posts, it seems that some people use the 4" tool rest and move it to get to each blank, and there is the option of making some type of extender for the live center.

What other solutions are used to have a tool rest up close to the blanks? Is there an extender that can fit in the tailstock? Thanks, in advance, for any help or suggestions that may be provided.

Joe

roy_okc · Post by **roy_okc** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:18 pm

Joe,

How far away is the rest from the turning? What is keeping the rest from the turning?

I extend the quill to at least half its full capacity and have no problem getting in to within somewhere between 1/4-1/2" of the final diamater of a slimline (and closer for thicker ones). This is with a Woodcraft kit that comes with a MT#2 (that I unscrew off the shaft and mount quite deep into the drill chuck.

Roy

rkh2 · Post by **rkh2** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:47 pm

Joe
I have the universal tool rest system and I pretty much use it no matter what I may be turning. In regards to pen turning, with it I am able to bring the tool rest right up against the pen, using a 4" tool rest, however I don't have it that close to actually do the turning. I usually keep it about 1/8 inch or so away from the material. This is also true with the 8" tool rest when starting with a square blank but with this rest the closest it will allow me to get to the material is 1/2 " when I reach the final stage. If I had a 6" rest I am sure that I could stay within the 1/8" distance to the material throughout the entire turning process. I think that the Universal tool rest setup is well worth its price especially if you get into bowls or lidded boxes or hollowing out ornaments or such. I also am using a mandrel from Penstate with the SS adapter. Hope this helps.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Thu May 22, 2008 1:20 am

seajay62 wrote: What other solutions are used to have a tool rest up close to the blanks? Is there an extender that can fit in the tail-stock? Thanks, in advance, for any help or suggestions that may be provided.
Joe

You can purchase one or two Shopsmith live center extenders ( I recommend two) or you can purchase a #2 to #2 Morse Taper extender.

Both run about $15-$25 if I remember and will give you about 3"-4" of additional space which is enough to get the live center to touch the drive spur even with the universal tool rest (banjo) installed.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Thu May 22, 2008 1:22 am

seajay62 wrote: What other solutions are used to have a tool rest up close to the blanks? Is there an extender that can fit in the tail-stock? Thanks, in advance, for any help or suggestions that may be provided.
Joe

You can purchase one or two Shopsmith live center extenders ( I recommend two) or you can purchase a #2 to #2 Morse Taper extender.

Both run about $15-$25 if I remember and will give you about 3"-4" of additional space which is enough to get the live center to touch the drive spur even with the universal tool rest (banjo) installed.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » Thu May 22, 2008 2:00 am

I have seen this question asked here on the forum before.

As said earlier, I also do not have this problem, and I use the Penn State pen mandrel made to fit the Shopsmith with both the standard tool rest and the universal tool rest.

This question has come up often enough that I hope someone will post some photos showing the problem. This may help in solving it.

Maybe I don't have the problem because I use a Oneway Live Center in the tailstock. I also extend the quill out about half way so the mandrel reaches to the live center. I have yet needed to use a morse taper extender on anything I've turned on my Shopsmith.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Thu May 22, 2008 2:18 am

woodburner wrote:Maybe I don't have the problem because I use a Oneway Live Center in the tail-stock. I also extend the quill out about half way so the mandrel attaches to the live center. I have yet needed to use a Morse taper extender on anything I've turned on my Shopsmith.

There are several problems all related to the ability to get the live center point close enough to the headstock or far away enough from the tail-stock for the tool rest to clear everything.

The Oneway Live Center moves the point several inches away from the tail-stock and closer to the headstock. In 99% of the applications you are about 1.5" short and the Oneway gives you more than that.

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:58 am

like roy i extend the quill about 3 inches and have no problem using the 8 inch rest. i prefer to use the 1/4 inch router chuck to hold the pen mandrel rather than the drill chuck. bob

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Thu May 22, 2008 3:56 pm

I agree I use the router chuck not the drill chuck, it is designed for the lateral force.

seajay62 · Post by **seajay62** » Thu May 22, 2008 7:02 pm

Thanks for the advice and providing me with the answer to my problem. However, I must admit that I feel really stupid.

I didn't think about extending the quill except to tighten up the mandrell. So I ended up with over 1/2" of space between the tool rest and the stock before I began turning. See picture 1 - Normal Quill. Notice that the diameter of the live center became the problem and not the mandrell from PSI.

After receiving the feedback, I extended the quill (how simple a solution) and can now reduce the space to about 1/8" and I'm away from the live center down the mandrell. I feel much better and have more control. See pix 2 - Quill Extended.

Regards,
Joe