Pen turning

portertex · Post by **portertex** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:40 pm

Bought the SS mandrel from Wood Craft. As a beginer at pen turning, I have had a difficult time keeping the wood tight. Are there other companies that have good pen turning mandrels?

Greenvilleguy · Post by **Greenvilleguy** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:07 pm

I bought mine from Penn State Ind. They have a SS version that fits the standard 5/8" shaft. I've never had any problems keeping it tight.

Spike13 · Post by **Spike13** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:29 pm

I have both styles of mandrels. I don't seem to have a problem with either. If you tighten the knurled wheel or nut, it should hold the wood securely in place. If it moves around, you need to tighten it a little bit more. Tighten it a little bit at a time or you could damage the brass bushings that are inside. Make sure that the pieces of wood are "square" on the ends as this could be the reason the wood is not tightening up on the mandrel.

Have fun with it. It sure is a great gift, no matter what time of year.

portertex · Post by **portertex** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:07 am

Thanks for the info. I will contact Penn State Industries.

brucedavis · Post by **brucedavis** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:38 pm

I have one from Steebar. It works really good. They also have different bushings for 10MM and larger pens. There web address is http://www.Steebar.com

abqconlon · Post by **abqconlon** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:42 pm

I have experienced the problem that was described. However, it was not because of the mandrel. It was that the mandrel was slipping in the jaws. If I am right near the end of the mandrel it slips in the jaws no matter how tight I get the jaws. The effect is that the blanks loosen and start to turn on the mandrel. The only solution I have found is to re-set the mandrel in the jaws and tighten them again. I have not had this problem except when my blocks are long and the mandrel cannot go into the jaws very far.

Unregistered · Post by **Unregistered** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:26 pm

Have you tried to tighten using each of the 3 chuck holes? I have found if you tighten the chuck using all 3, the bite is more likely to hold better. This system of tightening is always recommended. I know this does not seem possible but gives the chuck a even distribution of tightening force on the jaws. Also you do not want to overtighten the mandrel nut as it will warp the pen barrels and give you a out of round turning. If the barrels are spinning on the mandrel though the nut is very snug, you may be taking too big a bite on your cut.

Mike Mitchell
Austin, TX

Unregistered · Post by **Unregistered** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:07 am

Hello, I am an avid turner of pens and have found a place that sell all of the pen state products and a reduced price. they use the pen sate catalog when ordering and all the parts are pen state as well. They must buy in bulk or are an underright for pen state in order to sell the products cheaper. any way, buy a barrel trimmer that goes into your hand drill (electric) and you trim your blanks down to the barrel and they are as square as a 90* as can get. have fun and send us a pic of a pen when you are done.

Myles S.

Unregistered · Post by **Unregistered** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:12 am

try going to woodturningz.com for your pen turning supplies. send for there cataloge and you can order all of pen states products at a reduced price.
Tell jeff or Fritz that Myles sent you and you will get a $5.00 discount on your first order of $50.00 or more.

Enjoy and have fun turning!!

Myles S.

http://webpages.charter.net/heirloomwood

Shopsmith Forums

Pen turning

Pen turning

Pen Turning Mandrel

Pen turning

Pen turning

Pen Turning

Pen supplys cheaper then penstate

woodturningz.com