# Kitless Mandrells (attempt #2)



## Timebandit (May 26, 2011)

Hopefully all can see this today.

Ok guys, here we go. Since all of this kitless(dare i call it that)  stuff is going on, i thought i would share a couple of mandrels that i  made to help with my new kitless pens. Now there are a lot of different  ways to turn these kind of pens, Texdurango has shown the most basic  form of this, but this method means that you for one have to leave at  least one portion of your pen perfectly strait so you cant make a nice  curvacious pen at the center with this method, two that you have to have  the right size collet for the pen you are making unless you stick to a  standard size that you buy with your collet chuck(like 5/8,3/4) and  three that you have to make certain that you re-chuck your blank  properly when you reverse the blank and if your blank isnt perfectly  round then this could cause some problems.

You can also make pin chucks and other mandrels and things,which i did  at first,but didnt work as well. I was making and expansion mandrel like  you buy at Arizona Sillohette,but with a piece of rubber hose on the  end that expands to grab the inside of the blank(got the idea from  someone on IAP)but that didnt seem to run true either. 

So i came up with these mandrels that i think are fairly accurate(will  be more accurate latter when i get better at making them) and would like  to share them with everyone since there has been a lot of talk about  how to make a kitless pen. Now everyone can make these,but it will just  take you a little longer without a metal late. But if you know a friend  with a metal lathe or a machine shop close,you could have these made.  They are made from 330 brass and are machined to fit the inside diameter  of the body or cap and have matching threads that the blank threads  onto to make sure that it runs true. I also made delrin bushings that  are threaded to go on so when they get beat up i can just make a new  bushing. Now my metal lathe is not accurate so i just used it to remove  heavy material and they got these to size with a file. If all you have  is a wood lathe this can be done with some heavy files or rasps. These  are what i used to make the two kitless pens that i have shown lately.

I hope this helps a few of you. 

Now go have some fun.

Justin


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## witz1976 (May 26, 2011)

That is actually pretty neat.  I am going to assume that you would use these mandrels for finish work and not the full turning?  I would think the threads in some PR could et mangled otherwise...I could be wrong though.


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## Timebandit (May 26, 2011)

I used these for the full turning and finishing on both of the two pens i have posted lately. With the threads matching nice and tight and with tailstock support i havent had any problems yet(i have only done two pens with it so far)but will see how well it holds up. Seems to grip nice and tight and run as true as i could get it not being a machinist or having a quality metal lathe. With some precision machining i can see these running prefect.

Thanks for looking



witz1976 said:


> That is actually pretty neat.  I am going to assume that you would use these mandrels for finish work and not the full turning?  I would think the threads in some PR could et mangled otherwise...I could be wrong though.


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## cnirenberg (May 26, 2011)

Justin,
I like the idea.  I end up using the tap for the cap/barrell/nib as the chuck with a stop at the end so the piece doesn't turn.


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## Timebandit (May 26, 2011)

Interesting.?? How well does this work.??Does it run true?? Do the threads ever get cut a little deeper just by the rotation and force on the piece against the sharp tap threads??Any messed up threads??

Justin



cnirenberg said:


> Justin,
> I like the idea.  I end up using the tap for the cap/barrell/nib as the chuck with a stop at the end so the piece doesn't turn.


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## cnirenberg (May 26, 2011)

Justin,
It runs very true.  I use a drill stop (depth stop??) and tighten it at the end of the threads on the tap.  Here is where it gets a bit testy.  I end up threading the piece the entire length of the tap.  So far no problems, but I haven't tried it any other way.  I was wondering if the piece would continue to spin to the bottom of the hole and break.  I'm at that point with a piece I'm making now...





Timebandit said:


> Interesting.?? How well does this work.??Does it run true?? Do the threads ever get cut a little deeper just by the rotation and force on the piece against the sharp tap threads??Any messed up threads??
> 
> Justin
> 
> ...


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## Timebandit (May 26, 2011)

Thats what i was thinking,that you would have to have threaded the entire tap into the work piece. The main problem i see with this is if you do a more translucent material because you would see the threads go down the full length of the tap into the body after is has been turned. I am also worried about sharp cutting points being in the work piece as i am turning it. Momentum,rotation,vibration,all of these seem bad for sharp cutting edges and resins.



cnirenberg said:


> Justin,
> It runs very true.  I use a drill stop (depth stop??) and tighten it at the end of the threads on the tap.  Here is where it gets a bit testy.  I end up threading the piece the entire length of the tap.  So far no problems, but I haven't tried it any other way.  I was wondering if the piece would continue to spin to the bottom of the hole and break.  I'm at that point with a piece I'm making now...
> 
> 
> ...


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## soligen (May 26, 2011)

Those look a lot like mine :biggrin:.  Great minds think alike:biggrin:


I didnt use any files or rasps. I just used 1/2" aluminum stock and just turned a tennon then ran the die. Did it all on a wood lathe and They are amazingly accurate.  The most important thing is that teh sholder be square.


I also drilled and tapped a female mandrel to hold the section for turning after the threads are cut, and a second female one to hold a nose cone.


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## Timebandit (May 26, 2011)

soligen said:


> Those look a lot like mine :biggrin:.  Great minds think alike:biggrin:
> 
> 
> I didnt use any files or rasps. I just used 1/2" aluminum stock and just turned a tennon then ran the die. Did it all on a wood lathe and They are amazingly accurate.  The most important thing is that teh sholder be square.
> ...



Mind posting pics? I would love to see what you made:biggrin:


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## soligen (May 27, 2011)

Here ya go. I did the female mandrels on the back sides of the male mandrels.

I turn to shape with the tail stock, then I take the body off and chuck it directly int eh collet chuck to close the end, then re-mount it on the mandrel for final sanding and finishing.

I didnt worry about a bushing since it't kitless there is no hardware to match. I just turn it until I like the way it looks.


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## Timebandit (May 27, 2011)

soligen said:


> Here ya go. I did the female mandrels on the back sides of the male mandrels.
> 
> I turn to shape with the tail stock, then I take the body off and chuck it directly int eh collet chuck to close the end, then re-mount it on the mandrel for final sanding and finishing.
> 
> I didnt worry about a bushing since it't kitless there is no hardware to match. I just turn it until I like the way it looks.



Nice. So what are the female sides for? Front sections?

I wasnt using the bushings for sizing per say, more for when turning and sanding so that i didnt hit the mandrel and get brass dust in the blank. It was used as just a general size refference though. 

Thanks for posting. I like the double ended idea.


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## soligen (May 27, 2011)

One of the female is for holding the section, then other for a nosecone for a rollerball. I made sure the mandrel is narrower than the final barrel will be, so I dont hit metal when sanding


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