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Pen Mandrel Saver

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Well last weekend i was reading the thread on here again about the mandrel saver, well i succumbed and bought one from Vinny over at The Turners Workshop which arrived today, i look forward to trying this out over the weekend ... :thumbs:
 

edlea

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Aug 1, 2013
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Blackpool
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Ed
Look forward to hearing what you think of it ..I've been toying for a while now .
 

Buckeye

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Oct 15, 2013
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9,697
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UK
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Peter
I bought some bearings to make one, but I haven't got a round-tuit.

I haven't used one, but it sounds like a good idea.

Peter
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Is it the one made in England or China or America or?

Kind regards Peter.:thinks:


Yes Peter, it is made in the UK by Planet ...

Phill, i read the review by Walter and that was what made me go for it .. He does write good and honest reviews ... :thumbs:
 

Walter

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Yes Peter, it is made in the UK by Planet ...

Phill, i read the review by Walter and that was what made me go for it .. He does write good and honest reviews ... :thumbs:

Thanks Jim. I don't know about good, it is always just my opinion, but you can rely upon my honesty. I have no connection with any of the suppliers or retailers so I am under no pressure to provide positive reviews. One thing you do need to be aware of though is that the announcements of new products in most magazines are simply reprints of press releases by the manufacturers. Unless something actually says it is a review you should treat it with the same caution as you would treat a suppliers brochure.
 

MarkW

Full Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Posts
58
I picked one up about 3 weeks ago and used it last weekend. Excellent piece of kit and well worth the investment
 

paulm

grave manibus faciendum
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Oct 7, 2013
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12,046
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Sandford
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Paul
I've been using one of these for quite a while now and its great. Be careful though with superglue I'm on my second one after glue got into it and no matter how much I hammered it, I couldn't get it apart again. I now always put wax in before using it... just in case.:winking:
 

Neil

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May 21, 2013
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Hitchin, Hertfordshire
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Neil
Somebody obviously hasnt done a very good sales job on me because it's on my list of can't see the point, however I am open to persuasion. My reasoning is the sequence of events that I use to "tighten" up the mandrel nut and engage the tails stock. I put the nut on the mandrel and do not tighten it up. I then slide in the tailstock, lock it off and do not wind the tailstock in, sliding the tailstock with one finger and locking it off is quite sufficient. I then tighten the nut the minimum amount necessary to the point that I frequently have to stop the lathe and tighten it a bit more. We, the general public, see a nut or lever and think it needs to be tightenend to withstand an earthquake, not so. I have not had a problem - the live centre that I use is five years old and is not in danger of packing up yet. I may be persuaded but I have thought that things are a way of overcoming a problem which is of our own making, and that drives me to think that they are an expensive, but unnecessary remedy to a problem that shouldn't exist.
 

Walter

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To a large extent I agree with you Neil. If everything is fitted and tightened properly as you describe then the mandrel should not need "saving" and it will run no more accurately in a mandrel saver than using an ordinary revolving centre. However it does prevent the more cack handed amongst us from bending the mandrel or causing it to "whip" by overtightening it and it saves a couple of milliseconds per pen when changing over blanks but the big advantage that I find is that I don't need to stop the lathe to make the adjustments to the pressure holding the blanks that you describe, I can do it on the fly by a quarter turn or so of the tailstock handwheel.
 
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