New here..... Looking for feedback.

[Ankrom Exotics]

Hello all. Just joined the forum today. I've been a woodworker for years but have never gotten around to using a lathe or turning any pens until a couple weeks ago. Here are some pictures of my pens. Any and all feedback (pros and cons) would be appreciated.

The first two pics are Big Ben Cigar pens made of Amboyna burl and Afzelia burl respectively. The third is a slimline of Spalted Maple.

Thanks,
Pat

 

[MobilMan]

Sure can"t see anything wrong with them, in fact darn nice pens, wood & workmanship. Keep it up.

 

[edman2]

Welcome Patrick. Great Pens. I wish my first ones had looked anywhere close to those. Glad to see you posting on your first day! Keep it up.

 

[igran7]

Holy cow those blanks are outrageous! The Afzelia Burl is out of this world. Welcome aboard Patrick, those are outstanding, hope to see some more from you soon.

 

[Skye]

Any and all feedback (pros and cons) would be appreciated.

Pros: Those are some great looking blanks! I’d say you did a great job hitting the bushings, which is where I find a pen is made or broken. If you can run your fingers down the pen and you can feel the transition from wood to hardware because they don’t match, I’d hide it in a drawer. Looks like you nailed it and keep an eye on them in the future because as they wear down, it’ll cause that problem. I’m guessing you’re using the upgrade gold kits for your learning curve, which is almost a shame because you’re using some stellar wood and it’s possible those plantings will fail long before you get tired of looking at that wood. Another cheap way to go is with chrome kits, which would go great with the BEB. Just go easy on them though and the gold will last you a while. Just a bit of info should you decide to start selling them.

Cons: Looks like you’re having a bit of trouble keeping your diameters in check. The Buckeye is narrow near the heavy grain at the nib. I’m guessing it required a little more pressure to turn that area down and you got a little carried away. Likewise, just north of the centerband it seems to have happened again. There’s two ways you can avoid this when starting out. One is to just plan on having a bit of a curved body on both upper and lower barrels. It looks good an it allows you a little wiggle room should you overturn a bit. If you do, you just smooth the curve down a little more. Worst case you take it all the way down to straight bushing-to-bushing. Second, shape the barrels till you get within the ballpark of your desired shape. Then, hit it with some rough sandpaper, sanding to the final shape. Just make sure to sand out all the gouges the rough sandpaper can cause. Oh, and go easy on the bushings if you go this route.

 

[bitshird]

Pros, I'm not sure what skye is looking at, but all 3 look pretty well on the mark for the hardware transitions, I do agree about the choice of platings, that wood definitely deserves TI either black or gold, but not 24k.
I like the cap to finial transition more than the straight shot on the top pen, Kind of hard to see the slimline but the wood looks very pretty,
Cons, The photos could be better (like I'm one to talk)
I tend to like a gentle curve to the outline of the lower barrel, B2B is OK but let you hand be the judge of how they feel in your hand even on the lowly slimline, still alot that can be done with them, Great start turning.

 

[Skye]

Originally posted by bitshird

Pros, I'm not sure what skye is looking at, but all 3 look pretty well on the mark for the hardware transitions,

Originally posted by Skyebroken. If you can run your fingers down the pen and you can feel the transition from wood to hardware because they don’t match, I’d hide it in a drawer. Looks like you nailed it

I was saying he nailed the transition to the kit, meaning it's perfect. [8D]

 

[Ankrom Exotics]

Thanks for the comments, folks. For the most part I'm pretty pleased with the results, but then I look at some of the pens in the galleries here and realize just how much I've yet to learn.

As for the wood, fortunately I've got quite a bit. I actually got into pen turning because of the wood rather than the other way around. I was introduced to stabilized woods through my Dad who is a custom knife maker (knifemakers guild member since 1976). I have always appreciated a pretty piece of wood and decided to begin buying premium exotic hardwoods and burls, stabilizing them and reselling them to knifemakers for handle material. I dabbled for a little while on ebay but put it on the back burner due to time constraints. One of my customers was a pen turner in Missouri who sent me a couple of the pens he made from the wood he purchased.I was fascinated and began researching the craft and told myself that if I ever got around to dealing in the exotic woods again that I would be using some of it myself. I've got shelves full of the stuff.

I recently quit my job, moved to a new state and built a small woodshop. I will be turning and selling pens, building jewelry boxes, selling stabilized woods and offering stabilizing services to other craftsmen. It's quite a leap but hey, you only go around once, right?

 

[stevers]

Practice, practice, practice. Sounds like you have the time. Nice start anyway. You should see some of my first pens. []

 

[Ligget]

Lovely pens Patrick, welcome to the IAP family and good luck with your new venture in life!

 

[Scott]

Hi Patrick! Welcome to the site!

Great wood! Your pens will always be a welcome sight as long as you use amazing blanks like these!

These are very nice pens! And the transition to turning great pens is near! As Skye pointed out, the diameters are a little off - not much, just a little. But visually it throws the balance of the pen off. Within two or three more pens you will have this looking good as well. Think in terms of balance and symmetry. You may discover more about the shape of your pens by closing your eyes and feeling the shape with your fingers.

What kind of finish are you using? And speaking of stabilizing, are these pressure stabilized? Or are they soaked in the stabilizing compound? Just curious!

Does your Dad have a website for his knives? I would love to see some of his designs.

Good Job!

Scott.

 

[Ankrom Exotics]

Thanks Scott. These particular blanks are not stabilized at all. I hadn't had my stabilizing equipment set up in the shop yet and the chemical I use is in transit as I write this. The stabilizing that I do is pressure stabilizing using a heat cured polymer resin. The finished product is very dense and totally impervious to the elements. It seldom if ever tears out during turning and polishes like glass.

As for my Dad.... no website, he's not that cyber savvy. It's easy enough to find his knives online though as several dealers stock his work. Just google "W.E. Ankrom". I'm sure you'll find plenty of samples of his knives.

Mark Ligget in Scotland..... Thanks for the comment. Where exactly are you located? I traveled Scotland for 2 weeks back in 2004 and can't wait to get back again. A lovely country.

 

[airrat]

Patrick very nice job on the pens.

Skye gave you a great pro and con to go with it. On the upgrade gold cigar kits I still have a couple I use and they are just starting to show fading. I have always kept a coat of RenWax on it so I am sure that helped.

If your interested in a different finish look at all the tutorials on CA finishes. I think you will knock yourself out with it.

As to the picture taking, there are some great tutorials on that too.

All in all welcome to the site. Nice entrance.

 

[Skye]

Originally posted by buzz7164Just google "W.E. Ankrom". I'm sure you'll find plenty of samples of his knives.

<--- DAAAAAAAANG!

 

[Ankrom Exotics]

Yep.... that's my Dad. If I can get half as good at turning pens as he is at his craft I should be ok.