henry1164
Member
Background - I have never had a lathe set up at home. Began turning pens several months ago using the Jet 1442 lathe at MakerSpace (a membership club with all kinds of great/high end equipment for woodworking as well as other trades). With COVID19 the club was immediately closed in March and remained so until just recently.
So, what does a guy have to do for fun - i.e. pen turning? On a lark I bought the micro/mini lathe from eBay (picture below) and set it up in my garage. Adding a few other small little items that I needed for turning it added up to around $40.
I had to modify the lathe by taking the motor/head off the aluminum bed and mounting it a few inches away from the bed to get the length I needed to turn pen barrels up to 5 inches. Because I was already turning pens prior to losing my lathe source I had the sanding/finishing/bushings/mandrel/etc. stuff. My son 3D printed a collection cone (in the background of the lathe picture) for my shopvac and I had some dust collection. The space I had with a jammed tight garage was a 6' X 6' area (social distancing?) but it was enough to get the job done!
So, how did it work out you ask? From the very first pen I turned on this lathe I was (re)hooked on pen turning. Using the techniques I had already learned i was able to do a complete turning from that first pen. I continued to make pens over the last month or so. The last picture shows the pens made with this little beauty. I am sold on this "toy" lathe and will continue to turn pens at home as well as eventually returning to MakerSpace (during the hottest and coldest times as my garage is conditioned for only natural weather).
Thanks for viewing.
So, what does a guy have to do for fun - i.e. pen turning? On a lark I bought the micro/mini lathe from eBay (picture below) and set it up in my garage. Adding a few other small little items that I needed for turning it added up to around $40.
I had to modify the lathe by taking the motor/head off the aluminum bed and mounting it a few inches away from the bed to get the length I needed to turn pen barrels up to 5 inches. Because I was already turning pens prior to losing my lathe source I had the sanding/finishing/bushings/mandrel/etc. stuff. My son 3D printed a collection cone (in the background of the lathe picture) for my shopvac and I had some dust collection. The space I had with a jammed tight garage was a 6' X 6' area (social distancing?) but it was enough to get the job done!
So, how did it work out you ask? From the very first pen I turned on this lathe I was (re)hooked on pen turning. Using the techniques I had already learned i was able to do a complete turning from that first pen. I continued to make pens over the last month or so. The last picture shows the pens made with this little beauty. I am sold on this "toy" lathe and will continue to turn pens at home as well as eventually returning to MakerSpace (during the hottest and coldest times as my garage is conditioned for only natural weather).
Thanks for viewing.
