Troy
I am not sure how fast to turn a pen but I would generally have the lathe at
2500 rpm or so. For some woods I use 3500. Actually you should slow the
lathe to sand, but I usually do pens in batches so I like to use minimal
tooling and leave the lathe at one speed for turn through finish.

______
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS, Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com
"Troy" wrote in message
...
Darrell Feltmate wrote:
Troy
Another word for finishing IS confusion :-) I like to use a 50/50 mix of
vegetable and mineral oils on a pen, buffing at high speed as the pen is
still on the lathe, followed a couple coats of turner's polish such as
Hut's
or my home made version of 2 parts 1 lb cut shellac and 1 part pure tung
oil. Incidentally, the polish of 1 part shellac, 1 part alcohol, and 1
part
boiled linseed oil works the same except the color is a little
different. I
think most shellacs on the shelf are two pound cut so adding the alcohol
just gives a one pound cut, I think. Any correction is welcome. This
shellac
business has always confused me. I just mix it so the stuff works.O,
polish
and dry it on the lathe.
______
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS, Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com
"Karl B" wrote in message
7.136...


You may have hit on something Darrel. I haven't changed the belt
position of my 1014VS since I got it. Perhaps I'm not turning it fast
enough because it feels "tacky" for quite a while after I get "done".
I've read that you want the shellawax to just start to smoke if you can.
I've not been getting it anywhere near that hot.

God Bless to you Too
Troy