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Post by sdb777 on Jan 10, 2010 18:12:02 GMT -6
Been looking at the PSI starter set ( www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSTART1F.html )....was wondering if anyone actually has this set? If so, was everything there that you would need to make and assemble a pen? If not, what was it missing? Who has a similiar starter set? Got a link? Scott (thinking bullet pens) B |
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Post by TDHofstetter on Jan 10, 2010 19:38:15 GMT -6
Scott, I'm thinkin' we can whip together a better starter setup for less money, leaving out anything redundant or unwanted & including more preferred stuff. Got turning tools? No need to buy more. I dunno good nor bad about that epoxy, but I DO know that polyurethane glue or CA glue work well & are preferred glues. The ShellaWax is nice for a very quick, satisfying finish, but it only lasts a couple of weeks at best before it starts looking dull & ratty. If you have a drill press, (or even a bowl chuck for the headstock & a drill chuck for the tailstock) you'll do better drilling your own blanks, from woods of your choosing (what woods are those predrilled blanks, anyway?) than to buy predrilled... so a good 7mm drill bit would be included in the "real" starter set.
I'm sure a fella could make five pens from the package they offer, but the price of eighty bucks kinda' stings... and since they don't include a drill bit, you'd have to either continue buying predrilled blanks or wind up buying a drill bit anyway.
Ah - I see. The predrilled blanks in that kit are rosewood, precut & predrilled. One wonders if they're end-matched so the grain appears to flow from one end of the pen to the other, or if they're just scrambled & maybe not even color-matched.
Maybe I'm just cynical 'cause I tend not to like "kits"; they seem to always include stuff that gets replaced with something else.
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Post by sachbvn on Jan 10, 2010 20:34:06 GMT -6
For 33 bucks you can get a nice adjustable mandrel (MT#2) with a free 7mm brad point bit, and a 7mm barrel trimmer.
Now, add two bucks per slimline pen kit, plus you can get quite a few nice looking woods for only .95 each.
Bushings - 3 bucks (7mm - I'd go with two packs though)
I'd get a real set of lathe tools - not the small ones usually associated with "starter pen kits" - get a real set, doesn't have to be expensive or fancy, but a real set.
5 bucks or so for a nice 2oz bottle of medium CA glue.
Not sure how close we are to the 80 dollar mark.... put it this way - if you go the route this group will take you - you'll get a lot better than that PSI kit in my opinion.
Zac
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Post by maxwellsmart007 on Jan 10, 2010 21:28:25 GMT -6
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Doug B
WoW Member
[b]Rescued Firewood[/b]
Posts: 1,938
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Post by Doug B on Jan 11, 2010 15:36:44 GMT -6
The kit would certainly make the decisions of what to get moot, but you will probably end up with some things that you will want to replace before too long.
I don't like the handled barrel trimmer because I like to use mine in the drill press, I would prefer Mylands friction polish over Shellawax, I much prefer an adjustable mandrel, and 10 pencils is probably 8 more than you will want to make...but I've certainly spent a lot more for worse reasons than this. $4.00 per pen/pencil is not too bad to start out with.
I don't know about the little turning tools since I've never tried them, and I cannot even decide if I think I would like them for penmaking or not...they might be easier to use for pens.
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Post by TDHofstetter on Jan 11, 2010 22:20:29 GMT -6
I've got a little set of the little tools... and they stay in their little plastic box in a drawer while I reach for my standard-sized skew, every time. I've used 'em only enough to break in my sharpening, and no more than that. Full-sized tools are perfectly happy making pens. Dinky tools are OK for real miniatures, though... like dollhouse spindles.
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