Need opinions
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MedWoodWorx
Member
IMO you should start with the slimline pen kit. You only need a 7mm drill bit and patience. Once you master the slimline pen you can make any pen.
As other members mentioned (before in a similar thread) the sierra pen kit is also a good candidate since its a single barell kit that leaves little room for mistakes.
Whatever you choose a chisel set (roughing gouge, skew and spindle gouge) is needed as well as a sharpening setup. Cheers
As other members mentioned (before in a similar thread) the sierra pen kit is also a good candidate since its a single barell kit that leaves little room for mistakes.
Whatever you choose a chisel set (roughing gouge, skew and spindle gouge) is needed as well as a sharpening setup. Cheers
Alan Morrison
Member
Jacob, I would recommend that, when you decide on a particular kit, that you buy half a dozen of extra tubes and practice away on those tubes.
Techiques that you will be learning will be...squaring up a blank.....cut roughly to length......drill accurately down the centre......glue in the tube
( I recommend 2 part epoxy rather than CA ) .........square off the ends to the tube.......turn on the lathe......sanding to the bushes......applying finish.
If you mess up a blank you can turn it down to the tube and start again.
Find odd bits of timber like broken chair legs or whatever and square them up on the table saw so you are not practicing on purchased blanks.
Also my recommendation would be a single barrel kit.....look through the suppliers until you see one that you like.
Techiques that you will be learning will be...squaring up a blank.....cut roughly to length......drill accurately down the centre......glue in the tube
( I recommend 2 part epoxy rather than CA ) .........square off the ends to the tube.......turn on the lathe......sanding to the bushes......applying finish.
If you mess up a blank you can turn it down to the tube and start again.
Find odd bits of timber like broken chair legs or whatever and square them up on the table saw so you are not practicing on purchased blanks.
Also my recommendation would be a single barrel kit.....look through the suppliers until you see one that you like.
GaryMGg
Member
I agree with most of MedWoodWorx's suggestions although I'm pretty sure I've not used a roughing gouge on a blank. However, I'd done my share of spindle turning prior to starting pens so take my thought with a grain of salt.
Other beneficial tools:
Drill press
Quality Drill bits
Quality sanding supplies be it paper, Micromesh or Abranet.
Although you have a mandrel, you might find, as many of us do, turning between centers (TBC) to be more effective and efficient. TBC bushings are needed for this.
Do you do any flatwork? Do you have other woodworking tools?
Other beneficial tools:
Drill press
Quality Drill bits
Quality sanding supplies be it paper, Micromesh or Abranet.
Although you have a mandrel, you might find, as many of us do, turning between centers (TBC) to be more effective and efficient. TBC bushings are needed for this.
Do you do any flatwork? Do you have other woodworking tools?
JohnU
Member
I think you should start with a Sierra. It's a single tube, fairly simple pen in turning and assembly. It will give you a chance to learn tool control and finishing techniques and that sized pen has many different variations in plating, and accessories involving finials and center bands. Plus most all of the 27/64" sets use the same bushings so less set up changes, and you don't have to worry about pressing in the transmission or fixing it if it's too deep like with the slimlines. I've always encouraged new turners to start with Sierra, and then maybe cigar 10mm pens.
sorcerertd
Member
Price friendly does not generally mean beginner level, but I definitely understand where you are coming from. Most "starter sets" come with slimlines. You can find them for $2-3 each, but they are not the easiest to learn on. A single tube kit is better to start out with. While "Sierra" is a brand name, you will see the name Sierra referring to any kits of that same type. (kinda like all tissues are called "kleenex") They are straight forward and easy to assemble. One with a bead where the hardware meets the barrel is more forgiving if you are a little off on the diameter of the finished blank, too. You can see the difference on the two pictures below.
This is a Gatsby from Penn State Ind (PSI)
I believe this is an actual Sierra (made by Berea)
The Editor/Tiny Giant is pretty affordable, too.
This is a Gatsby from Penn State Ind (PSI) I believe this is an actual Sierra (made by Berea)The Editor/Tiny Giant is pretty affordable, too.
jttheclockman
Member
I agree about the Sierra line of pen kits. There are many brands and come under different names. But as suggested get a bunch of extra tubes so that you can practice on the tubes and if you like it then put it on a kit. You can not do that with slimlines. They are not as easy as people say and just because they are inexpensive they are also a 2 blank kit. Just opinions.
wouldentu2?
Member
Slim lines are cheap and it takes two blanks to make them, therefore its like getting two pens to practice on. Buy extra tubes and experiment on different shapes.
GFHWoodWerks
Member
Oh thanks for pointing to this. I hadn't seen this pen. I'll have to get me some.
GFHWoodWerks
Member
Several here have mentioned extra tubes. They made this suggestion to me in my getting started thread as well. It's very inexpensive to have extra tubes, turn as many as you like and not assemble into pens.
You can even build yourself a catalog if different wood types turned, keep them and precise different finishing techniques to see how a particular wood finishes like in that species. It might not be turned good enough for a pen, but you can still learn from that blank.
We are in the same boat here. I wish you luck diving into this hobby and hope you enjoy it very much.
You can even build yourself a catalog if different wood types turned, keep them and precise different finishing techniques to see how a particular wood finishes like in that species. It might not be turned good enough for a pen, but you can still learn from that blank.
We are in the same boat here. I wish you luck diving into this hobby and hope you enjoy it very much.
greenacres2
Member
Best value pen kit i've found, thanks to @TonyL , is the Professor (also called Exemplar). It's a quality Dayacom kit with sturdy components and simple platings that hold up very well. Can still be bought in the $10 range, single tube, and the finished wall thickness of the blank is very friendly. That said--the slimlines are a great place to hone turning skills. Thin skins and really sensitive to getting the barrels finished to match components, especially at the nib. Makes my skills better every time i turn one.
earl
earl
Woodchipper
Member
Good advice from all. Whenever I buy a kit, I always cover myself with extra tubes. Some kits use the same tube so I'm covered in many ways. Penturning will involve a certain amount of investment. I had everything but did buy Harbor Freight tools, a low speed Rikon grinder and the Wolverine sharpening system.
Welcome to the world of penturning. Don't forget that a credit card is handy, too.
Welcome to the world of penturning. Don't forget that a credit card is handy, too.
leehljp
Member Liaison
After turning 3 or 4 or 6 pens, get a piece of 2x4 wood and cut into pen size blanks - maybe a dozen or so. And have enough tubes to use in each of them. Practice drilling, Drill all. Practice gluing the tubes in, all. Practice getting the ends square, all. then practice getting the feel of the tool on the blanks as you turn. Practice sanding each one with different grits. Get the "feel" of it. Then do the same with the finish. To me, practicing with the finish on a throw-away blank was the most productive and helpful to me.
The point is not to make a pen, but to get the feel and experience of each step of the way. Four or five hours of getting used to each step will help speed up the process of getting the "feel" of making a pen, and then your 10th pen will look like your 50th.
When I learned typing (keyboarding) back in the early '60s, we took each key and practiced doing each key about 20 or 30 times with the one finger for that letter. Suddenly after a week, typing became easy. Same with practicing each step over and over until it becomes somewhat instinctive and natural. It really helps speed up the process.
IF you have a carbide insert tool, then you can focus on the pen making itself. If not, and you are using HSS tools - learning to sharpen the tools becomes a necessity. New people to pen turning and using non-carbide tools run into some problems with tools not sharp enough, without knowing that the problem can be traced to a dull tool. And some new people will often say that the tool IS sharp to them - when it isn't to the spinning blank. Sharpness is a necessity, and keeping it sharp during the turning process is also a necessity. SHARP tools make turning much easier!
What is the difference between carbide inserts and HSS tools?: With considerable experience, the feel of a good and well sharpened HSS tool - will give a smoother and finer cut on a blank than carbide inserts. Until one gets to this point, it will be hard to tell the difference, but once at this level - HSS is a step up. But knowing how to sharpen is a necessity. Numerous people use Carbide insert tools to get a blank round and close to size, then HSS to finish turning. But that is down the road for beginners and a possible target for future "leveling up" in experience and quality.
The point is not to make a pen, but to get the feel and experience of each step of the way. Four or five hours of getting used to each step will help speed up the process of getting the "feel" of making a pen, and then your 10th pen will look like your 50th.
When I learned typing (keyboarding) back in the early '60s, we took each key and practiced doing each key about 20 or 30 times with the one finger for that letter. Suddenly after a week, typing became easy. Same with practicing each step over and over until it becomes somewhat instinctive and natural. It really helps speed up the process.
IF you have a carbide insert tool, then you can focus on the pen making itself. If not, and you are using HSS tools - learning to sharpen the tools becomes a necessity. New people to pen turning and using non-carbide tools run into some problems with tools not sharp enough, without knowing that the problem can be traced to a dull tool. And some new people will often say that the tool IS sharp to them - when it isn't to the spinning blank. Sharpness is a necessity, and keeping it sharp during the turning process is also a necessity. SHARP tools make turning much easier!
What is the difference between carbide inserts and HSS tools?: With considerable experience, the feel of a good and well sharpened HSS tool - will give a smoother and finer cut on a blank than carbide inserts. Until one gets to this point, it will be hard to tell the difference, but once at this level - HSS is a step up. But knowing how to sharpen is a necessity. Numerous people use Carbide insert tools to get a blank round and close to size, then HSS to finish turning. But that is down the road for beginners and a possible target for future "leveling up" in experience and quality.
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leehljp
Member Liaison
I forgot to mention: Get yourself a good set of calipers - metal ones, not plastic ones. Harbor Freight has a good sale on them on occasion.
Measure the nib/nose cone end at the point where the wood fits next to it. If it has a center band, measure that. And then measure the cap/clip end where the wood meets the cap. Write these measurements down. Turn to close to size and then sand with fine sandpaper 400 - 800 or so. Stop and measure along the way to until you reach the target size.
Warning: Turning the blank to the size of the bushings does two things:
1. each time the chisel touches the bushing, it takes a miniscule amount of the bushing off and after 20 or 30 pens, the bushing is smaller where it fits next to the blank. Same thing happens when sanding. Eventually the bushing is smaller at the meeting point of the next new blank. But if you use calipers to measure the blank, the size of the blank will always be the same size.
2. Sanding the blank and letting the sandpaper touch the bushings will cause gray/grey/black sanding dust to be deposited on the blank, and depending on your expectations, it can be quite annoying.
There is another way around this, and that is called Turning Between Centers - TBC. There are several versions of this. Basically after getting the blank to close to size, the finish size is turned without using the bushings, and it is finished without using the bushings.
Measure the nib/nose cone end at the point where the wood fits next to it. If it has a center band, measure that. And then measure the cap/clip end where the wood meets the cap. Write these measurements down. Turn to close to size and then sand with fine sandpaper 400 - 800 or so. Stop and measure along the way to until you reach the target size.
Warning: Turning the blank to the size of the bushings does two things:
1. each time the chisel touches the bushing, it takes a miniscule amount of the bushing off and after 20 or 30 pens, the bushing is smaller where it fits next to the blank. Same thing happens when sanding. Eventually the bushing is smaller at the meeting point of the next new blank. But if you use calipers to measure the blank, the size of the blank will always be the same size.
2. Sanding the blank and letting the sandpaper touch the bushings will cause gray/grey/black sanding dust to be deposited on the blank, and depending on your expectations, it can be quite annoying.
There is another way around this, and that is called Turning Between Centers - TBC. There are several versions of this. Basically after getting the blank to close to size, the finish size is turned without using the bushings, and it is finished without using the bushings.
i bought 75 over a year ago from Ed.. the guys and gals love them. i sell the antique silver and antique brass (or bronze?).