Pen Turning

The further from centre, the more strongly this hobby leans that way. Your quiz answers are scored against exactly these fifteen.

RestfulPhysical
IndoorsOutdoors
SolitarySocial
PracticalCreative
InstinctiveTechnical
Hands-offHands-on
RelaxedCompetitive
CautiousDaring
Quick winsPatient
PrivatePerformer
MinimalistCollector
Just do itStudious
Low-kitGear-heavy
AnalogDigital
ObjectsLiving things

Shaping a blank of wood, resin or acrylic on a lathe and assembling it into a working pen. One of the quickest lathe projects.

Craft & Making noisy noisy messy gets you dirty done alone

~$365Cost to start

ModerateDifficulty

Mostly indoorsWhere

1 setup step, ~$365 all in. Nothing to buy until you say so.

Is it you?

Nobody has scored this against your answers yet. $365 to find out whether it sticks.

MessMessyNoiseLoud

What you need6 things

The honest floor, taking the cheapest option in each$365

Full cost breakdown →

The path11 quests

ASetting up1 thing to sort, in any order$347

Get a lathe, a mandrel, chisels and a respirator

Then the quests

Turn a blank round without a single catch
Turn your first pen from a blank
Finish and assemble the pen

8 more, revealed as you go

More on Pen Turning

Everything else we have written about it. Free to read, no account needed.

Guides

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What to buy1

Best Lathe for Pen Turning 2026: WEN vs Rikon 70-105 vs JET Mini LathesThe lathe is the heart of pen turning, and the first decision is how much to buy. Two specs decide it, electronic variable speed and weight, and they separate a lathe you'll love from one you'll fight. Here are three honest picks, from a best-selling budget mini to a cast-iron value benchmark to JET's buy-once midi.

From the blog2

Best Hobbies for ISTJs: What Genuinely Fits the Methodical MindIf you are an ISTJ, most 'hobbies for your personality type' lists read like a checklist someone filled in without thinking: gardening, reading, done. They are not wrong, exactly, they are just shallow, and shallow is the one thing you have no patience for. So here is the considered version. The wrong hobby for you is not merely boring, it is unserious: something you are supposed to wing, that has no proven method, that leaves nothing solid behind when you are finished. You do not want to pass an afternoon. You want to do something properly, build real competence in it over years, and end up with a result you can point to and stand behind. This is a careful list of the hobbies that actually fit that mind, whether or not they are the obvious ones.Best Hobbies for ISTPs: What Actually Holds a Maker MindIf you are an ISTP, most "hobbies for your type" lists are useless to you inside the first paragraph. They read like they were written by someone who has never taken anything apart to see why it stopped working. So here is the version that respects how you actually operate. You do not want to talk about a hobby, plan a hobby, or join a club about a hobby. You want your hands on a real object, a real machine, a real problem you can figure out by doing, and you want to be left alone while you do it. The wrong hobby for you is anything abstract, anything committee-driven, anything with a script. The right one puts a physical system in front of you and lets you master it. This is the honest list of what fits that, whether or not it shows up on the usual roundups.

Start Pen Turning