Spirals

[its_virgil]

I had some shop time today and made these three. I'm doing a demo Sat and thought I had better practice. First pen is African Blackwood and the spiral is one revolution in 2". The second is E. Indian Rosewood and the pitch is one revolution in 1". This is the better spiral because of the width of the rope twist router bit. I had forgotten which pitch to use. The first pen will be redone like the second one. The third pen is also E. Indian Rosewood with 6 flat sides. Making them isn't so bad but sanding them is ......not fun. As always, comments welcome...good, bad, or indifferent.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[ken69912001]

Did you use a legacy mill? Those are real sharp looking. I have a friend who just got a Legacy. Trying to talk him into getting the pen kit to make me some.

 

[its_virgil]

I use a small stand alone mill called the MillLathe whick is now out of production. It was originally sold by Woodcraft. I snagged mine off of ebay a couple of years ago. I've attached a picture of it.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by ken69912001
<br />Did you use a legacy mill? Those are real sharp looking. I have a friend who just got a Legacy. Trying to talk him into getting the pen kit to make me some.

 

[Randy_]

I like the look of 6 sided one!!! But I wonder if it would feel funny to use??

 

[rtjw]

Don, dont change the first one. I like it better than the second one. Great Job.

 

[LanceD]

Originally posted by rtjw
<br />Don, dont change the first one. I like it better than the second one. Great Job.

I agree, the first one really stands out.

 

[its_virgil]

Thanks Johnny. I'll take your advice and leave it be. Will you be coming to bubbasville and the Tex. Penturner's meeting Sat. If so, you can see it done and we can even make you one.

Randy,
It doesn't feel any different that a standard sierra. The spiral ones are a bit big/fat but they don't feel awkard either.

Lance D,
Thanks also. I'll not change the first one.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by rtjw
<br />Don, dont change the first one. I like it better than the second one. Great Job.

 

[Ligget]

I like them all, I need to try the flat 6 sided shape on my Legacy200, will need to buy a different bit as all I have is barley twist and rope twist bits.
Don can you show me a picture of the bit/cutter you used for the flat sided pen, so I buy the right thing.
Cheers
Mark

 

[alxe24]

Beautiful pens I like all but since this is the first 6 sided pen I see that is the one that grabbed my attention the most
Regards

 

[Jim15]

Three excellent pens Don.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Like them all,nice work Don.

 

[rtjw]

Originally posted by its_virgil
<br />Thanks Johnny. I'll take your advice and leave it be. Will you be coming to bubbasville and the Tex. Penturner's meeting Sat. If so, you can see it done and we can even make you one.

Randy,
It doesn't feel any different that a standard sierra. The spiral ones are a bit big/fat but they don't feel awkard either.

Lance D,
Thanks also. I'll not change the first one.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by rtjw
<br />Don, dont change the first one. I like it better than the second one. Great Job.

It's either go to Bubbasville or go to our kids birthday party. So I guess I wont be seeing yall saturday.

 

[PenWorks]

Very nice Virgil, I like the flat. You cheated on the spiral's, what happened to cuts 2 & 3 ?
Do you charge extra for hand sanding?

 

[its_virgil]

bring the kids to "our" party. Wish you could come but I understand.
Don

Originally posted by rtjw
<br />

Originally posted by its_virgil
<br />Thanks Johnny. I'll take your advice and leave it be. Will you be coming to bubbasville and the Tex. Penturner's meeting Sat. If so, you can see it done and we can even make you one.

Randy,
It doesn't feel any different that a standard sierra. The spiral ones are a bit big/fat but they don't feel awkard either.

Lance D,
Thanks also. I'll not change the first one.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by rtjw
<br />Don, dont change the first one. I like it better than the second one. Great Job.

It's either go to Bubbasville or go to our kids birthday party. So I guess I wont be seeing yall saturday.

 

[GaryMGg]

Very nice work
Honey, look at this, I need another tool []

 

[its_virgil]

I'm not sure what happened on the top pen. But, you meant cuts 2 & 3 on the second one? Does the "pitch" effect the looks of the rope spiral or did I do something wrong? On the E. Indian pen I indexed 180 degrees and just made two cuts. On the blackwood pen, I indexed 90 degrees and made 4 cuts. I'm going to try to figure it out today.

Sanding is a LOT extra. That's the hardest part of doing thise, as you've mentioned before.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by PenWorks
<br />Very nice Virgil, I like the flat. You cheated on the spiral's, what happened to cuts 2 & 3 ?
Do you charge extra for hand sanding?

 

[PenWorks]

I miss understood your original post, I thought you made only 1 cut or pass.
I thought the formula was 3 passes with a 1/2 cutter. But I guess that would change if the pitch was changed. What do I know, they still look great. []

 

[huntersilver]

Looks awesome, I can't wait to get my Legacy mill[]

 

[its_virgil]

Mark,
The router bit is called a straight bit. Here is a link to them:
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_strai.html

And here is a picture:

The one I use on a sierra is 3/8 inch but the 1/2 inch may be needed on a larger pen like the El Grande.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Darley]

Those pens are awesome Don, like them very much, the top one is good something different.

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by PenWorks
<br />I thought the formula was 3 passes with a 1/2 cutter. But I guess that would change if the pitch was changed. What do I know, they still look great. []

The small Legacy had a 1.5" pitch, so 3 passes are needed. The mill lathe allows 1" and 2" pitches, but not 1.5" with the provided pulleys.

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by its_virgil
<br />The one I use on a sierra is 3/8 inch but the 1/2 inch may be needed on a larger pen like the El Grande.

Don,
a 3/8" cutter will let you make hexagons up to 3/4" cusp to cusp. That's about .650" flat to flat... plenty for El Grande! The larger the diameter, the more vibration and flex and subsequent cleanup. A sketch and little trigonometry is helpful before cutting. [] Use the smallest cutter... routerbits from MLCS don't cost much, I use a 1/4" bit for 8-sided barons. To me, 6-sided looks a little too hefty on a larger diameter pen

 

[Rmartin]

Very nice. I like the way the light catches the spirals

 

[bob393]

Just super work Don.

 

[johncrane]

Fantastic work Don! l love all three pens.They must be a real pain too finish.[]

 

[rtgleck]

Don, they all look great, I do like the look of the first one as well. Hope your demo this weekend went well

 

[Ligget]

Thanks Don for uploading this picture and information, I really do appreciate it!
Cheers
Mark

Originally posted by its_virgil
<br />Mark,
The router bit is called a straight bit. Here is a link to them:
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_strai.html

And here is a picture:

The one I use on a sierra is 3/8 inch but the 1/2 inch may be needed on a larger pen like the El Grande.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Draken]

I like the spirals, but the flat sided one just doesn't do anything for me. Nice machine you have there.