William Noble wrote:
at the risk of being contrarian, it is actually scarier to go too slow with
a pen blank - i use 3,000 RPM on my Nova Comet (it's like the Jet Mini) but
1500 would be OK - just take it easy and take small cuts - in fact, you
could practice with 3/4 square stock to get the feel for turning if you
haven't made pens before - then when you get the feel, mount up your pen
blanks.

bill n



I agree ... as I mentioned, I use mine at full tilt boogie for the
turning. But until the OP has spent at least a few minutes making cuts,
it would be good if his first catch or two had only minor repercussions.

Once he's seen a few of those, the fear factor goes way down, the
respect factor gets dialed in and bolted down and the enjoyment factor
goes way up. That, at least, was my personal experience.

To the OP:
Gouge, chisel, skew and parting tool ... once you get comfortable with
the skew, IMHO, it's a whole new ball game. That said, practice using
and sharpening all of the tools because they each exist for time-honored
reasons.

Bill

--
There are two kinds of light--the glow that illuminates, and the glare
that obscures.
James Thurber


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