Hi Graham, no not really, the 1MT kit that I had originally was good but the new lathe was 2MT so I either had to buy a new kit at £50 plus or just replace the mandrel. I already had the Axminster 2MT Mandrel but not the adjustable one and found that this flexed too much for my liking so at Yandles in September I had a chat to the Rotur guys and came away with the 2MT Delux Colleted Pen Mandell, the only benefit you get is that the shaft can be adjusted in the 2MT stock to the length of blank that you are turning (it may not be for a pen). The Axminster Adjustable mandrel will do the same job but the collet avoids any burs on the shaft caused by the locking grub screws when adjusting the length of the mandrel. Turning between centres without a mandrel can get awkward with the slimline or smaller pen kits as you have to make different jam chucks for each, I'm not saying it's difficult and if you are on a budget it's a worthy option but a mandrel is easier (imho). Julian