Thread: Lathe speed for tuning wood pens

I turn pens at max speed on what ever lathe (Stubby 1000 or Woodfast 305), with a 12mm P&N skew. Normally start the polishing at Abranet #400.

When I had my Woodfast M910, the tacho said max was 3900rpm.

I have a midi bench sized, variable speed, lathes with the DC motor and 3 step pulley (Asian made cheapy) and an old Nova 3000 with the 8 step pulley that I inherited later. I didn't like stopping to change the pulley on the midi so I left it at the middle setting that peaks out at around 1800RPM. I am quite happy and comfortable turning pens, both wood and plastics, in the 1,200 to 1,800 RPM range on both lathes. I sand at the lower speed.

I suggest you get some scraps of hardwood (just sticks, no tubes) and mount them in the lathe between the centres that come with it. Play with the speeds and tools to see what you are happy with. The added benefit by doing this is you will learn better tool control and catches et cetera won't be with expensive blanks.

Pete

Thanks guys, I’ll give it a go with experimenting but you have given me a starting point, great.

when you get started on the journey of pen making i would suggest trying U Beauts triple EEE for a finish, I have used it almost exclusively for pens and found it to be hardy.

Originally Posted by mature one

when you get started on the journey of pen making i would suggest trying U Beauts triple EEE for a finish, I have used it almost exclusively for pens and found it to be hardy.

Thanks for the plug mature one... however, I have to tell you that EEE is not a finish it is the last bit of abrasive, and yes it does give a great mirror shine if used correctly but it should be finished with one of the friction polishes, Shellawax, Aussie Oil or Shellawax Glow over the to or it will not stand up to constant handling and use. It will dull off and may mark up and if it's on something like rosewood it could easily stain a white shirt pocket pink if the owner was sweating a lot.

The friction polished will need 3 applications as per their info sheets. It will only take a few seconds to do the 3 applications but once done the pen will have a good surface coating that will stand up to all sorts of handling and use.

You could also use Shellawax Cream but it is better kept for bowls and larger turned items.

My preference would be for Aussie Oil, Glow (if you have some) or Shellawax (the glow is only available in 500ml bottles)

Below are links to the info sheets for:
EEE-Ultra Shine
Shellawax and Glow
Aussie Oil
Shellawax Cream

Cheers - Neil

Originally Posted by Superbunny

I’ve been turning wood pens for awhile on my friends lathe but it’s time to get my own lathe. Any idea what speed I should set it up for please, my friend has no idea what speed his is. Thanks

I run at 1440rpm belt setting on NOVA 3000 for almost everything. However I do have a 240v converted 3 phase inverter motor running the lathe that allows for speed adjustment from around 10rpm at full torque, to very scary rpm on flat out.

Some lathes and poor technique will give chatter on pens at high speed so running at around 1440 will allow for clean, fast turning with a lot less chance of chatter.

Cheers - Neil

I've got all of the above but found that EEE holds a good finish for ages and I have made lots of pens in the past.

Originally Posted by mature one

when you get started on the journey of pen making i would suggest trying U Beauts triple EEE for a finish, I have used it almost exclusively for pens and found it to be hardy.

Thanks again, I have quite a few pens under my belt now, I made over 100 last year alone. I use the eee and shellawax system with great results and highly recommended it.