Hello

[pauluspaolo]

Hi there,
My name is Paul. My pen making started towards the end of lockdown when I had enough surplus income (couldn't spend it going out) to buy myself a Chinese mini-lathe for metal turning. My first pens were pretty amateurish but worked well enough. My more recent pens are better (I'm told) but still pretty amateurish - they're nicer to use & look nicer than the early ones though. I mainly make them from brass &/or titanium, but also made them from stainless steel, copper & acrylic. I've not tried turning wood yet but plan to do so. I turned 60 earlier this year & am now retired :)

 

[Morse]

Welcome Paul.
Were a friendly bunch.
Lots of help here, just ask or look up in the “search” tab.

Dave

 

[Adal6]

Welcome Paul to the forum

 

[Nicholas Andrews]

Welcome from me, too. I hope you soon find a better lathe than one made in China. There are some really good, used, British made metalwork lathes available. A model makers lathe would be fine for metal turned pens. I have a Rollo Elf inherited many years ago from an Uncle which would work well for pens. Made in Scotland, probably around 70 to 100 years ago and still working perfectly.

 

[flexi]

Welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy your stay....I read your post as 'you turned 60 earlier this year' WOW..your nearly a pro!!!

 

[alan morrison]

Hello Paul and welcome.

 

[Doug]

Welcome along Paul.

 

[pauluspaolo]

Welcome from me, too. I hope you soon find a better lathe than one made in China. There are some really good, used, British made metalwork lathes available. A model makers lathe would be fine for metal turned pens. I have a Rollo Elf inherited many years ago from an Uncle which would work well for pens. Made in Scotland, probably around 70 to 100 years ago and still working perfectly.

Thanks for warm welcome chaps
The mini-lathe (bought from Warco) maybe isn't the best lathe in the world but it's been absolutely brilliant for me as a starter lathe. Before I bought it I'd had little/no experience turning anything, as such I made a fair few mistakes but learnt a lot in the process & while I'm still not mistake free I'm a lot better now. I still use the mini-lathe - it's my go-to lathe in fact - & I find it ideal for the pens I make (pics soon hopefully). However, I also have a Myford ML7. This is a fairly recent addition to my workshop & is considerably bigger than the Warco .....it's still not a big lathe in the grand scheme of things though! I'm starting to use it a bit more now that I've got it running but I'm used to the mini-lathe so tend to go to that first.
As it happens I also have another lathe - a Toyo ML360 (complete with milling attachment) which I don't use at all I'm afraid. It's a great little machine but it doesn't do anything that I can't do on the Warco. This came via a roundabout route from work where I did, occasionally, use it (I was a science/support technician at a small(ish) university). One day (maybe) I'll start using it again

 

[howsitwork?]

Welcome Paul

Youve got incredible flexibility with a Myford for metal turning . Have fun .

Give acrylic a try as there’s minimal dust ( usually ) to clog things up

 

[ValleyBoy]

Thanks for warm welcome chaps
The mini-lathe (bought from Warco) maybe isn't the best lathe in the world but it's been absolutely brilliant for me as a starter lathe. Before I bought it I'd had little/no experience turning anything, as such I made a fair few mistakes but learnt a lot in the process & while I'm still not mistake free I'm a lot better now. I still use the mini-lathe - it's my go-to lathe in fact - & I find it ideal for the pens I make (pics soon hopefully). However, I also have a Myford ML7. This is a fairly recent addition to my workshop & is considerably bigger than the Warco .....it's still not a big lathe in the grand scheme of things though! I'm starting to use it a bit more now that I've got it running but I'm used to the mini-lathe so tend to go to that first.
As it happens I also have another lathe - a Toyo ML360 (complete with milling attachment) which I don't use at all I'm afraid. It's a great little machine but it doesn't do anything that I can't do on the Warco. This came via a roundabout route from work where I did, occasionally, use it (I was a science/support technician at a small(ish) university). One day (maybe) I'll start using it again

Welcome Paul.

I too have a Chinese lathe (seig) and it’s fantastic for the money. It took a little time to get it set up accurately, and I view it as an ongoing project in itself (I’ve made parts for it to create improvements over time).

Anyway good luck with the hobby.

Cheers
Ash

 

[Phil Dart]

Hi Paul - welcome to the Forum