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Pen mandril saver
- Thread starter Dalboy
- Start date
Looks good Derek and a good price
bassethound
Executive Member
Yep very good stuff from Chronos and reasonable prices 
A great buy Derek.
Penpal
Grand Master
My Custom made ones are long and pointed serve me me well I had mine made to fit locally using my mandrel. Simple design the taper is a bonus.
Peter.
Peter.
wm460
Grand Master
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2013
- Posts
- 23,128
- First Name
- Mark
I like the long taper on that style.
That does look good and the price is right. It does say it's bored 1/4" though so which mandrels does it fit? I'm new to all this and many of the pen kits I've seen specify using a 7mm mandrel?! I plan to use a collet chuck with some 7mm silver steel and a pen saver like this so do I need to bore out the pen saver 7mm (if possible) or turn the end of the mandrel down to 1/4"?
Confused of Dorset.
Confused of Dorset.
Because the kit instructions I've downloaded from Axminster say to use a 7mm pen mandrel.
Here's one:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/media/downloads/101639_manual.pdf
Required accessories: 7mm Pen Mandrel.
The other 4 or 5 pen kits I've liked the look of say the same thing.
They know nuffink init?
I think they refer to a mandrel suitable for 7mm tubes or it could be where they have been going wrong.
Measure everything before making a mistake, make your mandrel to suit the bushes or drill your bushes to suit the mandrel same with the saver you acquire.
Mandrel rods are plentiful if you ask the suppliers, ask them to measure their stock before making a purchase.
If you wish to use the 7mm rod you have measure your tubes and internal bush diameter then turn it to suit them.
If the saver doesn't fit drill it oversize and sleeve it to reduce the diameter.
I think they refer to a mandrel suitable for 7mm tubes or it could be where they have been going wrong.
Measure everything before making a mistake, make your mandrel to suit the bushes or drill your bushes to suit the mandrel same with the saver you acquire.
Mandrel rods are plentiful if you ask the suppliers, ask them to measure their stock before making a purchase.
If you wish to use the 7mm rod you have measure your tubes and internal bush diameter then turn it to suit them.
If the saver doesn't fit drill it oversize and sleeve it to reduce the diameter.
I agree with Grump.
However I would make sure that the mandrel shaft fits the inside of the 7mm tubes for the slimline kits. I don't believe I have come across any with a different tube size that will effect you.
Then you can drill out the bushes for them and all other kits if you need too.
But you shouldn't need to if you just buy the mandrel rods, threaded ends or not. They are not that expensive and don't suffer with wear to greatly.
However I would make sure that the mandrel shaft fits the inside of the 7mm tubes for the slimline kits. I don't believe I have come across any with a different tube size that will effect you.
Then you can drill out the bushes for them and all other kits if you need too.
But you shouldn't need to if you just buy the mandrel rods, threaded ends or not. They are not that expensive and don't suffer with wear to greatly.
Lons
Fellow
Yep that's already sized to fit the 7mm tubes used for slimlines, streamlines, razors, keyrings etc. You don't need to make any adjustments whatsoever the 7mm tubes will slip over the mandrel and the mandrel end into the saver no problem.
EDIT: Just read the other posts
I haven't had one yet that doesn't fit. As said, they're cheap enough or just buy some rod from the internet or a local supplier, costs even less.Then somebody is lying Bob, they can't all be 7mm internal and external measurements init?
We know that mandrel sizes differ, it's an age old question in many a thread.
All I am saying is measure the bloody things and make your own to suit the sizes or buy one.
Personally I don't give a damn, if people wanna take things literally and assume what they read is correct the will find out the hard way init?
Lons
Fellow
Your approach to it is the logical way to go for accuracy but I think what happens as people progress. It's not only this hobby which suffers from poor quality tools and components and as you say you don't find out until you've bought the stuff. So much of the written instructions are chiwanese / English as well which doesn't help.
Just bad marketing and instructions Brian surely though as well as very poor quality control and differences between manufacturers products. I've only a couple of years pen turning under my belt with a couple of mandrels, spare rods and some bought from metal supermarkets plus 2 mandrel savers. There are some differences I've found but only had one rogue tube that wouldn't fit and it was definitely the tube at fault. I did have to take back the first Axi set up as it was faulty though.
More of a problem I've found has been cr*p bushes so I tend to make my own now.
Just my opinion and I bow to the greater experience of your good self and others. When I started I just bought the mandrel and kits and got on with it rather than worry about problems that weren't there in my case.
The kits I mentioned appear to need a 7mm mandrel like this one:
https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKM-FLC.html
Which is fine as I added some 7mm silver steel rod to an order I placed with Axminster today.
It appears that mandrels are available in a range of different sizes to fit different pen kits.
It just happens that the kits that caught my eye all use larger size tubes.
The pen saver linked by the OP appears to be intended for slim pen kits that use a small mandrel.
https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKM-FLC.html
Which is fine as I added some 7mm silver steel rod to an order I placed with Axminster today.
It appears that mandrels are available in a range of different sizes to fit different pen kits.
It just happens that the kits that caught my eye all use larger size tubes.
The pen saver linked by the OP appears to be intended for slim pen kits that use a small mandrel.
Which Mandrel savers do you have Bob? Do either of them fit the larger mandrels?
Ask the supplier to measure the actual mandrel you will be receiving, it will not be 7mm, that much I will guarantee.
I don't got the words to explain what I mean init?
Measure, don't believe what you read.
It's the bushes that change size not the mandrel, 7mm tubes and bushes will not fit a 7mm mandrel think about it init?
Here is one recent thread where mandrel size was discussed, there are many more if you search.
The kits I'm interested in don't use 7mm tubes, they're (according to the manual) I linked earlier, 3/8".
Here's another kit manual:
https://www.pennstateind.com/library/PKFP40XX.pdf
What you are calling 7mm mandrels are just the normal mandrels on sale, they vary slightly in diameter, but they all are geared up to take the bushes you will buy for any given pen kit. (there is at least one variant in the available mandrels that uses a much smaller diameter, but that is something else). When you see anything about mandrels and pen kits that says 7mm it is a nominal size, the slimline tube is less than 7mm and will not fit on the normal mandrel. The kits you are interested in might use larger tubes, but the bushes for those tubes will have a hole drill to fit the "7mm" mandrel.
Peter