Lots of opinions that I'm sure you'll get so it may not make it easier that
you asked these questions. We all have different levels of experience and
just plain work differently so the reponses you get can (and probably will)
vary greatly. The more you get into it, the more you realize that you don't
need so much. If you have unlimited funds, just get everything you want and
don't worry about it. Otherwise, you can always add things as you go along,
if need be, and develop your own working style and needs.

With that said, I'll give you my unvarnished opinions, SPECIFICALLY related
to turning pens as you indicated you are doing this for and with MY working
style. I stopped counting around the 1200 pens/pencils mark. That was all
in the past 2 years. And for the pen makers that make their living from it
(which are quite few in fact), that's just a quick afternoon. g

JET 708351VS/JML-1014VS Variable Speed Mini Lathe, $299 (plus $25 off
at Amazon this month). I'm not sure if VS is that important, but I
thought I'd go for it rather than regretting not getting it later.


You don't need VS for pens especially. Is it nice to have, especially for
other large projects? Sure. Necessary for them? No. I turn pens start to
finish at one speed (usually in the 1800 or 2500 range depending on style
and materials used). If the price difference isn't much, then go for the VS
but realize that you'll eventually probably just stick it on one speed and
leave it there most of the time.


JET JML-S Adjustable Mini Lathe Stand, $119.99. I don't yet have a
good workbench, so this seems like it would work well.


It's alright. Nothing special. Fine for pen making a cardboard box will
do. g If you're very tall or very short you'll have to make allowances
for the fact that the standard sizing holes don't go that far. It won't
stand up to heavy out of balance pieces very well but then we're probably
not talking pen making at that point either. g


JET 709160 3-Piece Pen Turning Chisel Set, $79.99


Use a skew. 'Nuff said! No, really. Alright then. That's what *I*
use from start to finish on all of my pens/pencils. You could use just a
Sorby Spindlemaster or something similar too. Or just a spindle gouge. Or
just a small roughing gouge. If you want to make all of those beads and
coves and other things all over the place that really don't sell well (well,
maybe in the crafts shows they do alright), it's going to be tough to use
just a roughing gouge. The point is, you can do it with just one or two
tools and they don't have to be powdered metal super-crystaline
harder-than-diamond tools. This is just pen making. $80 isn't bad for a
good set of tools but are you really going to use all of them for just pen
making? I've had several students of mine just get the Harbor Freight $13
small turning set of 3 tools (looks like rejects from Sorby and are HSS by
the way) and have been making pens out of them just fine. They end up just
using one of the tools (either roughing gouge or skew) eventually for their
pens anyway.


Mandrel Set #2 MT, Penn State, $15.70


I do like the MT mandrels over the spindle threaded or chuck mounted ones.


EEE-Ultra Shine Paste Wax, Penn State, $14.35

Shellawax Cream, 300ml Jar, Penn State, $20.55


These are fine products. Overkill for me but others like them. The EEE
doesn't do much to tickle me in any way. In general, sand to a high grit
(~600 depending on material used) and maybe use a sanding sealer (usually
overkill again) before putting on a friction polish (usually shellac-based).
All kinds of finishes can be used but pen makers usually have their favorite
and stick to it. I use many of them depending on what and whom I am making
the pens for but the basic, general purpose friction polish is a good
starting point.



4 Grit Sandpaper set, Penn State, $19.95


Haven't used Penn State's (repackaged I assume) brand. It may be fine. I
use from 220 to ~600 grits and just a little at a time.... enough to cover
one of my fingers in width and about 3" long then doubled over. Cut these
ahead of time. For good general purpose sandpaper, the new 3M and Norton
papers that you can find in the common stores are fine. Use good sandpaper!


Plus wood blanks and pen kits. I figure I'll start with pre-drilled
blanks so as to save on the cost of a drill press. I have access to a
bandsaw if needed as well.


Hey, if you're getting into it this far .... G A drill press is a time
saver if you're going to be doing this very much. A simple workbench one is
fine. I still use my cheapy Grizzly one for boring holes, trimming blanks
and pressing fittings. It doesn't take many pre-drilled blanks to come up
to just buying a little drill press. Of course, you'll need a straight,
steady and safe way to hold your blanks to be drilled if you go this route.
I use just a tiny hand wood clamp with notches cut into it to hold the
blank. Quick and easy.

A bandsaw is useful but that's not absolutely needed either. Especially if
you're not making your own blanks. I make my own pen blanks but they are
usually long (3' sometimes). When I'm at the lathe and pen making bench, I
have a tiny chopsaw that I got at Harbor Freight to cut my blanks to length.
It has only a 3/4" (if that) cutting depth but I modified mine to cut a full
1" +.

You didn't mention drill bits, pen press (I use the drill press but you can
easily just use a hand clamp but you have to be careful as it's not very
precise), barrel trimmer (some use a disk sander), and glue. I use CA most
of the time but others use epoxy and polyurethane exclusively.

Just a few things for you to consider. g

- Andrew