Shopsmith Forums

Hi sawchain,

Info provided above is right-on!

Regarding cracked wood, I have done some 20 or 30 pens and only one of them cracked. That was a piece of yellowwood. I have been lucky but one other comment may be relevant here: Soon after my first few Slimline pens, I migrated toward thicker designs. Many of these are still based on the cost-effective Slimline kits, but with voluptuous shapes or substitute center-bands of larger diameter. Beyond those Slimline kits, the bigger pen kits really yield substantial instruments for only a couple-three more bucks apiece.

Enjoy your hobby!

To all that answered my questions, Thanks. I'm going to order the parts needed to start my quest. Again Thanks Fred (sawchain)

I once used 1/4" threaded rod. Works good but a regular one would be much better.

Hi All,

I have been turning pens for several years now using my Shopsmith and various other lathes, including a small one built exclusively for pen making.

There are several companies that sell pen kits, parts and supplies, including Penn State Industries, The Woodturners Catalog (Craft Supplies USA), Packard Woodworks, and a fairly new company called Berea Hardwoods who sell some very nice elegant pen kits.

Here are some of the web addresses for these companies:

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com
http://www.bereahardwoods.com
http://www.woodturningz.com
http://www.AugumsPenWorks.com
http://www.packardwoodworks.com
http://www.hutproducts.com
http://www.psiwoodworking.com

And for those in Canada:

http://www.penblanks.ca

This is just a partial list of what is out there.

A pen kit can cost anywhere from a couple bucks to over a hundred dollars, depending on the materials used to make the pen parts, which can include gold and silver. I have lately been making some pens made with nickel plating and gun metal, which gives a great look when used with certain types of wood.

Several mandrels can be used on a Shopsmith, but I purchased five made especially to fit a Shopsmith from Penn State Industries. They work great even when using the universal tool rest set-up and the SS Lift-Assist attached. I bought five of them so I can have several projects set-up and ready to go, and I don't need to stop turning and remove and then attach the pen blanks to the mandrel each time I finish one.

Some people say they've had problems with using this mandrel with these SS accessories attached, saying that there is too much room in-between the headstock and tailstock, but they forget that you can extend the quill to make it all fit.

Over the years I have turned several hundred pens and pencils, along with several other types of kits that you can mount onto the mandrel, including bottle stoppers, yo-yos, perfume sprayers, etc. Let your imagination be your guide, as there are thousnads of ways to design just a pen. You can make thousands of them if you wish, and not one of them will look the same. Unless you want them too.

As for pen blanks drying out, it can happen. But most of the time you will want to use wood that is already dry, and this is the best way to go about it anyway. The pieces are so small after cutting the pen blank down to size, it doesn't take long for the wood to dry if you cut your blanks from green wood.

If you must turn your pens while the wood is green, just make sure you put a finish on it right after turning it. This will help stabilize the moisture in the wood as it does dry and will more than likely prevent it from cracking/splitting apart. You can also use CY glue (thin super glue) as a finish on green wood, and as it soaks in it will keep the wood from cracking.

There is a lot of info out there on the internet about turning pens, along with other turning projects such as bowls, vases, etc.. You name it and you can find out the information you need about it. Check out the posts here on this forum also, there is a lot of info about woodturning using your Shopsmith here on this site.