WeldfabNeil Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Some of you may remember a while back I mentioned helping out a neighbor kid with woodworking. I love helping him out with what I can. Sadly my fine woodworking skills aren't the best. Welding/Metalworking is more my thing. Only wood lathe experience for me is messing messing around with my grandpas years ago. Lately YouTube videos as well. His grandmother bought him a small lathe for Christmas. The lathe itself is a Jet 1221vs. They also sold her a set of 3 replaceable tip turning tools an a nova brand chuck. Hopefully thats enough to get started. Any tips you guys have would help. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Take a class bro! I bought my Rikon Midi and never used one before. I got an Nova chuck and several easy wood tools and went to work and then my wife got me a class admission for a wood turning class. It really heedl boost my confidence! If you take one it'll he with yours and allow you a great foundation to help him out with. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Just take it nice and slow. Ease the tool into the wood and you will eventually get the hang of it. You may also want to where safety glass...those chips can come pretty fast back at your eyes. Use cheap wood and just start buy turing a square piece of wood into a cylinder. Practice, practice and more practice. You can also get a pen mandrel to start turing pens as well. If you have any questions let me know. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 I'd even one up that. I bought a face shield with a heavy gauge plastic shield. I've had bits come off at speed and never hit me in the face but having that shield made me "feel" a lot safer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Just now, ChrisK said: I'd even one up that. I bought a face shield with a heavy gauge plastic shield. I've had bits come off at speed and never hit me in the face but having that shield made me "feel" a lot safer. True, when I turn acrylic pens, and I just start to round out the blank, I feel like I am getting sand blasted. Also you may want to where a shop apron of some sorts, I always end up come inside with pockets full of sawdust. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 17 minutes ago, DaveJr. said: True, when I turn acrylic pens, and I just start to round out the blank, I feel like I am getting sand blasted. Also you may want to where a shop apron of some sorts, I always end up come inside with pockets full of sawdust. Hahaha ain't that the truth? I have the same issue with mine. I watched a guy on YouTube that built a really simple shower curtain rod around his lather are to keep the sawdust from intruding into the shop for easier cleanup. That wouldn't matter for personal hygiene, I walk away from the lathe and I look like I raped a tree. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Just now, ChrisK said: Hahaha ain't that the truth? I have the same issue with mine. I watched a guy on YouTube that built a really simple shower curtain rod around his lather are to keep the sawdust from intruding into the shop for easier cleanup. That wouldn't matter for personal hygiene, I walk away from the lathe and I look like I raped a tree. HAHA! I love it. I have pretty much given up on dust collection. Most of the tools I use are hand me downs that don't have dust collection on them. I just use my Dust Deputy to clean up the mess after. I will use it when I do a lot of sanding or when I am milling boards on my bandsaw but thats about it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryS Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Sounds like that's a really good start. Just take it slow and easy. Get to know the machine. Happy turning !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foneguy Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 39 minutes ago, DaveJr. said: HAHA! I love it. I have pretty much given up on dust collection. Most of the tools I use are hand me downs that don't have dust collection on them. I just use my Dust Deputy to clean up the mess after. I will use it when I do a lot of sanding or when I am milling boards on my bandsaw but thats about it. I do the same .... make the mess, dust deputy when it gets deep. Really not bad. When I sand on the lathe, I do run the shop vac right above it. i also keep a blow gun on my compressor by the garage door, blow off before I go in the house ...... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 2 hours ago, Foneguy said: I do the same .... make the mess, dust deputy when it gets deep. Really not bad. When I sand on the lathe, I do run the shop vac right above it. i also keep a blow gun on my compressor by the garage door, blow off before I go in the house ...... I'm actually thinking about getting the tickler lathe dust collector shield for mine. Might be a really worthwhile purchase! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeldfabNeil Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Thanks for the advice guys. Proper saftey is a must, I figured glasses for sure. Wasn't innitially thinking full face shield but on second thought not a bad idea. We both have face shields so that's not a issue. I know he wants to make pens an small bowls. Something about pepper/salt shakers as well. I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos and friction polish is mentioned. Any tips on finishing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeldfabNeil Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 On 12/14/2016 at 6:08 AM, ChrisK said: Take a class bro! I bought my Rikon Midi and never used one before. I got an Nova chuck and several easy wood tools and went to work and then my wife got me a class admission for a wood turning class. It really heedl boost my confidence! If you take one it'll he with yours and allow you a great foundation to help him out with. Thats what she got him. There easy wood tools with the replaceable tips. A rougher, finisher, an detailer. I Think there a little short but I don't really know exactly what I am talking about. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 2 minutes ago, Fletcher94 said: Thanks for the advice guys. Proper saftey is a must, I figured glasses for sure. Wasn't innitially thinking full face shield but on second thought not a bad idea. We both have face shields so that's not a issue. I know he wants to make pens an small bowls. Something about pepper/salt shakers as well. I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos and friction polish is mentioned. Any tips on finishing. I turn quite a few pens and I use a CA finish for all of them. Sanded to 12000 grit, they come out like glass! If you have any questions related to pen turning let me know. There are tons of great videos up on YT. One channel in particular I watch is RJB Woodturner. He really knows what he is taking about. I have learned a lot from him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Just now, Fletcher94 said: Thats what she got him. There easy wood tools with the replaceable tips. A rougher, finisher, an detailer. I Think there a little short but I don't really know exactly what I am talking about. A lot of the shorter tools are meant for delicate work like pens and small bowls and boxes. I use a Rockler 2" radius carbide cutter tool for all my pen turning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeldfabNeil Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Just now, DaveJr. said: I turn quite a few pens and I use a CA finish for all of them. Sanded to 12000 grit, they come out like glass! If you have any questions related to pen turning let me know. There are tons of great videos up on YT. One channel in particular I watch is RJB Woodturner. He really knows what he is taking about. I have learned a lot from him. Thank you I was quikly looking at woodcrafts pen selection online.I noticed there not cheap. I mean quality isn't cheap thoe. I know myself I mess up a lot of stuff when learning. I was thinking maybe buy cheaper ones an as we learn move onto the more expensive types. I am not trying to sound cheap, just don't wana throw money away. Pen state industries just came up in a google search for pen supplies. If you have recomendtions for other stores I would love to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Just now, Fletcher94 said: Thank you I was quikly looking at woodcrafts pen selection online.I noticed there not cheap. I mean quality isn't cheap thoe. I know myself I mess up a lot of stuff when learning. I was thinking maybe buy cheaper ones an as we learn move onto the more expensive types. I am not trying to sound cheap, just don't wana throw money away. Pen state industries just came up in a google search for pen supplies. If you have recomendtions for other stores I would love to hear. I only use PSI (penn state industries) and Woodturners catalog. https://www.pennstateind.com/ https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/ I would recommend starting with a "slimline" style pen. They are cheap in price and relatively nice quality. As your skills improve, you can start buying more expensive pen kits. Many of my customers like the custom pens but don't want to spend a lot for them. I make them pretty cheap in cost and sell them for $20. I found that PSI's slimlines are much nicer quality then others I have used. I would start with something like this. https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSLFUN99.html To start turning pens you will need a mandrel (depening on the lathe you will need a #1 or #2 morse taper) most lathes I think are #2 nowadays. #1 morse taper https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKMSMAN1.html #2 morse taper https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKMS2SET.html (this package comes with a madrel saver revolving center- highly recommend) Just get some blanks and start turning. I would suggest starting with wood first, not acrylic and as you improve you can move on to acrylics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Oh and you'll need sandpaper (150, 220,320,400 grit), micromesh wetsanding pads, CA pen finish and Medium CA glue. I think that would get you going pretty good. Any questions? That was a lot of stuff I just threw at you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foneguy Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 X2 ....penn state industries has GREAT customer service, always willing to answer any questions. Prices are good, selection is large. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 3 minutes ago, Foneguy said: X2 ....penn state industries has GREAT customer service, always willing to answer any questions. Prices are good, selection is large. Yea most of my orders have been coming from Penn state now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeldfabNeil Posted December 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 Thanks for all the help. I am sure I will have more questions to come. His grandma let him have it early. Today we had enough time to put together a new kobalt workbench an unbox the lathe. By time we even turned it on we had to call it a night. Next time we are gonna go online an order some pen stuff. His grandma ordered some wood that should be here soon. Hopefully we will start with that. Like anything we do progress will be slow. Whenever I can it's great to help him. Our schedules just don't match up all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeldfabNeil Posted December 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 I must add that I am getting pretty excited myself. I know it's not mine but it's great to be able to help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 21, 2016 Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 On 12/16/2016 at 8:10 PM, Fletcher94 said: Thats what she got him. There easy wood tools with the replaceable tips. A rougher, finisher, an detailer. I Think there a little short but I don't really know exactly what I am talking about. Make sure you stick with Easy Wood and not Rockler. The Easy wood tools feature a flat bar which gives you a register against the tool rest whereas the Rockler tools feature round stock and they don't register in the same fashion. The Rockler tools are decent but the Easywood Tools are just that....easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted December 21, 2016 Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 On 12/14/2016 at 7:34 AM, Fletcher94 said: Some of you may remember a while back I mentioned helping out a neighbor kid with woodworking. I love helping him out with what I can. Sadly my fine woodworking skills aren't the best. Welding/Metalworking is more my thing. Only wood lathe experience for me is messing messing around with my grandpas years ago. Lately YouTube videos as well. His grandmother bought him a small lathe for Christmas. The lathe itself is a Jet 1221vs. They also sold her a set of 3 replaceable tip turning tools an a nova brand chuck. Hopefully thats enough to get started. Any tips you guys have would help. And one more thing bro. Good for your for stepping in an helping this kid out. With my job I see a lot of kids that don't have a positive role model. Seriously, keep up the good work. Lathe work is a ball and scary as hell at the same time but it's fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted December 21, 2016 Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 9 minutes ago, ChrisK said: Make sure you stick with Easy Wood and not Rockler. The Easy wood tools feature a flat bar which gives you a register against the tool rest whereas the Rockler tools feature round stock and they don't register in the same fashion. The Rockler tools are decent but the Easywood Tools are just that....easy! I gotta say that I have never had an issue with my Rockler square radius carbide cutter. It works great for what I use it for!. Whatever questions you have, let us know. We'll be more then happy to help you and this kid on your journey! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeldfabNeil Posted December 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2016 I stopped by his house Friday. We spent about three hours turning random shapes. It went well, no problems. Little bit of a learning curve but we're catching on. We started with are face shields. We figured we would take them off it's not bad. We kept them on thoe. His mom turned it into a math lesson. He has a hard time learning from a textbook. She pretty much turned it into a practical application. We measured the diameter, circumference, and volume of a cylinder. Below is a snowmen he turned. His mom also told him he needs to clean his little area up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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