Two newest pens

[Ned B]

managed an hour or two in the shop today, and here is the result...

Mahagony slimline with a 'gold' kit.

Too thin on the top, and didn't match up the transition well.

The I geared up again and fired this pen up.

East Indian Rosewood with a Pearlescent kit from Woodcraft.

 

[1JaredSchmidt]

Lookin good!

 

[chriselle]

Hey Ned,

It's coming along. Don't be in such a rush to get the pen together. Spend a little more "zen time" (as I call it..lol) on the finishing stage. Keep at it.

Chris

 

[leehljp]

What Chris said. Take your time and play with a turning. If you mess up, use the chisel to take the wood/blank off little by little, including the glue and put another scrap blank on it. Let your goal be "getting the blank to look like you want it to". If you mess up, try again.

For me, I turned quite a few with the idea of learning the chisel angles and pressure, finishing etc. My goal was not a "finished pen" but learning the steps and feel to complete each part.

Remember the movie "Karate Kid" - in which he was taught "wipe on, wipe off" and made to repeat it a hundred times in waxing a car? That became the foundation for basic karate defense move in the movie. Same with pen steps.

You are on your way.

 

[chriselle]

CA on,, CA off. CA on,, CA off.......:wink:

 

[Ned B]

Last night I 'needed' a pen for a gift , so I was result driven, the rosewood went home with a Lodge brother appreciated the work that went into it.

And in my case it would be 'hut on, hut off'

 

[TowMater]

Ned,

It looks like you are on the right track.

How is the lighting around your lathe? I had a problem with not seeing some details when I first started with pens due to poor lighting around my lathe.

Your turning work looks good, your matching up to the fittings very well. Keep up the good work.

 

[Ned B]

Tow-
lighting in my shop in general is poor at the moment, but that is on my weekend 'to do' list. I'm going to be chopping holes and installing the windows finally, as well as hanging a flurescent shop fixture.


Thanks for the feedback folks, I harbor no illusions that I've 'got it', but am enjoying the heck out of 'getting closer'.

 

[wdcav1952]

Certainly better than my first efforts, Ned. Spend some time reading up on finishes, and you will soon put the Hut PPP aside.

 

[toolcrazy]

Very nice.

 

[Mather323]

It is much nicer that my first work, take your time.

 

[Glenn McCullough]

Like the others, my first ones were almost that good. It is better to have a bit of a belly(like you intended) than to have it overturned and smaller than the hardware. That being said, too fat is not attractive to me either, somewhere in between is good. Then when you get that little belly to go on a diet, you can make a B to B (barrel to barrel) for the ultimate slim shape.

 

[alphageek]

Ned,

If you want to improve lighting, one of the best things I did was add a magnetic light to the lathe itself. Sticks right on the headstock and can be angled to really highlight things. I found mine at harbor freight, but I know you can get them somewhere else.