Which mandrel for turning pens

Re: Which mandrel for turning pens

Fred L. - North Carolina

>I am using the ones from Woodcraft. The shaft is rigid, and the nut very good. For $10 including the Morse taper it is a good buy. Besides, they carry replacement shafts for only $3. It comes with 3 spacer bushings, and a gizmo to take up space when turning shorties.

In my opinion they are better than the PennState ones.

Fred

Re: Which mandrel for turning pens

Larry G.

>The mandrel with the drill driver from Berea Hardwoods is a very high quality mandrel. It is more expensive than some of the others, but in my opinion is worth it

Larry

Hand Turned Pens at http://pws.chartermi.net/~lgottlieb2/

Re: Which mandrel for turning pens

Scott Greaves, Blackfoot Idaho

>Hi Mike,I think the best mandrel on the market is the Berea mandrel using the drill driver. That's what I use. I have heard that the Woodcraft Pro Mandrel is also excellent.

One other little gadget that makes life easier for the penturner is a pen mill. You don't have to have a pen mill, but it does what it is supposed to do, which is to square the ends of the blank to the brass tube. I have been using the one from Penn State that has the different shafts, but one of the highest quality ones on the market is from Craft Supplies.

I hope this helps!

Scott.

2 different sizes from Berea

Joe Pack, New London, OH

>I agree with the quality of Berea's mandrels. Be aware, though, that they have 2 different sizes - A (7mm, like most others) and B. If you buy your kits from other sources, their bushings will likely all fit the 7mm mandrel regardless of the kit you are using. If, however, you use Berea's kits, some use the larger B bushings which require the B mandrel.

As it was explained to me by the folks at Berea, some of their larger pens require larger tubes. With the larger tubes, the use of a thicker, supposedly stronger, mandrel is possible. The result is less flex under pressure.

If you go with Berea's mandrels, or even another source, I strongly suggest getting the morse taper adapters instead of using a chuck. And, if you do go with Berea, remember that their A and B mandrels use different morse taper adapters...one size does NOT fit all.

Re: Which mandrel for turning pens

Ron Parsons SE NM

>Call Berea Hardwoods. The boss will set you up with the works. If you buy 10 pen kits he will discout the bushing set and mandrel.

Ask for Larry at Berea.

Joe Pack, New London, OH

>Jim, the owner, is a great guy, but will give you more information than you need right now.

The guy you need to talk with is Larry. He can answer any question you have, and will anticipate rough spots that you won't know to ask about. Ask him about their introductory kits. And, for a nice, easy large pen, check out their Perfect Fit Convertible (makes a pen or pencil by changing the refill). In my opinion, this is one of the nicest, easiest to make pens they sell. It is far and away my best seller at craft shows.

Make sure you tell Larry to fix you up with everything you need, whatever kit you decide on. Their parabolic drill bits are a bit pricey, but they are far superior to the brad points or other bits I have tried. You won't be sorry.