First attempt.....pen!

[sdb777]

This was my very first attempt. Learned quite a LOT!!!

Probably would have been better, but PSI decided to short me on the bushing set. Been trying to call all day(leaving messages and such), but I guess they take Fridays off(could explain the slow filling of orders)?

Should mention that the wood was supplied by DougB.... Thank you!! Used the Juniper that he sent, seemed to be the simplest wood(no outstanding grain pattern-so if I screwed up, I wouldn't be crying over a terrific blank being ruined). Left the knot, to give it some character....in case it came okay.

Kind of fat.....I guess? (No bushings and all, it was a good guess)



Tried my hand at using the CA finish on this. Not sure I did it right? Seems the Miniwax Wood Hardener and wax gives a better finish... JMHO though. I'll try it some more and see if I can improve.


As always, let me have it! Can't learn if I don't know what I'm doing wrong!!


BTW, my dad will get this one in the mail....unknowingly of course.




Scott (surprises are fun) B

[Gecko]

Juniper eh? (looks over at the piece he has sitting on the shelf at work) Both this one and the maple look good. My only suggestion, not being a turner) is to try and get better lighting on your pictures, The seem a little red to me.

[Doug B]

Scott, I'm wondering how you managed to turn that without any bushings? That kit uses a 8mm tube which would give you all kinda problems on the 7mm mandrel. The bushings will probably make it a whole lot easier to make the pen. Um, maybe you turned it without using a pen mandrel? That would still be very difficult to do without messing up the brass tube.

I usually just use the bushings to get close to final size, then I use a digital caliper to turn (or sand) the wood to match the pen kit parts. So, you can turn a pen without relying on the bushings to get the final size, but you need something to keep the blank square up on the pen mandrel.

Two important things about turning the barrel to fit the pen kit parts is 1) while you could use a dial caliper to measure with, a digital caliper makes it much, much easier and quicker and 2) measure the pen part that you will be actually using to make the pen and turn to that dimension - do not assume the parts will be the same dimensions in each pen kit.

Scott, I am impressed you got the pen made without using any bushings and it turned out very well considering that.

Now, if you get tired of messing with PSI, you can call Woodturningz, who sell all of their bushings for $3.00 and will ship the same day you place the order and you will get them in 2 days and the shipping cost will be very reasonable.

Juniper is nice to turn, and smells great. I like leaving the knot in too, that is exactly what I do too.

As for the CA finish,,,it took me 2 years to perfect the method I use, and it seems like no 2 people can use exactly the same steps and get the same results. There are just too many variables involved. The good thing is that once you master it, the CA finish can be applied in a matter of seconds, is very durable, and looks fantastic.

Is your lathe variable speed? That makes a big difference in how you need to apply the CA finish.

Congrats on your first pen Scott! Your Dad is going to love it and it's going to be a great surprise.

[sachbvn]

Scott,

FIRST - that is a real nice looking pen - at first I thought "well, it's a little fat but...." but then I read on - and saw you had no bushings.... I'm in agreement - not sure HOW you turned it, but it looks dang good for not having anything to support the tube on the mandrel - nice job!

The juniper looks good - the knot looks really good in it, I think it was a good choice by leaving it.

Alright - finishing. Well, I applaud you for trying the CA finish so soon - I was a little intimidated by it, only because it was hard for me to grasp how it could possibly simply be done.... part of that was a 100+ step set of instructions someone posted at some point - but then I talked to other guys (Doug was a huge help) who do the CA finish, I tried it - had good results, and now that's all I want to use.

It really is about as quick as anything else when you get it down - and it looks as good or better than just a friction polish. SO - with that said, I encourage you to keep working at it. If Doug has the links handy on the video he sent me I'll let him share, if not - I'm sure I can find them. VERY helpful.

The other thing Scott - nice job on doing a clicker for your first pen - did it come out working ok? It's kinda weird the first time you assemble a new pen, especially a clicker for the first time. Every time after that it seems totally normal - however I DO recommend that you always keep a set of instructions handy just for reference!

Nice job - thanks for sharing!
Zac

[sdb777]

Just got off the phone with the fella at Woodturnz, got some bushings on the way.

I'll get the bushing and get the rest of the kits out(ordered enough to keep me busy for a few hours). I'll probably FUBAR all the rest with the bushing....


Guess I had some dumb luck during the turning?





Scott (thanks everyone) B

[Doug B]

Scott, the problem you may see without the bushings is that the wood would not be concentric around the tube - one side of the tube could have a thicker wall than the other side. It may not be all that noticeable on this particular pen, but on a pen with a turned lower barrel it will be a lot more apparent on the nib end.

P.S. You are going to like dealing with Woodturningz instead of PSI.

[maverick31]

i am scratching my head on how he turned this even somewhat close without the bushings. great start considering. Once you get the bushings and get your ca finish down you will be in great shape

[deepsplinter]

I need to do some reading, or watch a video, just something to see how pens are made, just so I'll have some idea of what the hell you guys are saying. Is there a video tutorial somewhere?

It's interesting trying to follow along up here, but I get lost easily.

BTW, Scott, that is a good looking pen. I like the knot.

[Doug B]

This youtube video is from Rockler and it really covers the basics pretty well...a little bit tedious to watch, but at least there is a pretty girl

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYZWL2ZSE8g

[sachbvn]

Yep Dave - if you use iTunes at all - you can search for the Woodsmith podcast and there is a pen making video... hmmm... just a second....

Scratch that - I found the video online, this is a really good - start to finish - example of pen making. It's about an hour if I recall. www.woodworkingonline.com/2007/10/09/podcast-26-turning-pens-on-the-lather-from-start-to-finish/

Hope that helps!
Zac

[deepsplinter]

Let's see......10 minutes AND a purdy girl vs an hour and no mention of the fairer sex..........hmmm.....uhhh.....I sure do appreciate the effort Zac, but...

[Ruffnek]

You know, one of you accomplished pen turners...say one whose first name starts with a D and last name starts with a B could also do a tutorial on turning a pen...just a basic slimline pen.

That way, Dave would be educated and the tutorial could be WoW's own.

[sawduster]

Well, until Doug can get around to showing how someone really good at it does it, I did this page on my website some time back. You can sorta tell how far back by the pics of my old tube lathe.

[Doug B]

Jan 30, 2010 9:07:12 GMT -6 Ruffnek said:

You know, one of you accomplished pen turners...say one whose first name starts with a D and last name starts with a B could also do a tutorial on turning a pen...just a basic slimline pen.

That way, Dave would be educated and the tutorial could be WoW's own.

I am willing to do that...just don't know when I'll be able to get it completed.

Thanks for your link too Jerry, that takes me off the hook a little so I won't have to rush it.

I'll get my process documented and posted to WOW as soon as I can.

[admin]

Feb 1, 2010 22:27:01 GMT -6 Doug B said:

I'll get my process documented and posted to WOW as soon as I can.

Thanks!

[rdabpenman]

You did a great job for your first attempt.
Well done!

Les