Some slimline pens

[bigbob]

Hi as promised here are some photos of my pens the light was poor and I have no lighting rig and it is blowing a hoolie outside so these were taken by the window.





Here is a picture of the shed were all the creations are produced Mrs Bob says she never knows what is going to come at her from here.




This is the little lathe complete aunatural (with shavings) I got it to start me off with turning I got it for £100 with chisels and spent an extra £60 on a Record Chuck. I would like to upgrade the lathe sometime as you still have to use spanners to loosen,move and tighten the tailstock and toolrest I don't need anything big as I'm not going to be making any bowls bigger than 10-12 inches although I would like to get one with an expandable bed just in case and electronic speed control. I do not have a huge disposable income so whatever it is will have to be modest been looking at this .
Axminster Hobby Series AH-1218VS Woodturning Lathe - Woodturning Lathes - Woodturning Lathes - Woodturning - Woodturning & Crafts | Axminster Tools & Machinery
any advice will be gratefully received.



To the right of the Lathe is my tools/chucks I had a load of chipboard flooring left so utilized it to make French Cleat hanging system in the shed



Cheers

Bob

 

[Walter]

Hi Bob

I am surprised no-one has commented on these yet. they look like a decent job for a chap who has only been turning for a few months. Hard to comment on the finish as the photo is not the best as you say, but the turning and the fit look pretty good to me.

That's a decent sized shed you have there. It will soon fill up with tools and wood though.

 

[Jim]

They certainly are good looking pens Bob. Walter, i took this post out of Bobs welcome thread so that it would be seen instead of getting lost in an old thread ..

 

[Terry]

I agree with Walter as it is the first time that I have seen this post. Yes the pens are great for a newbie Bob so keep at it as you are doing fine and the shed is spot on !!!

 

[Vic Perrin]

There's Nowt wrong with them Bob. If you saw my first attempts you wouldn't half stick your chest out at your attempt.

Vic

 

[bigbob]

Thanks Walter,

I will try and get these pens out in good light it was horribly dull today had the ISO up to 1000 asa I have a decent enough Camera system so should manage. The sheds a 10x10 foot shed and I often stand in the middle and scratch my head as to where to put everything Mrs Bob gave me a lecture today as I have had a planer thicknesser in the front entrance hall of the house for 6 months I can not blame her as in a 2 bedroom house I have one of the bedrooms as a man cave full of Guitars amplifiers and recording stuff but in my defense I have the frame of a stand half built for it pity I can not see the top of the bench through all the clutter that I don't know what to do with so I can Finish it LOL.

 

[chas_41_uk]

Good pens Bob
I have to Axminster AH-1218VS. It is great for doing pens and bowls of 10" and under. I'm not sure what the thread size is on a Record RPML300 but I'm guessing you would have to change your chuck or get an adaptor and the Morse taper is also a different size on the Axi compared to Record lathes.

 

[paulm]

Thats a great start with those pens Bob and a nice bit of kit. I have a press and go lathe and an Axminster variable speed lathe. I use the cheap and nasty lathe that I got when I started for making pens because when making pens I stop and start the lathe several times and sometimes its on/off. The variable speed on the Axminster doesn't stop dead like the other one so that is used mainly to look at and do a few other bits and pieces.

 

[Woody]

Hi Bob thats a pretty good start on your pens room for improvement yes do you know that the lathe you have will outlast the axy lathe you are looking at you can get conversion kits for the tail stock and a speed genie to convert to V/S for the same sort of money you looking at spending also there is an out board attachment for turning bigger bowls and a swivelling headstock on your lathe which is another plus over the axy lathe

 

[Penpal]

Bob your pens are great love the shed plenty of space around where you live gives privacy scary electrical lead to the shed maybe it does not rain a lot where you live. If I could print clearly as you obviously do I would be very Happy.Neat set up bet its fun weaving through the clothes line walking to the shed.My problem I am 6foot 2 and SWMBO is just over five feet and leaves the clothes line down all the time had many wipe outs still.

Enjoy the hobby mate its great fun and being in your own shed is wonderful indeed.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[wm460]

Very nice pens Bob, I like your card in the box lid.

Nicely set up Shed.

 

[Les ELm]

Nicely done.
Keep it going.

Les

 

[billyb_imp]

Great work Bob, well turned & finished

 

[Buckeye]

Nice pens, Bob Thanks Jim for making it's own thread.

Peter

 

[Bill Mooney]

Very good start Bob. Onwards & upwards.

 

[bigbob]

Jim Terry Vic Chase Paul Grandad,both Peters,Bill
Thank you all for your kind replies I must admit this is one of the friendliest forums I have browsed.
Granddad thanks for your advice re tailstock conversion and speed genie I phoned haydockconverters and the chap I spoke to said that the lathe I had was the best of the mini lathes that Record made and whether I convert to VS or not to keep hold of it as all the rest after this model were built outside the U.K they want £350 for the speed genie and I need to check the spindle is 14mm if not I need to strip off the pulley assembly and send it down. I had a quick look round on the net for conversion kits but can not find any yet but after your advice re my lathe and the guy from haydock I think I will keep my Lathe if I can upgrade it or not.
Penpal re the washing line I have walked into a few wet towels in my time but its the mrs undergarments that give me nightmares LOL.

 

[Woody]

Jim Terry Vic Chase Paul Grandad,both Peters,Bill
Thank you all for your kind replies I must admit this is one of the friendliest forums I have browsed.
Granddad thanks for your advice re tailstock conversion and speed genie I phoned haydockconverters and the chap I spoke to said that the lathe I had was the best of the mini lathes that Record made and whether I convert to VS or not to keep hold of it as all the rest after this model were built outside the U.K they want £350 for the speed genie and I need to check the spindle is 14mm if not I need to strip off the pulley assembly and send it down. I had a quick look round on the net for conversion kits but can not find any yet but after your advice re my lathe and the guy from haydock I think I will keep my Lathe if I can upgrade it or not.
Penpal re the washing line I have walked into a few wet towels in my time but its the mrs undergarments that give me nightmares LOL.

Well done Bob I had one of them lathes for a few years with the bowl outboard and it was a fantastic little machine but being a lazy ol git I swapped it for the 305 V/S which is a fantastic machine but at £800 it should be another way round the tailstock problem is to drill a hole through the top of bolt and fix a bar in it then you wont need a spanner happy turning mate

 

[donwatson]

Well done Bob, you've made a great start.

 

[yorkshireman]

A great start there Bob

 

[bigbob]

Thanks Donald and Keith and Granddad phoned record today to see if they had a cam conversion kit for tailstock or tool rest the person there said they did not so will see what is about on the net.