Hi Will, Just a wee note to say that I managed to upgrade my Charnwood W815 lathe.

And if you are interested in more lathe stuff I have opened up a whole new section of the website here: Lathe Projects

Hi Will, Just a wee note to say that I managed to upgrade my Charnwood W815 lathe. I noticed that my pillar drill was somehow drifting off a little and  even though I used a square to make sure it was perpendicular to the blank. It still drilled odd centers. 

So I found that my lathe makers had a 4 jaw chuck (Viper2) that could be used to hold the blank and I added some jaws that replaced the supplied chuck jaws (V2PJ or pin jaws) now I can secure the pen blank in the chuck and I replacing the live center with a 13mm chuck to hold the Colt drill bit and drill my pieces much more accurately. (See pictures.)

Also, a useful addition is a mandrel saver for when turning. This replaces the live center supplied and is slid over the mandrel and then slid/locked up to secure the blanks.  This prevents the mandrel from bowing. 

Live Mandrel Saver