Jdubfudge
Member
So I blew two blanks off the tube tonight and I'd like a little bit of help before I try. The wood is from the USS Missouri that I got right from the deck, so I'd like to try to actually get some more pens from what I have. From what I can tell it comes down to four things: technique, tool, glue up, or the wood.
My technique: I'm new to this so, but I have been trying to not be aggressive. Taking a tiny bit off at a time, keeping the tool square, and then sanding to the final shape.
The tool: I have a carbide one that I bought from PSI, so it should be sharp. Ihve turned about seven pens with it so far and haven't rotated the tip yet. How many turns do people normally get before they have to rotate/change the tip?
The glue up. This is where I think I went the most wrong. Ihve noticed the last few times Ihve drilled, it seems there is a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of wiggle room for the pen tube. I'm using PSI instaflex +. I put it on the tube, rotated it in, then let it sit for about four hours before I started turning.
The wood. I'm using teak from the Mighty Mo. The newer stuff is only about 3/4 inch thick so I had to double it up because I had to plane off the rot. Once planed, I glued some koa to it for band and to make it look like I wasn't trying to hide the fact I laminated the wood. On one side, I did the wood glue/hot iron method. On the other, I glued and clamped and left over night. I have been able to get a few pens so far, but right now I'm 2 for 4 and I really don't like those odds.
So my questions. I take it that while my technique will probably get better, it will in time so that can't be fixed overnight. For my tool, should it still be sharp? For the glue. If there are tiny gaps in the pen tube, so I use gorilla glue or epoxy as opposed to CA? For the wood. Should I stabilize it?
This is wood how I got it.
This is it after I planed it.
And this is it doubled up.
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