First complete pen & 2nd successful section

[Tortoise]

After weeks and weeks of practice and lots of messed up pen blanks, I finally managed to make a complete pen. The steps it has taken to get here have really made me appreciate the incredible work the rest of you do. I've sure got a long way to go! So, here's my first pen in a red & black swirly acrylic, followed by my second section in gold & brown acrylic. Robert Holm graciously donated lots of spare blanks and lots of advice to help me get started. The 2nd section looks a lot better than the red one. As a newbie to lathes and to penturning, I'm having a blast learning all about this craft, so any comments are welcome!

Renée

 

[tjseagrove]

Very nice pen and all your hard work has paid off...

Now it will just get better with each new pen you do....looking forward the #2 and beyond!!

 

[John Den]

Great work Renee,
I hope my first one comes out half as good as yours.
I'm still at the "drawing it up" stage with mine.
Thanks for sharing your great pictures.
Kind Regards,
John

 

[InvisibleMan]

Looks great Renee! You're well on your way:biggrin:

 

[Texatdurango]

Where's the clip? Half the fun IS the clip! :biggrin:

It looks like you are coming right along, nice job. If I may say so, I like a bit of curve to the sections and think your first section actually looks nicer than the second one which appears to be straighter. But that's just me.

Looking forward to more pens... and clips:wink:

 

[OOPS]

What I noticed immediately was the incredible shine you have on your pen. It normally takes more practice, trial and error before ending up with this masterpiece. It is really impressive for your first pen. Excellent effort. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Dustygoose]

Gratz!! It looks like your body is too straight on the angle/flow. May be the photo

Great job

 

[duncsuss]

Very nice -- I'm still working to achieve my first pen without cracked threads and/or "breather hole" in the end of the barrel.

And I haven't even attempted a section yet ...

 

[schreiber]

<snip> I like a bit of curve to the sections and think your first section actually looks nicer than the second one which appears to be straighter. But that's just me. <snip<

Renée, I second that, though both are great. Also, the red one has a longer nipple (I guess it's called) to more securely hold the converter.

I'm right behind you -- I successfully finished a section today, my first (OK my second, but I shattered my first one with a n00b stunt). I mentioned the longer nipple, as I notice that mine is a bit short, and with lots of use that converter is going to get loose.

Keep it up! :biggrin:

 

[Twissy]

Excellent work. Only criticism as Jon pointed out, the second section appears a bit short with no support for the convertor. Keep it up, looking forward to seeing more!!!

 

[Tortoise]

Thanks for all the kind remarks! I was a bit afraid to post my first effort, but I'm glad I did now

 

[Tortoise]

Where's the clip? Half the fun IS the clip! :biggrin:

It looks like you are coming right along, nice job. If I may say so, I like a bit of curve to the sections and think your first section actually looks nicer than the second one which appears to be straighter. But that's just me.

Looking forward to more pens... and clips:wink:

Ha! So you noticed the missing clip, eh? Guess I'll have to go order some right away. I don't want to miss out on the other half of the fun stuff :biggrin:

 

[Tortoise]

What I noticed immediately was the incredible shine you have on your pen. It normally takes more practice, trial and error before ending up with this masterpiece. It is really impressive for your first pen. Excellent effort. Thanks for posting it.

You should see the broken bits and leftovers from my practice attempts. For the shine, I just used wet/dry sandpaper in varying grits, then Hut polish. I did sand a lot trying to get out some nicks, though.

 

[Tortoise]

Gratz!! It looks like your body is too straight on the angle/flow. May be the photo

Great job

You're right. I wasn't happy with the angle, either. I wanted a softer curve, not a sharp angle like it turned out, & wanted it lower down. I found it hard to visualize what the other half of the barrel was going to look like while it was hidden in the collet.

 

[Tortoise]

<snip> I like a bit of curve to the sections and think your first section actually looks nicer than the second one which appears to be straighter. But that's just me. <snip<

Renée, I second that, though both are great. Also, the red one has a longer nipple (I guess it's called) to more securely hold the converter.

I'm right behind you -- I successfully finished a section today, my first (OK my second, but I shattered my first one with a n00b stunt). I mentioned the longer nipple, as I notice that mine is a bit short, and with lots of use that converter is going to get loose.

Keep it up! :biggrin:

Excellent work. Only criticism as Jon pointed out, the second section appears a bit short with no support for the convertor. Keep it up, looking forward to seeing more!!!

Curves have been a challenge for me. That's another thing I need more practice on. I still get some nicks & gouges when I try for a curvy section. That's why I kind of played it safe on the second one.

Section threads: I started out trying to make sections with an additional tenon on the main tenon for support. I've forgotten now what caused me to stop, some problem I couldn't get past. I'll go back to adding that step.

 

[schreiber]

Curves have been a challenge for me. That's another thing I need more practice on. I still get some nicks & gouges when I try for a curvy section. That's why I kind of played it safe on the second one.

Yeah, me too. I hope that the collet chuck set I should get tomorrow will give me more support to eliminate some of that chatter. For now, I'm doing a LOT of sanding.

 

[SDB777]

Looking good! And I agree the second does look much 'cleaner', but that could just be the color giving that affect.

Mind sharing the tap/die sizes you used? Did you cut the threads with any type of 'lube' on the acrylic?






Scott (maybe one day) B

 

[Tortoise]

Looking good! And I agree the second does look much 'cleaner', but that could just be the color giving that affect.

Mind sharing the tap/die sizes you used? Did you cut the threads with any type of 'lube' on the acrylic?

Scott (maybe one day) B

- 7.4 x .5 Tap for nib and feed holder for Meisternib #6 nib
- 10 x .75 Die for section to barrel
- 10 x .75 Tap for barrel to section
- 14 x .10 Die for barrel to cap
- 14 x .10 Tap for cap to barrel

And yes, I used a ton of Canola oil cooking spray as lube. I try to be as accurate as possible with the spray, and hold a paper towel behind it, but I still get spray everywhere. I think I need to buy a case of the stuff! I did get one of those cheap spray can trigger guns to keep my hand clean when spraying, and it also makes it easier to control the amount of spray.

 

[BSea]

Very cool. I've been wadding in the custom pool too. Everything about these pens involves a learning curve, and each step involves so much measuring and checking. And 2 weeks to make a pen is about my average. But I'm getting faster, and you will too.

I can't wait to see the pen that goes with the 2nd section.

Oh, and BTW, clips are easier than sections IMHO.:wink:

 

[Tortoise]

Very cool. I've been wadding in the custom pool too. Everything about these pens involves a learning curve, and each step involves so much measuring and checking. And 2 weeks to make a pen is about my average. But I'm getting faster, and you will too.

I can't wait to see the pen that goes with the 2nd section.

Oh, and BTW, clips are easier than sections IMHO.:wink:

Thanks for the encouragement! You aren't kidding about a learning curve.

I'm glad to hear that clips are easier than sections. I just ordered some last night.

 

[Tortoise]

Curves have been a challenge for me. That's another thing I need more practice on. I still get some nicks & gouges when I try for a curvy section. That's why I kind of played it safe on the second one.

Yeah, me too. I hope that the collet chuck set I should get tomorrow will give me more support to eliminate some of that chatter. For now, I'm doing a LOT of sanding.

I was told the collet set was the most important and the most expensive investment I'd make. I love my collet setup. I always look forward to getting a new blank rounded down so I can get it out of the 4-jaw chuck and into a collet. I bet you will, too.