Thread: Next step pen turning

If you have turned a Slimline then you must have the basics. The only other things you will need for other styles are the drill bits for the various size tubes. The adjustable mandrel is a good thing but not essential as you can use spacers to take up the extra length. Being able to adjust the mandrel shorter makes turning a bit more stable due to the shorter length. Having said that, a mandrel saver will negate the need for spacers. I recently brought a mandrel saver and it works very well. Some have complained about a noisy bearing, but mine is as smooth as silk. Some people have also been concerned about the pressure they would apply to the headstock bearings, but the mandrel saver bearing would fail well before any damage to the headstock due to its small size. There is no need to apply anything more than light pressure with the tailstock. Keep the revs up and the size of cut down and the blank won't slip on the mandrel.

What Treecycle said.

Thanks guys for your feedback. Guess the question is whether I get the adjustable mandrel or the mandrel saver, at this stage I'm leaning toward the adjustable mandrel as there seems to be less negative feedback about that. Mandrel saver sounds a bit more hit and miss with the bearing likely to cause trouble down the track.

Ditto also to what Treecycle says. I haven't had the pen turning experience of the majority of those on here but I was having problems getting nice 'round' pens, mine were nicely oval! that is, until I bought a Mandrel saver from Jim Carroll. It works a treat and I haven't had any problems at all with it and the pens now look like they are supposed to.

Originally Posted by Tiger

Thanks guys for your feedback. Guess the question is whether I get the adjustable mandrel or the mandrel saver, at this stage I'm leaning toward the adjustable mandrel as there seems to be less negative feedback about that. Mandrel saver sounds a bit more hit and miss with the bearing likely to cause trouble down the track.

Tiger do yourself a big favour and get both The main advantage with the mandrel saver is you don't need the brass nut to hold the bushes and blanks tight, the difference in time saved is quite dramatic in changeover ,especially if you start on the CA finishes ,which for the most part it's beneficial to have different bushes than your turning ones, delryn or old breadboard material is ideal for these to help prevent sticking. Also if you don't have proper live centres for engineering (60 degree angles ) you will damage the very small centre in your mandrel shaft ,most wood turning centres are not 60 degrees and lucky if they run true enough for the fine work needed on pens. Also the mandrel savers support the shaft for about 1/2 to 3/4 " which helps prevent any flexing of the shaft , needs a bit tighter to start with roughing ,then ease off the pressure for finishing ,all helps with accuracy . And when you get really into it you can change blanks and bushes without stopping the lathe hehe . Cheers ~ John

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

..... . And when you get really into it you can change blanks and bushes without stopping the lathe hehe . Cheers ~ John

Now that's just being lazy.

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

Tiger do yourself a big favour and get both The main advantage with the mandrel saver is you don't need the brass nut to hold the bushes and blanks tight, the difference in time saved is quite dramatic in changeover ,especially if you start on the CA finishes ,which for the most part it's beneficial to have different bushes than your turning ones, delryn or old breadboard material is ideal for these to help prevent sticking. Also if you don't have proper live centres for engineering (60 degree angles ) you will damage the very small centre in your mandrel shaft ,most wood turning centres are not 60 degrees and lucky if they run true enough for the fine work needed on pens. Also the mandrel savers support the shaft for about 1/2 to 3/4 " which helps prevent any flexing of the shaft , needs a bit tighter to start with roughing ,then ease off the pressure for finishing ,all helps with accuracy . And when you get really into it you can change blanks and bushes without stopping the lathe hehe . Cheers ~ John

Thanks John, so I can see why you'd need the mandrel saver but is there much benefit to getting the adjustable mandrel as well?

A few reasons I have found hehe, for one the shafts do wear out on mandrels or get bent slightly and need replacing ,you can replace the shafts on the adjustable ones very easily and you can use plain ones, no thread , also sometimes the bushes are not a perfect sliding fit on your shaft as they are sometimes not too accurate ,and they wear also,so a 1/4" shaft can be used to replace them , the standard shaft is actually an odd size, a few thousandths of an inch under 1/4 " even using a mandrel saver it is sometimes beneficial to have the shaft with less out of the mandrel ,only whats needed to fit bushes and blank and about an inch in the mandrel saver ,this can add rigidity to the process , Another undocumented use is for closed end blanks ,with an appropriate bush for your tube and mandrel you can have a reasonable support for turning ,especially as you can use the mandrel saver to apply pressure for turning until you get to the final bit at the end ,this assumes you have the means to make your own bushes of course , so there are a few reasons I choose to use both methods ,and I am a retired fitter and turner with a couple of metal lathes to make stuff I can't by readily get hold of .Cheers ~ John

Thanks John for the detailed response, probably start with the adjustable mandrel and then get the mandrel saver although that noisy bearing will drive me mad, interestingly not everyone has had that problem so perhaps it could be a case of where they are bought from.....

If you are able to go to the shop and get the mandrel saver yourself, you can take it out of the packaging and spin the bearing and listen for any noise. Also push on the mandrel support bit while rotating it quickly back and forth by hand and you will feel any roughness in the bearing.
Maybe one day someone will bring out a new version which will have an angular contact bearing instead of the standard deep groove type.
If someone has a bearing fail, they would be better off to fit a new angular contact bearing, as the charts indicate the sizes of both types are the same, and they are better designed to take the axial load.