lyonsacc
Member
My daughter plays percussion in high school band. She is a member here and is somewhat responsible for getting me into pen turning. However, schooling and other pursuits have kept her away from the lathe for a while. Someone posted some drumstick pens a few weeks ago and I thought I would make one for her. We had to stop by the music store the other day to pick up a book, so I went back to the drum section with my calipers in hand and got some "fatter" than normal sticks. This is what I came up with.
I had to snap pictures of the pen with my cell phone. Our regular camera (that is somewhat broken) was at work, and my daughter was about to snag the pen and disappear with it. It was relatively easy to make, but I would change a few things next time. The guts of the pen are a Jr. Gent 1 I got from Smitty a couple of years ago. I assembled the entire body of the pen. The stop ring at the end cap is a bit smaller than the stop ring at the nib. So I was able to drill a hole that would accept the fully assembled pen and the stop ring at the nib would keep it from going too deep. I did end up gluing a very small scrap of wood to the brass tube (maybe 1/8 inch by 1/8 inch) and then sand it down to keep things feeling a little more secure while I glued it up with epoxy. Next time I think I will actually glue up a blank at rough turn it down to fit the hole. The cap end was also simple. Drilled a hole of the appropriate size for the tube. I did actually have to do some turning at this point. The end of the hole needed a little widening so that the center band of the cap would recess into the stick.
Now for my problem: My drilling was off center. This pen is a triple thread (I think), and when I was glueing it up I was able to wiggle things enough so that when the labels on the stick line up, the joint is smooth. However, if one of the other "threads" is used when you screw on the cap it is obviously off center. I realized as I was drilling that I had this problem. Below is a pic of my problem. The drum stick is inserted in the chuck as far as it will go. However, the end I need to drill is a handful of inches out from the chuck and I had a small amount of wobble in the stick (I am pointing to the part the I cut and then drilled at). Any ideas how to reduce the wobble that far out from the chuck on such a small item as a drum stick?
A couple things I have wondered about since I made this over the weekend:
Maybe just resetting the stick in the jaws until the wobble is gone.
Maybe starting to drill on the drill press then finish the drilling on the lathe (I think I can get started dead center on the drill press (but not 100% perpendicular) and then finish the drilling on the lathe.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks!!
I had to snap pictures of the pen with my cell phone. Our regular camera (that is somewhat broken) was at work, and my daughter was about to snag the pen and disappear with it. It was relatively easy to make, but I would change a few things next time. The guts of the pen are a Jr. Gent 1 I got from Smitty a couple of years ago. I assembled the entire body of the pen. The stop ring at the end cap is a bit smaller than the stop ring at the nib. So I was able to drill a hole that would accept the fully assembled pen and the stop ring at the nib would keep it from going too deep. I did end up gluing a very small scrap of wood to the brass tube (maybe 1/8 inch by 1/8 inch) and then sand it down to keep things feeling a little more secure while I glued it up with epoxy. Next time I think I will actually glue up a blank at rough turn it down to fit the hole. The cap end was also simple. Drilled a hole of the appropriate size for the tube. I did actually have to do some turning at this point. The end of the hole needed a little widening so that the center band of the cap would recess into the stick.
Now for my problem: My drilling was off center. This pen is a triple thread (I think), and when I was glueing it up I was able to wiggle things enough so that when the labels on the stick line up, the joint is smooth. However, if one of the other "threads" is used when you screw on the cap it is obviously off center. I realized as I was drilling that I had this problem. Below is a pic of my problem. The drum stick is inserted in the chuck as far as it will go. However, the end I need to drill is a handful of inches out from the chuck and I had a small amount of wobble in the stick (I am pointing to the part the I cut and then drilled at). Any ideas how to reduce the wobble that far out from the chuck on such a small item as a drum stick?
A couple things I have wondered about since I made this over the weekend:
Maybe just resetting the stick in the jaws until the wobble is gone.
Maybe starting to drill on the drill press then finish the drilling on the lathe (I think I can get started dead center on the drill press (but not 100% perpendicular) and then finish the drilling on the lathe.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks!!
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