What centers for turning pen blanks round

[Jared Walters]

Great thank you. Another thing... I hadn't checked the thread in a few days and I purchased a 60 degree live center from woodcraft this weekend following the advice of an earlier poster. I see now that he may have mistakenly thought I was talking about turning a pen without a mandrel. Do you think this live center will be sufficient or should I return it and get something else. I haven't used it yet, but it looks massive.

[Paul Bylin]

I guess everyone has they're own way of doing things, so I thought I would add mine. By the way, I'm self taught, so I could be wrong. To me, it doesn't really matter if the pen blank is perfectly square. I find the approximate center, drill it out on the drill press. Then glue the tubes in. Place the un-square blanks on the mandril and turn them...Ive only made about 50 pens, but so far haven't had a problem doing it this way.

[Jared Walters]

I may have not been clear enough in my original post. I turn on a mandrel, and have no problem with that part. The issue I have related to drilling the blank. I don't have a drill press so I have to drill on my lathe. I have jaws to hold the blank in my headstock while I use a parabolic bit in the tailstock to drill the hole. It squeals LOUDLY, often so loud I have to stop or else I could very easily get noise complaints. The reason is almost certainly because the blank is poorly centered due to being badly out of square. I don't have a table saw to square them.

Noting all this, I want to turn the blanks round between centers, then mount them in the chuck to drill since they will be far better centered and drill smoothly. I just have the big spur center and live center that came with my cheap lathe, I need recommendations for small centers that will work well for turning a blank round before drilling.

[Lee Reep]

Jared,

I turn lots of spindles -- pens, peppermills, tool handles, pizza cutter handles, etc. A small diameter Stebcenter at headstock, and a live center, is the simplest way I've found to easily turn irregular blanks round. I have the Nova pen drilling jaws, and as long as your stock is square or rectangular in cross section, you can immediately chuck it in the pen drilling jaws for drilling your bore for the brass tubes.

Turning pen blanks can be done on a mandrel, and you have the added benefit of turning both top and bottom blanks at one time, since the mandrel is long enough to have two blanks and multiple bushings (3 or 4). The more accurate way to turn one blank is between centers (BTC). You use a dead center in the headstock, and a live center in the tailstock. You can use bushings usually, since most have a 60 degree recess at one end, and the other end fits into the brass tube. If you do not have bushings, you can hold the blank on the brass tubes directly between the dead and live centers. Just do not overtighten or you will flare the ends of the brass tube. Without bushings, just use a digital caliper to get the diameters correct.

Lots of options on making pens. I sometimes use a mandrel, and sometimes I turn BTC.

Also, a live center is the most used lathe accessory I own. It is a must-have item for turning. Check out some YouTube videos. I like Eddie Castelin's (Capn Eddie, also Capt.Eddie). He provides a lot of entertainment while showing some really practical turning advice. I have mostly watched him for non-pen turning videos, but there are a lot of great how-to videos on YouTube on everything lathe-related.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Oh, drilling the blank..... Mount the pen blank in your chuck, and use your gouge to round off the end at the tailstock. You can also square off the blank end too. Reverse the blank and round off the rest. Then you can drill. If you have that fancy long pen blank drilling jaws, I would think putting the blank half way in would have enough grab to safely turn the other end round. Good luck.

[Stan Calow]

Jared google up "pen drilling chuck". I think this is what you need. It holds a piece on two corners, and centers it very easily for drilling with a drill chuck in the tail. No marking the centers needed. I'm no expert, but I just drilled 100 pieces like this, one after the other, and would have quit if I had not got this pen drilling chuck. I think it was about $80 but worth it for me.

[Dan Hintz]

I don't even worry about a special chuck... just slide it between the edges of my pin jaws. Centers just as well as a specialty chuck, and costs nothing if you already have them.

[Peter Fabricius]

Hi Jared,
Re: your new live centre you say it is large??? You will find most live centres to have a Morse Taper #2 and a set of bearings in a housing and a turning (live) portion that is about 3/4" in diameter and with the 60 degree point.
This is one of the most used and needed tools for your lathe as has been said.
If you have one with a 3/4" x 10tpi threaded end then the versatility is even better, Oneway tools, Powermatic and Jet all have this live end and can be very useful for holding all types of lathe work using Soft Noses that screw onto the live end.....
A Mandrel Saver is also a great way to hold the pen blanks on your mandrel without bending the mandrel from too much tailstock pressure.
Making your own tapered Corian bushings is a great way to hold your blanks on the mandrel without having to worry about CA glue sticking the blanks to the mandrel!

This is a lot of info so, just go slow study the options and pick the best ones for your use.
Peter F.