New Pen Turner Question

[Stoner]

I am new to pen turning and had a few questions before I place my first order for a few pen kits. What are trimming sleeves? I notice in the Penn State catalog that there were trimming sleeves on some of their pen kits and not others. Do trimming sleeves normally come with the pen kit? I know you have to buy the bushing for each pen kit but did not know if you had to purchase trimming sleeves as well. Another question, if you are using a mandrel that is 7mm in diameter and you are turning a pen with a 10mm tube is there a tube or bushing to take up that space so the tube is centered on mandrel? Thanks.

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

Welcome to the site!   First, I can't answer the first part of your question, but I know one of these guys will be along to help you out.

The second part though I might have a clue on.  I know there are 10mm mandrals out there because I have a couple of them.  I think these might be for the pens with the 10mm tubes, but hey, you might be able to get a busing I dont know.  Again, one of our resident expert pen turners will be along to help in no time at all

AL @ THO

[nebo]

Welcome, and you have come to the right place.

Hammer I think someone is calling your name!!!!!!!!1 ;D ;D ;D


Neel

[justannie]

First of all, Hammer is the resident pen expert ;)

But my two cents....

If I got it right, the trimming sleeves are the piece that fits into the tube when using the barrel trimmer. It's to square off you ends evenly. I hadn't seen the sleeve come with a pen kit, but anything is possible (though I doubt it). You're best off buying a barrel trimmer that comes with a set. Though the sleeves might not fit optimally, you can make your own sleeve.

The mandrel being 7mm is standard (one company makes a "A" & "B" mandrel, one is 7mm, the other I'm not sure of). The bushings you purchase for each pen type will compensate for the tube size difference.

Now Hammer can straighten out my answers lol

[Braz]

And one other cost saving tip. If you go to woodturningz http://www.woodturningz.com/Pen_Kits.aspx you can order the same items that are in the PSI catalog for less money. Just send them an e-mail, tell them what you are interested in, using the PSI catalog number, and they will quote you a price. Great folks. You can also get stuff from them out of the Hut catalog too.

[HaMeR]

Hi Stoner. Welcome to the Forum.

A barrel trimmer is used to square the blanks to the tubes like JustAnnie said. The basic trimmer comes with a 7mm shaft. Pen kits use tubes from 7mm up to 9/16". This would mean the basic trimmer won't square the ends due to the sloppy fit. So you buy a 10mm trimming sleeve to slide over the 7mm shaft then slide the blank with the 10mm tube over the sleeve to trim your ends squarely. Trimming sleeves are an extra.

The bushing kit you mentioned will have a 7mm hole to fit your mandrel. One end will be 10mm to fit inside your blank. The outside diameter will match the diameter of the trim piece. That is how the difference is made up. Some kits have 3 bushings & have to be used in order. Then the pieces need to be kept in the correct order so your trim pieces match the final turning/sanding diameter.

I've found it best to buy the bushing kit for the pen kit you are turning. I keep them in the bags they came in so they don't get all mixed up. Guessing will slow you down & more importantly give you erratic results which lead to frustrations.

I HTH you some & feel free to ask anything. I will help where I can.  ;D

Thanks for the kind words folks. Like I've said before,, your work inspires me to turn out as nice a pen as I possibly can. Then I try to improve on that. Thanks for keeping me on my toes.  ;D

Edited to add the following links.

I use this mandrel & find it to be exactly what I need for what I'm doing.
http://www.pennstateind.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Search=PKM-FLC&Store_Code=PSI&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PKM-FLC

I've been using the basic trimmer kit. I am going to upgrade to this kit soon tho. If the money isn't tight I would recommend starting with this one. If it is then I recommend the basic trimmer & squaring the ends on a disc sander or good square table saw if available.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKTRIMKIT.html

[HaMeR]

Here is an example of keeping your turned pieces in the appropriate order when they come off the lathe. There are 3 different sizes to turn down to.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKTYBU-6.html

Scroll to the bottom of this page & look at the bushings the way they are laid out. You'll see there isn't much difference but it shows up real bad when assembled wrong. I know this to be a fact.  ;D

http://www.pennstateind.com/library/PKTYXX_INS.PDF

These bushings make this kit.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/tycoon-pen-kits.html

HTH

[Braz]

HaMeR, I used the same mandrel and the kit that you said you want to get. However, I am now using just the mandrel rod and putting it in my collet chuck that I got from PSI (via Woodturningz).

[HaMeR]

Here's a nice link on pen turning too. Not sure where it came from but I think AL sent it to me.  ;D

http://www.woodturner-russ.com/Pen10.html

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

Yeah, that is a good link.  He does amazing stuff.

Here is another one I dont know if you have but he to is an amazing turner

http://yoyospin.com/

AL @ THO

[Stoner]

Hammer, and the other board members I appreciate your help and insight. These type of forums are great places to learn from the experts. Thanks again and I will be back to post a few pen pictures.

[nebo]

Did anyone mention we love pics?????? ;D



Neel

[Braz]

Yea Stoner, we are looking forward to the pics.  ;D

[HaMeR]

Hi Braz. Is it safe to say you use the rod in the collet chuck so you can switch things up easier?? Or have you found something else that is more to your liking or more advantageous in the way you turn??

Thanks Al!! I'll look at that site but I think I may have seen it before.

You're welcome Stoner!! And I strongly advise you to heed the wise sage advice of one Mr. Nebo.  ;D ;D

[Braz]

I just have gotten into the habit of using the collet when I can. I use the pen mandrel for some of my call turning and I use it on the collet also. That way the collet is already mounted and all I have to do is change inserts. The MT pen mandrel that you show works just the same way, but it needs tools to loosen and tighen. The collet chuck can be done by hand. Much faster. Not right or wrong, just my way of doing it.