So... here goes...

[NotURMailman]

Not sure they are anything to show off, but these are my first 4 pens (and only 4 to date).

I will try to include as much info as I can think of with each one...

#1 is a gold slimline, made from scrap pine, sanded to 400 grit, and finished with Hut Crystal Coat

#2 is another gold slimline, made from Bocote, sanded to 400 grit, finished with thin CA (10 coats or so), polished with MicroMesh

#3 is a gold WallStreet II click pen, made from Ebony, sanded to 400 grit, then polished with MicroMesh, then finished with Hut Crystal Coat - made for my wife

#4 is a copper WallStreet II click pen, made from African Padauk, sanded to 400 grit, polished with MicroMesh, and finished with Hut Crystal Coat - made for me

I'm sure the CA finish will last 100 times longer than the wax based, but I like that the HCC leaves the pen feeling like wood

My pen turned out to be quite the adventure. First the Lacewood blank I had picked out exploded on me both times I tried to drill it. Then I glued the tube into a piece of pine. I decided I wasn't going to waste a $17 pen kit with pine. So, I tried to cut down the side of the blank so I could break it from around the tube. Oops... I cut a slice off the side of the tube with my scroll saw. So today I went back to WoodCraft and tried to get a pack of spare tubes. They didn't any. We thought we found some the same diameter but longer, so I bought those. The salesman measured the tube from another kit and said it was 1 7/16 long. I get home and cut one of the tubes to 1 7/16. I looked at it and said "that's way too short". So, I dug the busted up pine blank out of the trash and used it to get the right length. I cut a second tube and replaced the now destroyed scroll saw blade (I knew that was going to happen, so no worries). I cut the blank to length, drilled it and glued in the tube. After the glue dried I went to clean it up with my pen mill and it wouldn't fit in the tube. The new tube diameter was just barely too small! So I used the 25/64 guide (the WSII should have been 27/64). Of course the WSII bushings wouldn't fit in th tube either. So, what did I do? I pressed them in with my vise... LOL! At this point I'm not even sure if the pen will go together or function when I am done, but I figure I may as well keep going. So I turn and finish the blank. I (obviously) had some issues getting the bushings out of the tube, but it ending working out. The kit parts pressed in nice and tight and the click mechanism works the way it should. So far I'm in for about $1,000 (lathe, tools, chuck, consumables, etc...) and have four pens...

But, I do find turning to be super relaxing and very enjoyable!

That was the point after all...

 

[triw51]

Looking good.

 

[CharlesJohnson]

Forget the cost of setup.You will be a lot happier.Besides,you have just begun.Please do have fun though.I do.

 

[plantman]

Not sure they are anything to show off, but these are my first 4 pens (and only 4 to date).

I will try to include as much info as I can think of with each one...

#1 is a gold slimline, made from scrap pine, sanded to 400 grit, and finished with Hut Crystal Coat

#2 is another gold slimline, made from Bocote, sanded to 400 grit, finished with thin CA (10 coats or so), polished with MicroMesh

#3 is a gold WallStreet II click pen, made from Ebony, sanded to 400 grit, then polished with MicroMesh, then finished with Hut Crystal Coat - made for my wife

#4 is a copper WallStreet II click pen, made from African Padauk, sanded to 400 grit, polished with MicroMesh, and finished with Hut Crystal Coat - made for me

I'm sure the CA finish will last 100 times longer than the wax based, but I like that the HCC leaves the pen feeling like wood

My pen turned out to be quite the adventure. First the Lacewood blank I had picked out exploded on me both times I tried to drill it. Then I glued the tube into a piece of pine. I decided I wasn't going to waste a $17 pen kit with pine. So, I tried to cut down the side of the blank so I could break it from around the tube. Oops... I cut a slice off the side of the tube with my scroll saw. So today I went back to WoodCraft and tried to get a pack of spare tubes. They didn't any. We thought we found some the same diameter but longer, so I bought those. The salesman measured the tube from another kit and said it was 1 7/16 long. I get home and cut one of the tubes to 1 7/16. I looked at it and said "that's way too short". So, I dug the busted up pine blank out of the trash and used it to get the right length. I cut a second tube and replaced the now destroyed scroll saw blade (I knew that was going to happen, so no worries). I cut the blank to length, drilled it and glued in the tube. After the glue dried I went to clean it up with my pen mill and it wouldn't fit in the tube. The new tube diameter was just barely too small! So I used the 25/64 guide (the WSII should have been 27/64). Of course the WSII bushings wouldn't fit in th tube either. So, what did I do? I pressed them in with my vise... LOL! At this point I'm not even sure if the pen will go together or function when I am done, but I figure I may as well keep going. So I turn and finish the blank. I (obviously) had some issues getting the bushings out of the tube, but it ending working out. The kit parts pressed in nice and tight and the click mechanism works the way it should. So far I'm in for about $1,000 (lathe, tools, chuck, consumables, etc...) and have four pens...

But, I do find turning to be super relaxing and very enjoyable!

That was the point after all...

Lets see if I can make life a little less complicated for you. First Lacewood is not an easy wood to drill. Wrap the blank in masking tape and start with a small drill and work your way up to 27/64th. It may take 4-5 drills to get to the size you need. 2- Pine is a very soft wood to turn. I would only use it if it had some fantastic grain. I have some birdseye pine I will turn someday. Most pen turners Micro sand to 12,000. 3- If you don't like the blank you turned, just turn it down to the brass tube and start over. If you are going to cut metal with a scroll saw, buy blades that are made for this purpose. ( Bens Scroll Saw.com ). 4- Invest in a digital calipers that measures in inches and millmeters. ALWAYS measure your inside and outside dimentions of everything !!!! If your going to a store to buy something, take the part with you. 5- If you spent over $1000 aready, go to Harbor Freight and buy the 115 piece drill bit set when it's on sale and use the 20% off cupon. You can get the calipers at the same time. 6- While your there, buy the 28 piece Disassembly Punch set to take your pens apart and remove the bushing if they get glued in. 7- Get a lighter backround for your photos. A sheet, white paper, foam board, anything at hand. 8- Go to Home Depot and buy 3 clamp on work lites with daylite bulbs. 75-100 watts will do. One for each side, and one for overhead backlighting. This will get rid of shadows in your photos. Look in the library on this site for more details on how to take photos. 9- Go to Goodwill or look at rummage sales for a good tripod to hold the camera steady. I paid $4 for a pro video model still in the box. 10- Download a free photo program from the internet to improve your photos. It's unbeleivable what you can correct. Save your mistakes and learn from them !! That's my 10 step program to happy pen turning. I am sure others will have some things to add to help you along. That's why we are here, to learn and help those that want to learn. Check the library, you can find most anything you want to learn in it. If you don't see it or have questions, just ask. Good turning Jim S

 

[SDB777]

Wow!! All that and your still relaxed, you must have some seriously stressful kind of job. I'd have been throwing stuff everywhere(not to be found again).

Pine can make for a nice blank, but only crotch figure or some kind of weird crosscut, stained, wormholed kinda things going on. Or if it's of some kind of historical wood..... Most would still pass on it even then(after all, a #2 pencil is made out of cedar).
It's not a bad thing to actually have a pen made from wood feel like wood....CA finish does protect better, yes. But sometimes it just looks to 'fake'.



Scott (keep that first one) B

 

[Jjartwood]

Use epoxy for your tubes,gives better working time and can be cleaned up with
denatured alcohol.
Pens look great for the first 4 you've made (but at $250 ea. they should LOL!!)
When you find yourself looking around everywhere you go and thinking about weather or not you can make a pen out of something,WELCOME,your not crazy,your a penmaker!
Mark

 

[bobjackson]

Great job on your first 4. You are on your way. Welcome from northern Ohio.

 

[NotURMailman]

Thanks for the tips!

I am totally with you guys on the pine.

The first one I jst did for practice and figured since I had extra tubes for the slimlines I could toss it and then do one with first wood. Then I decided I kind of liked it, and that since it was my first try I would go ahead and assemble it into a pen.

Then when I was going to use the pine on my WSII click it was only because I didn't have any other wood left and I was being impatient, but then I thought better of it.

I would not normally cut metal with a wood blade, but I have a stack of really sorry el-cheapo skil brand blades I won't really use since i got some Flying Dutchman blades, and I didn't have any metal blades. My prigional plan was to trun down a piece of pine to fit snuglt into the tube so I could clamp it in the vise and cut it with my porta-band, but then I got lazy.

Again, thanks for all the tips. I have actually been reading the section on photographing pens. #3 and #4 actually were aken on a sheet of printer paper. The main problme is I used my cell phone, not a real camera. I'll be on the look out for some cheap reading lamps to light the pictures with and I'll ask for my wife's permission to use the camera... LOL!

 

[azamiryou]

I decided I wasn't going to waste a $17 pen kit with pine. So, I tried to cut down the side of the blank so I could break it from around the tube. Oops... I cut a slice off the side of the tube with my scroll saw.

Next time, mount it up on your lathe, put on your face shield, and go to town on it with a gouge, carbide tool, or parting tool - you can easily get all the wood and residual glue off without compromising the tube.

Also useful if you ruin a blank while you're turning it. Some can be repaired, some can be salvaged, others you just turn the remaining parts off and re-use the tube(s) in a new blank.

 

[NotURMailman]

I decided I wasn't going to waste a $17 pen kit with pine. So, I tried to cut down the side of the blank so I could break it from around the tube. Oops... I cut a slice off the side of the tube with my scroll saw.

Next time, mount it up on your lathe, put on your face shield, and go to town on it with a gouge, carbide tool, or parting tool - you can easily get all the wood and residual glue off without compromising the tube.

Also useful if you ruin a blank while you're turning it. Some can be repaired, some can be salvaged, others you just turn the remaining parts off and re-use the tube(s) in a new blank.

Why didn't I think of that? That sounds much more effective and a lot more fun!

 

[mikespenturningz]

Nice pens keep up the good work!

 

[NotURMailman]

I did one for my sister tonight. Made sure to use plenty of glue and turned the lathe up 2 speeds. No exploding blanks. I did still use the thick CA on this one. I used a heat gun on the pen (with the lathe spinning) after sanding and polishing, but before finishing to bring the color back out in the Purpleheart.

I apologize for the really bad photography...
(It's on the list... somewhere.)

Slimline, Purpleheart, sanded to 400, polished with MicroMesh to 12000 and finished with Hut Crystal Coat.

 

[NotURMailman]

Did two more last night, well I finished one and did another.

Slimline, Bloodwood, sanded to 400, MicroMeshed to 12000, finished with Hut Crystal Coat friction polish.

 

[NotURMailman]

I forgot to attach the picture....

The other one is on my desk at work and I forgot to take a pciture...