Lathe problems

I actually got a Beall collet chuck for my mini lathe and it made a pretty big difference for me in how 'concentric' my pens were....

Then again, there's always the opportunity of turning each side of the pen 'between centers'.

I'd bet Mr. Fusco would be a good resource on some tips on pen turning...

Westley Rosenbaum said:

I always noticed when I made pens there would be a liiiiiiittle more material on one side of the brass tube than the other.

Click to expand...

This can be a bent mandrel as suggested.
This lathe has a pivoting head stock. This can also be the lathe alignment not returning to the dead center after swinging.

This tool would help bringing back the headstock back to center position quick and easy.
http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer...Code=packard&Category_Code=lathes-acc-mrstool