firewhatfire
Member
well this is about 20 pens into this pen turning world. Give me the good bad and ugly opinions on how to improve.
Up against a wall
- Thread starter firewhatfire
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Drstrangefart
Member
Really can't find much of anything to criticize. Good work!
ldubia
Member
My 2 cents worth here. I like the work you have done. Those pens look very nice with the exception of one. The center pen in the top pic with the large bulge from the center band is , again IMHO, too much. That bulge seems a bit too large. All the other pens are nice. They flow easily from end to end. The finish is nice on all of them. For having done only 20 pens, you are coming along very nicely. Keep up the good work.
I have never liked the pen style with straight lines. They remind me of a Bic. You have made your pens all with a slight curve which draws the eye to the details in it. Curves are always good.
Again, just my 2 cents worth.
I have never liked the pen style with straight lines. They remind me of a Bic. You have made your pens all with a slight curve which draws the eye to the details in it. Curves are always good.
Again, just my 2 cents worth.
thewishman
Member
They look good for a start, Phil. Your finishes are much better than those on my first pens.
How high a grit do you sand to?
What finish are you using?
How high a grit do you sand to?
What finish are you using?
I think they all look good. Great job. Some look better than others, but that is personal preference.
Andrew_K99
Member
I'm not a big fan of the 'skinny waist' pens but that's only my opinion. The two that are segments look like mistakes as the woods are so similar, but again, this is just my opinion.
dgscott
Member
I agree with others here -- nice start. You may want to consider including a thin insert between different types of wood in order to ease the eye into the change -- pickguard, aluminum from a soda ca, etc. I, too, don't care for the look of the skinny waist personally -- looks like a chubby woman in a too-tight girdle, but that's just personal preference.
You may also want to spend a little more time in your sanding, going down to the finest girt available in order to produce a glass-like finish. Lots of folks around here use Micro Mesh down to 12,000 grit.
Keep it up -- you've made a great start!
Doug
You may also want to spend a little more time in your sanding, going down to the finest girt available in order to produce a glass-like finish. Lots of folks around here use Micro Mesh down to 12,000 grit.
Keep it up -- you've made a great start!
Doug
Rangertrek
Member
Looks like a great start. Craftsmanship looks good. Finish looks real good for a "beginner". Not crazy about the shapes on some of the pen, just my personal opinion, don't care for the 'bulges'. I know your work will continue to improve as your tackle tougher projects.
firewhatfire
Member
The segmentmented were mistakes that I worked on fixing. I have had alot of them chip out large pieces. I like a little shape to them also, I guess that shows. Most were finished to about 2000 grit and been trying different finishes looking for what works for me. If I have the paitence to leve them alone I finish them like the top one in the bottom picture (peach with tru oil gunstock finish) It actullay looks better in person than the pic.
I just got some micro mesh a couple of days ago so going to give that a try and see if the finish gets any better
Phil
I just got some micro mesh a couple of days ago so going to give that a try and see if the finish gets any better
Phil
alphageek
Former Moderator
Fit and finish look GREAT for the stage you are at... I even really like the variety of shapes.
The one improvement I'd suggest is to work on your segmenting color choices. Find an alternate wood (even walnut, etc) and add some segments with that, even a small band will look great. (and don't limit yourself to 90 degree cuts!).
The one improvement I'd suggest is to work on your segmenting color choices. Find an alternate wood (even walnut, etc) and add some segments with that, even a small band will look great. (and don't limit yourself to 90 degree cuts!).
moke
Member
Phil,
You have a great start in penmaking---you have already started segmenting, and CA. Good Job.
IMHO I might try to improve the mentioned things by the other posters, this is all good advice....add some insert of metal or pickguard between wood segments, work to get a glass finish, and try to not make the thin waisted pens. If you look at pens made on the internet by Mont Blonc and others you will not find any such designs. There turnings are mostly flatter. But the neat thing about this hobby is you can make what you want...if you like that design, go for it.
The last piece of advise is somewhere on your digital camera you will find a white balance setting, for simplicity just set it on the Light bulb. This will eliminate most of your "yellow" influence on your photos....just don't forget to put it back to AWB (Auto-white balance) when you are done or you wife's outdoor pictures will be rally blue and you might get hurt!!!!
Great job, just some food for thought.
You have a great start in penmaking---you have already started segmenting, and CA. Good Job.
IMHO I might try to improve the mentioned things by the other posters, this is all good advice....add some insert of metal or pickguard between wood segments, work to get a glass finish, and try to not make the thin waisted pens. If you look at pens made on the internet by Mont Blonc and others you will not find any such designs. There turnings are mostly flatter. But the neat thing about this hobby is you can make what you want...if you like that design, go for it.
The last piece of advise is somewhere on your digital camera you will find a white balance setting, for simplicity just set it on the Light bulb. This will eliminate most of your "yellow" influence on your photos....just don't forget to put it back to AWB (Auto-white balance) when you are done or you wife's outdoor pictures will be rally blue and you might get hurt!!!!
Great job, just some food for thought.
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Texatdurango
Member
My comment pertains to your highlited comment above......
One of the hardest things I learned to overcome was "fixing mistakes" rather than just accepting that a screw-up is just that... a screw-up and to learn when to just toss the screw up in the trash and start over rather than trying to salvage everything by "segmenting"!
By accepting the screw-ups and calling them segments, you might start accepting more and more as being "OK", then the next thing you know, you are sitting at a table at a craft show with a table full of "segmented" pens and wondering why folks are just walking by rather than buying.
I guess one of my biggest peeves around here is when a member displays a pen with an obvious flaw corrected with an "Oops bands" (they even have a name for the band-aid repair), THEN everyone telling them how great they look and what a great job they did "saving" the blank!
Are blanks really that expensive that we have to salvage every 2" piece?
Sorry, but to me an "Oops band" just shows you don't care enough about your work to take the time to turn another blank and make a nice pen.
This is not meant as jumping on you, instead just giving you something to think about.
SGM Retired
Member
What kind of wood are you using Phil??
Parson
Member
Looks good! Time to upgrade your kits though. Try a baron/nagivator/sedona kit next. Same amount of work, but the kit is much better quality and a little bigger around.
You should also try turning some acrylic or polyresin now that you've mastered woods.
Just as soon as you've done these things you'll be itching to bond some PR or acrylic segments with wood and get extra fancy!
You should also try turning some acrylic or polyresin now that you've mastered woods.
Just as soon as you've done these things you'll be itching to bond some PR or acrylic segments with wood and get extra fancy!
MartinPens
Member
Parson said:
I agree. I think it's time for you to move to some upgraded kits. There are quite a few threads on methods for finishing with CA. I think if you venture into it you will be happier with your finish in the long run. It can be frustrating figuring it out - but you don't have to re-create the wheel, just search threads for CA Finish or Finish with CA or just ask for technique on a thread.
I have found that if I'm not too aggressive with my sand paper and I finish with micro pads, that even if I keep a natural finish (which I did early on) with some sort of oil, it looks better. I was too aggressive with sanding early on and had a lot of frustration with getting glassy finishes like I saw on the forums.
I'm personally not a fan of the bulge or the waist hugger look. But it's your expression, so do what you want and hang on to what you like. Your fit is really good. Maybe you could say a little more about the problems you're having at the ends that is requiring you to fix them. One can learn a lot about segmenting by fixing mess-ups. Leave the ends wide of the bushings and lightly sand to a matching diameter. I avoid approaching the end with the tool. I start my cut anywhere but at an end.
Hope you'll post some more info and I'm looking forward to seeing what is next! Great start!
Martin
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OutofTurnSam
Member
As you probably could have guessed, slimline style pens aren't very popular around these parts.
I have to say that I hated them at first too, but it's really more of an acquired taste and something that you have to work at to figure out how to make them look right. There are several members here that either make their own centerband (so that it can be wider) or take centerbands from other kits and supplement them. There are also several techniques that don't require a centerband at all and allow you more flexible in what you can do with a slimline kit.
Personally, I like the slimline with the centerband. Just work on not making the humps too obvious or letting the pen get too narrow and you will be in good shape. But like has been said before, you can make them however you like them! So don't get discouraged if you really like the designs you came up with!
I really like the woods you were chose to turn, and you did a good job turning the wood. I don't really know much about finishing myself, so I can't offer any more advice than that.
If you are having trouble getting a good photograph of your pens, I'd recommend going outside with a white t-shirt and laying it down on a sunny section of grass. Nothing beats beautiful, natural sunshine when it comes to photography.
Keep up the good work, and I look forward to seeing more from you!:redface:
I have to say that I hated them at first too, but it's really more of an acquired taste and something that you have to work at to figure out how to make them look right. There are several members here that either make their own centerband (so that it can be wider) or take centerbands from other kits and supplement them. There are also several techniques that don't require a centerband at all and allow you more flexible in what you can do with a slimline kit.
Personally, I like the slimline with the centerband. Just work on not making the humps too obvious or letting the pen get too narrow and you will be in good shape. But like has been said before, you can make them however you like them! So don't get discouraged if you really like the designs you came up with!
I really like the woods you were chose to turn, and you did a good job turning the wood. I don't really know much about finishing myself, so I can't offer any more advice than that.
If you are having trouble getting a good photograph of your pens, I'd recommend going outside with a white t-shirt and laying it down on a sunny section of grass. Nothing beats beautiful, natural sunshine when it comes to photography.
Keep up the good work, and I look forward to seeing more from you!:redface:
boxxmaker
Member
They all Look fantastic to me
firewhatfire
Member
SGT
the woods I have used the most is peach, crabapple, spalted pecan pieces and maple a few pieces of black walnut and fig. Those are the one I have on hand. Ihave now made contact with a local door and trim shop and hope to get more of there scraps. Spanish cedar and maple were what they were running this week.
The segments were fixes on the tube as I am learning as someone pointed out not to start on the end. I plan on trying alot of different pen styles as time and money allow. Still working on fit and finish with what I have. I will work on the photo taking for the next round.
Keep the comments coming, I need all of them
Phil
the woods I have used the most is peach, crabapple, spalted pecan pieces and maple a few pieces of black walnut and fig. Those are the one I have on hand. Ihave now made contact with a local door and trim shop and hope to get more of there scraps. Spanish cedar and maple were what they were running this week.
The segments were fixes on the tube as I am learning as someone pointed out not to start on the end. I plan on trying alot of different pen styles as time and money allow. Still working on fit and finish with what I have. I will work on the photo taking for the next round.
Keep the comments coming, I need all of them
Phil
BKelley
Member
Your work seems to be good, the finnish is good, but personally I do not like the wasp waist design. Now this is only my opinion, many people like the wasp waist as noted by the pictures posted by other turners. Tell you what, why don't you make your own center band of a contrasting wood and let the center swell out slightly. Just an idea, maybe you will like it. At any rate keep turning, you are doing fine.
Ben
Ben