Hey everyone! I recently bought a lathe from Facebook marketplace and I want to get into pen turning. It is a M2 with a 1x8tpi (I don't necessarily know exactly what that means but that's what it is) I bought a pen mandrel but I heard there's parts that make the drilling of pens easier. Could anyone give me some tips as well as equipment I need?

Anyway to get a pen apart after pressing?

Details of the screw ups. I turned it to be the “modified” slimline that’s all one piece. When I was pressing the first one I pressed the mechanism all the way in after the tip was pressed in. On the second one I thought I hadn’t pressed it far enough and then after going a bit more I realized it screws in a bit, then I tried to pull it back a bit and broke it.

I didn’t realize until I started turning it but my blank is curly ebony! So I guess I’m going to go buy another kit and redo it. The second kit was for a friend that I work with. We both use tablets in the field a lot so they were the stylus version.

I have an old/discontinued Jet JWL-1236 Wood lathe which I have used for years and can find very few parts anywhere on the net.  The motor is jet part JWL1236-33 and I recently broke the motor mount which appears to be cast,  and I have been advised that it cannot simply be welded.

I cannot find the mount nor the motor (with the mount) anywhere...

If anyone has ideas on where to find a motor (or mount) I would greatly appreciate it.  The motor is quite old and probably should be replaced anyway.

Any other ideas are most welcome.  I don't want to spend too much on the repair as the lathe itself is not worth much.  I should probably buy a new lathe but I'm pretty fond of this one.

Thanks all

Second pen I have ever turned. This one is for someone who is retiring. It's rosewood according to my woodworkers guild. They saw a chunk of it I brought in, because I thought it would make a good blank of a pen. It came from some mystery wood found in my grandfather's wood shop. I don't know how he got a hold of it. Apparently it is not available anymore. This was a pain to turn, way harder then black walnut. I had to turn the lathe up to 3065rpm to even shape it. Apart from maybe being a bit chunky, it came out well enough.

I need to prototype things from time to time and since it's to test form and not the material itself I'm looking for the cheapest material that isn't a 2x4 :-P

Maple, some type of plastic?

Any suggestions welcome. I don't have scraps to glue up at the moment or I'd do that.

I need some help on turning resin. First attempt was full of voids

A few years ago I was an broke college kid but I got a good deal on an open box Nova 1624 II. Definitely couldn't afford the DVR model at that time. I just told myself I would buy the upgrade later.

Now I have adult money and ready to bite the bullet, butnit appears these have been discontinued. I see upgrade kits from Striatech, but I'm not confident enough to buy one and find out if it works.

I really don't want to deal with the headache of buying a new lathe and selling my old one, but if it comes down to it.....

I was planning on posting pictures but i dont have enough karma. Lost my 4 yr old account when I got a new phone.

I have 6- 10" cherry logs including 1 burl cut 2 days ago. Tree came down about 2-3 years ago and was suspened off the ground about 2 ft. They were surprisingly light but no rot. I am going to seal the ends and split them. I know I can't use the pith of a log but how much do I need to cut away.

I have lost my access to the table saw I was using to cut segments for glue up, but I do have access to a good band saw with a selection of blades.

How can I cut the segments as accurately as I need to, with good glue surfaces? Suggestions for technique, sleds, jigs, or products will be gratefully accepted.

Wood is chechen. Also doggo.

The sunlight hits different in fall mornings

I have always had some sort of wood lathe although up to this point, pretty much always substandard. When my most recent one, a 1960's Delta had the Reeve's drive start making a terrible racket, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a decent lathe for the first time in my life (for the record, my first lathe was a '40s Walker Turner pattern makers lathe that I bought in about 1983.)

I bought a Nova Neptune Max lathe which just arrived yesterday. Overall I am amazed at how nice, and especially, how quiet, it is. I think there is a problem with the software however because I cannot access the preset speeds menu or change any of the other parameters in the Functions menu. I'll call the Mfg. on Monday to see what's up with that. It still runs fine. The first thing I turned was a hand wheel for it. The vendor was unwilling to help me because even though it came from them, it was ordered through Amazon, so they told me to pound sand.

I was not sure how useful having a swiveling headstock would be but I quickly figured now how nice it is to have. Great for turning the insides of bowls, great for sanding and especially, for finishing. No more flung varnish on the bed, or on my eyeglasses. I paired it with a Nova Pro-Tek G3 chuck. I suppose there are better chucks out there but compared to the no name chinese chuck I had been turning with, it is a significant upgrade. I ordered both the lathe and the chuck from Amazon. The lathe came from Acme and took 11 days to arrive. The chuck came from Woodworker Specialties in Canada. I ordered it on the 30th and it came today. Awesome quick service. I mistakenly emailed them about the problem with the lathe, and even though they don't even sell lathes, they offered to try to help anyway. Great company. I will order from them again.

I am looking forward to posting some work as time goes on, and when I can remember how to post a pic via Imgur...I have been away from Reddit for quite a long time so I have forgotten how that works.

I'm hoping someone else saw the obscure video I'm thinking of

Probably 5 years or so ago I saw a video with a man who made a hand-cranked, wooden-geared device that he used to churn out Christmas tree ornaments on his lathe.

I'd like to make something similar to make mini wooden lobster buoys and want to dissect his setup

Does anyone know of the video I am alking about?

Hi all! I was just given a lathe by my father in law. I've always been somewhat interested but never considered actually buying one. This machine is from the 1950s, if not older. I'm looking for ideas on what to make and maybe some beginner tips anyone might have for me! Thanks in advance :)

Turning my first mug. Anyone know where a good place to get stainless inserts from?

Simple, but the knotty oak is really beautiful.