Beall Pen Wizard

[Jim]

I know Peter (Penpal) has one of these machines but does anyone else have any experience with one? It is something that i am looking at, well something else on my ever growing list of wants ...

If you have no idea what i am talking about here is the link .. Click Me!!

 

[Jimjam66]

Never used one, Jim, but if you want an impartial opinion get one sent to me and I'll try it out on your behalf. Not because I want to, you understand - it's for the greater good ...

 

[rowdyyates115]

No sorry Jim, but I can also give the same service as David....

 

[Buckeye]

Go for an ornamental lathe Jim, it's more versatile. I would love to try the wizard and I definitely wouldn't buy one without seeing one in action or trying it. I would hate to spend that sort of money and find that after 10 pens I didn't use it much. If you do get one can you do a days demo/tuition?

Peter

 

[Grump]

I had one Jim but it didn't impress me, I found I had to make the pen too fat to get a good effect from it.
It chews up softer woods and doesn't do anything I can't do with a bit of thinking on the lathe or my cnc machine.
Not that I like any of the effects it gives anyway.
Mighty expensive for what it is, especially when I loaned it back to the guy I bought it from and he died with it still in his garage.

 

[Jim]

Thanks for that Brian, i certainly don't want a Pig in a Poke ...

 

[edlea]

I recall a thread on FPN a few months back ...not many fors but lots of againsts

 

[Doug]

There was someone selling a secondhand ornamental mill for a Nova I seem to remember, just trying to remember where I saw it might be a better way to go

 

[dotslad]

Why not stick to the basics Lathe / Mandrel and couple of chisels ie. roughing gouge and skew that's all I ever use for pen turning simples
Forgot to mention cigs and whisky

 

[Jim]

Ok guys, is there another way of making the polygonal cross-sections that this kit can do?

 

[Grump]

Make a dremel box for your lathe or put a milling / router bit in a Jacobs chuck and plane across the lathe.
Use the banjo with a jig in it init?
Look up Georges posts he made a cracker with two bits of window channel based on my one but his was a Brahma.

 

[Penpal]

Jim,

I have never progressed after modifying up, down and sidewards my pen mill it still is an unfinished project with life challenges I am not a believer in sharing some things (others using them) horrendous experiences with trailers etc and try never to borrow anything so I will sit this one out and observe having exhausted the subject many times over the years.

A thought would be find out from the English distributer of the Beall and get a list of successful users ask them to show you examples etc. When I first received mine I was full of the milk of common kindness toward everyone, the first thing I did was photograph in detail all my modifications and send these to the manufacturer who was extremely offhand with me complete disinterest would be my assessment I felt the word precision was a misnomer as well.

Now to all users of Mandrels that terminate on a point contact you will not be surprised with the fact that high on my list of total dislikes was this method is employed in the Beall.

The main drive stem has a whoop in it on the phone to Mr Beall I asked could I buy an upmarket one another weakness IMHO his reply to the effect what do you expect for fourpence crayfish etc etc.

Anyway since I do not have a dog in this fight only feelings based on fact I would be prepared to enumerate a few things using my pics when I can locate the pics.

Already you have your home grown expert Grump who can agree or disagree with my assessment as a previous dissatisfied owner.

I just observed that far from standing back I have a dog in this fight. Do what I can to be helpfull.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[silver]

Walter tested one for the magazine and I understood that he has one too.

If I remember right he gave it a reasonable write up and found it useful.

I just couldn't bring myself to even paying anything like the retail price for such a thing.. And once I get the time I will probably take up Grumps idea and see what I can make with my Dremell.

 

[Jim]

A dog in the yard is always a good idea Peter, not sure about the fight thou ..

Thanks for all your responses but i think i will give this up as Brian's sum up of the tool was enough to make me look elsewhere for my needs ... It aint now gunna happen ...

 

[Grump]

Walter may have done a test for a Magazine I am not sure on that score But I do remember him making what I am calling a dremel box on UKAP.
I hope he still has it and shows it again here, I can see no reason why it would not work and no reason why Jim can't make his own for the simple job he wants to do.
To get flat on a round all that is required is the indexer already built into the lathe and a parallel flattener to run along the round.

Already you have your home grown expert Grump who can agree or disagree with my assessment as a previous dissatisfied owner.

Hardly an expert But yes a previous dissatisfied owner.
While being a clever little device, precision it is not and I am sure your mods would only be an advantage to it.
Shame he didn't listen and act upon your advise, seeing his video I understand the reasons why, he likes the sound of his own voice too much.

 

[Penpal]

Found some of my old pics but this could turn into a Marathon, sorry about my mixed metaphors in my desires to help they come to mind so long as you realise there are only two fools in this world those that give advice and those that take it according to a world renown expert in the field.

Tonight I will show a couple of pics of my Beall anyway because the principles apply all the way through my penmaking.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[Walter]

I did a review ages ago. In short it is fun but bloody expensive. It is not built to precision engineering standards, if it was it would be even more prohibitively expensive than it already is.

Beall Pen Wizard - The Woodworkers Institute

Did it pay for itself? Not sure, probably not. Did I build a contraption to cut flats on pen barrels with a dremel, yes Brian I did. Do I still have it, no I don't because it was over complicated. All you need is something like this item of Richard Findley's:

Making Router Jigs - The Woodworkers Institute

 

[Walter]

I manged to find a coule of photographs of the "contraption" Brian mentioned:


DSCF0902.JPG by walter.hall, on Flickr


DSCF0910.JPG by walter.hall, on Flickr

 

[Buckeye]

I have been tempted over and over to get one, but my built in suspicion has always stopped me just sending for one, I am so glad that I haven't wasted my money.

Peter

 

[Jim]

Some great info here guys, Walter, i do like the jig Richard Findley uses ...