Thread: got the pen bug

Oh Gee that a bummer. Oh well maybe next week the mandrels will be back and you can start again
bye Toni

Take a run down to Currumbin Gary Pye will have one for sure and he's cheaper.

BEWARE THE PEN BUG >>>>you may never be the same again!!!!!


JD

Bob you have been bitten buy the pen bug
So let it be written,
So let it be said.
Good luck you will be drawn back there like a moth to a flame
Darren

Bob,
You can do it. Go ahead and walk towards the light lol. This is a good addiction.

Cheers,

Rick

Bob,

"you've got a lathe - you don't need to buy a mandrel and bushes!"

I started the same way, bought a 5 pack of bits, but they didn't have the matching tooling, so the packs sat in a drawer until I had the thought shown above!

See http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=43352 for my first mandrel.

I made my first set of bushes (still in use, 3 pens later ) from wood.

Don't think you have to spend $$$ on all the 'right stuff' before you can have fun!

Cheers,
Andrew

arose62 got it right, you can make your own mandrel.

Someone gave me a couple kits about 10 years ago and I found them and decided to give them a go. Made up a mandrel to fit the tubes and then turned down the wood using calipers to match up against one of the pens she made me from the same kit. Used my 7x12 metal lathe to do it and turned the pens on it too until I got the Jet Pen Lathe.

Since then I have rather lost my mind and another $200 about should have me set up to do it really easy, but I did rather well with nothing before I decided I wanted to take that plunge ).

Bit by the bug? ***ME****? Nah ;-)

vermac have it all for me to pick up tomorrow, so will probubly have a pen to show soon, yahoo! cant wait. bob

Bob if you are going through Vermec you are going to get some fine engineering when it comes to the stuff they sell. If you haven't got one yet look at their collet chuck that can grip the mandrel shaft, very much like a Beall collet chuck. They are well worth the investment.
Darren