10-Minute Pen

[DCBluesman]

Do not try this at home! See, I'm crazy about trying dumb things.

This is a pen I turned just a few minutes ago. From unmarked blank to finished pen was 10 minutes. Now I know I can make a better one, but how bad is it when you can crank one of these babies out in just 10 minutes...from soup-to-nuts? [8D]

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[Guest]

Did that include cutting drilling and glueing in the tube?

 

[DCBluesman]

Quick review of my process:
Measured and marked the blank.
Cut to size on the band saw.
Drilled 7mm for a tight fit.
Inserted the tubes with thin CA and waited a minute.
Barrel trimmed.
Set on mandrel and lathe.
Turned to round with a roughing gouge, then skewed to the bushings.
Sanded on the lathe to 320, then sanded at 320 with-the-grain.
MM1500 with the lather spinning, then with-the-grain.
Cleaned the blank with rubbing alcohol and let it dry.
Applied TSW-1121, let it wait one-minute before wiping off.
Waited one more minute and hand buffed with a paper towel.
Assembled.
Total time: (By my watch, anyway) 9:40

It was kinda fun, but I wouldn't want to make it a habit (Unless I had a REAL big order and little time).[8D]

 

[penhead]

Wood blank: $4.00
Pen Kit: $1.50
Finish: homemade
Enjoyment of turning bare wood into a thing of beauty: Timeless

JohnPayton

 

[Fred in NC]

Lou:

Nice looking pen. Olive is a pretty wood. I bet somebody will buy it from you as soon as he sees it!

I have clocked myself at 12 mins. I was not rushing, just keeping at it until finished.

Good job, Lou!



Some kinds of wood naturally need less finishing than others.

 

[ilikewood]

TEN MINUTES?!!! Geez...it takes me ten minutes to decide to make a pen!![]

 

[wayneis]

Yeah, it takes me longer than that to try to deside what blank goes with what kit, or what kit goes with what blank or something like that. []

Wayne in Michigan

It took almost ten minutes to post this note.

 

[Fred in NC]

Decisions, decisions! I go thru that with the better blanks and kits. For production pens I just cut a bunch of blanks from my usual woods, drill and tube them. I turn assorted shapes and put finish on. The finished barrels go on the chopstick board. This gives them a little time to dry. This is when I take a break. I then use assorted slimline kits (gold, chrome, black) and press the parts in. I make 6-12 pens at a time.

The better blanks and kits take more time, especially because of the finish. I use 3 mandrels, so I can put a pen aside and keep working on it later. So I usually work on 3 pens at a time. The mandrels go in the 'holey board' between operations. It takes takes me a couple hours to complete the pens.

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

Takes me more than 10 minutes to pull the bandsaw attachment off the Shopsmith, wheel it into a better position for the drill press, stand up the Shopsmith ways into drill press configuraton, attach the jacobs chuck, rotate the table to 90 degrees, slip my drilling jig into place and clamp...

Needless to say, I do the cutting/drilling/glueing steps in batch mode.

 

[William Young]

Nice going Lou.
What is TSW-1121 ? ? ?
W.Y.

 

[DCBluesman]

It's a new finish a friend and I have developed. Some folks here are testing it. If it wasn't so darned hard to get stuff into Canada, I'd send you some.

Originally posted by William Young
<br />Nice going Lou.
What is TSW-1121 ? ? ?
W.Y.

 

[Fred in NC]

Lou: I would like to try the TSW. I came to this forum way after you offered the test batches. I hope I can try it sometime when you go into production.

 

[William Young]

Lou . I am in canada but in a border town. 6 miles from the border and I also have a US address. I get nearly all my supplies from USA to that address.
W.Y.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by DCBluesman
<br />Quick review of my process:
Measured and marked the blank.
Cut to size on the band saw.
Drilled 7mm for a tight fit.
Inserted the tubes with thin CA and waited a minute.
Barrel trimmed.
Set on mandrel and lathe.
Turned to round with a roughing gouge, then skewed to the bushings.
Sanded on the lathe to 320, then sanded at 320 with-the-grain.
MM1500 with the lather spinning, then with-the-grain.
Cleaned the blank with rubbing alcohol and let it dry.
Applied TSW-1121, let it wait one-minute before wiping off.
Waited one more minute and hand buffed with a paper towel.]
Assembled.
Total time: (By my watch, anyway) 9:40

It was kinda fun, but I wouldn't want to make it a habit (Unless I had a REAL big order and little time).[8D]

O.K. now I am confused.
I thought we were supposed to wait before buffing.
If this is a belabored point please e-mail me the "official" application instructions.
I understand we are the guinea pigs with the testing,but I understood the optimum results were to wait 12 hrs before buffing for hardening to take effect.
I certainly would rather not wait.
I even made a rack for "curing"[]

 

[DCBluesman]

Oh heck, you know me well enough by now to know that I don't follow instructions. But on a more serious note, what I am finding is that I can hand buff right away and it looks pretty good. I'm also experimenting with light machine buffing after about 20-30 minutes. I haven't produced a bad result yet. If I could just get a few other testers to let me know what modifications they are playing with, we could all learn faster...after all, I can't possibly be expected to make all of the mistakes myself. [] BUT, you really do need to <u>wait 24 hours if you are going to add another coat </u>to get the deep chatoyance some are looking for. If not, the fresh coat will soften the undercoat. I'm working on a way to reduce that to 8 hours, but I'm not having success yet. [8D]

 

[Guest]

I'don't know if this is a complaint or if it is my improper application,but my wife says the pens feel "sticky".
I'm not sure if that is the best way to explain it,but they definately don't feel like a "pure" CA finish.
Any one notice this?

 

[DCBluesman]

The finish WILL feel sticky before it is buffed. That's one of the reasons for wiping it on, then wiping it off, letting it set up, then buffing. It's like furniture wax, in this regard (or car wax). Again, wipe on a relatively thin coat, let it set for ONE minute, then wipe it off. Give it time to cure, then buff it. Time to cure may vary depending on the humidity in your part of SC. It will never feel like a CA finish, but it should also not feel sticky after buffing. I've sent you an email, just in case you want me to talk you through it. [8D]

Originally posted by Eaglesc
<br />I'don't know if this is a complaint or if it is my improper application,but my wife says the pens feel "sticky".
I'm not sure if that is the best way to explain it,but they definately don't feel like a "pure" CA finish.
Any one notice this?

 

[jwoodwright]

Chuck, check out my Shopsmith Horizontal Drilling Jig. It's right-on and allows drilling of the longest blank...[]


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