# pen mandrel



## Patrude (Jul 27, 2012)

Sorry if I am in the wrong location here, anyone have suggestion for the best mandrel; is the mandrel saver made in Connecticuit getting any reviews. thanks, :redface:


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## Monty (Jul 27, 2012)

The best mandrel, IMO, is none. Just turn between centers.


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## jd99 (Jul 27, 2012)

+1 on turning between centers, save what you would spend on a madrel, and buy TBC (Turn Between Center) bushings, and kits.


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## stonyloam (Jul 28, 2012)

Patrude said:


> is the mandrel saver made in Connecticuit getting any reviews. thanks, :redface:



Being as I am very new to pen turning, I got the PSI mandrel saver package and it has worked very well for me so far,  like it very much.  Turning between centers may very well be superior, but for a beginner I think the mandrel is just fine.  Not that I know what I am talking about.:wink:


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## edstreet (Jul 28, 2012)

Live center / Dead center. Little machine shop has both, good price to.  you will need a mandrel for some kits but not all.


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## ldubia (Jul 28, 2012)

jd99 said:


> +1 on turning between centers, save what you would spend on a madrel, and buy TBC (Turn Between Center) bushings, and kits.


Where does one find TBC bushings?


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## Xander (Jul 28, 2012)

ldubia said:


> jd99 said:
> 
> 
> > +1 on turning between centers, save what you would spend on a madrel, and buy TBC (Turn Between Center) bushings, and kits.
> ...


 
From a member here, Penturners Products...

http://penturnersproducts.com


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## nava1uni (Jul 28, 2012)

He makes nice bushings.  Good products, good price.


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## reiddog1 (Jul 28, 2012)

I use the adjustable mandrel from woodturningz and the mandrel saver.  Works pretty well for me.  Hope this helps.

Dave


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## frank123 (Jul 28, 2012)

I'm relatively new to pen making and bought several (3) different mandrels at first in the quest for the perfect mandrel.

I finally bought a dead center for the headstock (had a live center that came with the lathe for the tailstock) and tried TBC.

I concluded that the perfect mandrel isn't a mandrel at all but centers.  It's really easy to do turning between centers and the learning curve for using centers is about one pen.

A dead center on Ebay is only a few bucks and a live center if you don't have one costs less than most mandrels.  If you have a machine supply house in your area you can pick the up locally and save that shipping and handling stuff.

(a cheap dial caliper helps in making sure what size you're at while turning, but you can work around it and do without if you want)


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## leehljp (Jul 28, 2012)

ldubia said:


> jd99 said:
> 
> 
> > +1 on turning between centers, save what you would spend on a madrel, and buy TBC (Turn Between Center) bushings, and kits.
> ...



I recommend Johnny's TBC bushings because they are turned to precision. 

However, ordinary bushings for mandrels will work ok with TBC. The only problem with ordinary mandrel bushings, in my experience, is that about 1 in 3 has a little runout/off center holes and 1 in 7 - 10 will have enough off center drilling to be noticeable to a good eye. For most pen bushings, after my first year of pen making, I ALWAYS bought 2 sets at a time to make sure I had one good set. Keep a good set of calipers around and check the bushings! Another problem down the road, and especially after having a set of John's is that the commercial bushings are so loose and sloppy in the tubes. Most people will not notice this until they try a set of John's bushings. Some commercial bushings have enough slop in the tube to cause some runout problems. Bushings should fit snug with no slop in the tubes. John's does, most commercial ones don't.


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## SecretGman (Jul 29, 2012)

This mandrel from AS is rock solid IMHO, been very happy with it.

Adjustable Pen Mandrel-2MT-A [AdjMan2MTA] - $27.75 : Arizona Silhouette inc. - Suppliers of Eye Candy, Proudly Offering Exceptional Products and Resources for the Wood Turner


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## LagniappeRob (Jul 29, 2012)

What about the "converters" from PEnturner's products?  .540 X 7mm bushing, PAIR [7mm adapter, .540] - $15.00 : Penturners Products! 
The Scot in me would have a hard time throwing away the multitude of bushings I've already accumulated.

The other one I was thinking about moving to was "The Better Mandrel" someone on here once talked about - The Better Mandrel Saver
I like the idea of moving away from the MT2 taper to threads.

EDIT - oh, and why the 2 sizes of the converters (0.515 & 0.540) does it depend on your centers?


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## Monty (Jul 29, 2012)

leehljp said:


> ....However, ordinary bushings for mandrels will work ok with TBC. The _only problem with ordinary mandrel bushings, in my experience, is that about 1 in 3 has a little runout/off center holes and 1 in 7 - 10 will have enough off center drilling to be noticeable to a good eye. _For most pen bushings, after my first year of pen making, I ALWAYS bought 2 sets at a time to make sure I had one good set. Keep a good set of calipers around and check the bushings! _Another problem down the road, and especially after having a set of John's is that the commercial bushings are so loose and sloppy in the tubes_. Most people will not notice this until they try a set of John's bushings. Some commercial bushings have enough slop in the tube to cause some runout problems. _Bushings should fit snug with no slop in the tubes_. John's does, most commercial ones don't.





LagniappeRob said:


> ....
> The Scot in me would have a hard time throwing away the multitude of bushings I've already accumulated....


See the above quote in red.


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## Navygirl (Aug 15, 2012)

I need help, I am currently using a Mandrel A and I am enjoying making the pens that are made on this mandrel, I purchased a Mandrel B and a couple of pen kits for that particular type of mandrel but I have been unable to figure out how to get the mandrel b on the lathe :-(

My lathe is a W1704 SHOP FOX LATHE CT–LATHE–1
The mandrel "A" is a #1 Morse Taper
and the Mandrel "B" is an adjustable MT2..
Is the mandrel incompatible with the lathe that I have? 
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.


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## frank123 (Aug 15, 2012)

Navygirl said:


> I need help, I am currently using a Mandrel A and I am enjoying making the pens that are made on this mandrel, I purchased a Mandrel B and a couple of pen kits for that particular type of mandrel but I have been unable to figure out how to get the mandrel b on the lathe :-(
> 
> My lathe is a W1704 SHOP FOX LATHE CT–LATHE–1
> The mandrel "A" is a #1 Morse Taper
> ...



The mandrel male taper has to match the female taper cut in your lathe spindle and tail stock quill. (Morse Taper, MT1, 2, 3 etc.)

They're not interchangeable as they are based on different diameters (an MT2 is too large to fit in an MT1 and an MT1 is too small to fit in an MT2).  If they don't fit it should be obvious the same way the wrong size bolt won't fit in a different diameter bolt hole (threads being ignored for illustration purposes).

Tapers work by sort of wedging themselves into a very exact and precise fit into a hole of exactly the same dimensions.  They can be extremely accurate and repeatable if they are properly made.

I think this is what you are talking about.


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## raar25 (Aug 15, 2012)

Ok I know I will catch flack for this but I think the mandrel gets a bad rapp.  I have been using a mandrel for about 200 pens now and it works fine (no complaints from any customers) . Any time my nibs and flanges don't line up correctly it is because I oversanded.  I will say that I went through a few mandrels before I decided to make my own.  I ordered .250 x 36" drill rod cut it in two and ground .003 off of the O.D.  My bushings and mandrel saver fit tight and using a mandrel save keeps me from bending the rod.    Best of all I can fit two pens on the lathe at one time and improve my output.  This really makes a difference when putting CA on the pen so I have less wait time. I get no more then .002 TIR on the bushing OD (until I hit it with a tool once or twice).  So after sanding a few dozen pens and hundreds of taps with a turning tool the TBC bushings are pretty expensive to throw out.

So for this pen maker its thumbs up to using a mandrel with a mandrel saver.  

Yes if I ever start making $1000 pens I will TBC and do pen halves one at a time, but for now the mandrel is the ticket.

That being said I agree with the comment make sure you check the dimensions of your bushings before hand, this I learned the hard way.

So its time for all you closet mandrel users to step up and say let the mandrel live! Sorry I couldn't resist.


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## its_virgil (Aug 15, 2012)

I make my own by purchasing letter D size drill rod, cut it to the length I need and thread the end for the brass nut. If you use the mandrel saver from PSI or elsewhere then the threads are not needed. I also hold the mandrel with my collet chuck so no threads are needed on the head stock end. A center drill can be used to put the 60 degree dimple in the end if a live center is used. Several mandrels from a piece of drill rod (usually comes in 36 or 48 inch lengths) for the price of just one mandrel.

Do a good turn daily!
Don


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