4. Have an idea. As with everything else in life, your pen will turn out better if you have an idea on what you want to create before you start. Decide before using wood lathe on what type of shape you want your pen to be.

5. Mark wood blank before you cut. It is nice to put a pencil mark across grain of wood before you start. This will make it easier to match up grain pattern after you cut wood blank.

6. Make sure your ends are square. If ends of your wood blank are not perfectly square before using wood lathe, there will be possibilities of cracking when pen is assembled.

7. The smaller wood lathe better. This tip is really just meant to make your life easier. Any wood lathe is suitable for pen turning; however, smaller wood lathe easier your job is.

8. Keep it simple first couple of times. It is tempting to want to do some fun and intricate pen shapes first couple of times but stick to basics until you figure out just exactly what it is you are doing.

A pen is an easy project that can help you with beginning possibilities of your new wood lathe. After you conquer creating your own pen, there are several other projects to start with such as table and chair legs, wooden bowls, wooden hammers, candle sticks, or even pieces to a chess set. Just remember to begin with a simple project with your wood lathe to get use to your new tool before attempting more difficult projects.

Pricewise, percolators run a bit more (per cup)than ADM's but are well worth persuing.

Most ADM's go from anywhere starting at $19.95 for a generic name brand to $139.95 for a Krups. All these are 12 cup ADM's, industry standard. Percolators can run from $14.99 for a glass 8 cup Simex stovetop model to $79.99 (actually less than a ADM) for a 12 cup Cuisinart Brew Centrel Electric Programmable Coffee Maker.

When it comes to replacement parts, however, percolators have ADM's beat. Most only need to have glass tops replaced and they run as little as $1.99 each. Glass carafes for ADM's can start at $29.99, in some cases, more than an entire coffee maker and more than double cost of an 8 cup glass stovetop model percolator.

So how do you choose? If you already own a state-of-the-art ADM, you have half battle won. You already know how well this type of machine performs, so your next step is to try out a reasonably priced percolator to see difference. If stovetop variety leves you a bit on nervous side, a nice electric model by Farberware can run you about $34.99 and will last quite a long time, if well maintained.