Coffee Bean Blank

[donnalleyd]

I dislike the coffee bean blank. Whew!! Got that off my chest.

I have been convinced to make another from a local coffee shop owner. She would like a click pen. I am looking for suggestions on a click pen with a decent barrel thickness.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[dfross]

I've done one of the click cigar pens and it turned out well. Not my favorite to turn either!

 

[Olsarge]

I've only made one and it was a sierra twist. I too hope I am never asked to make another one. Dennis

 

[donnalleyd]

I wouldn't make it except this is to help my wife with her business and her networking. This individual has a lot of contact that my wife would love to know. So it is just a small headache for a greater overall goal.

Ben

 

[mg_dreyer]

There are a few tricks that I offer here on turning these blanks. First the easiest is to sand as much off as possible. I put the bushings on the ends and then simply roll the blank over my horizontal sanding center to get the majority of it down. The second trick is to turn it differently. In general when turning the "force" or lite pressure is in the direction of the blank long side (side to side). Here is where the purist will jump in and say use a skew (which I can do - but why). It is simpler to apply pressure into the blank either with a gouge or skew as a scrapper. This will keep the beans in place longer because there is no side to side force. I only apply the side to side cut as my last cut to get the blank straight.

Just my two cents ....

 

[glenspens]

Don't turn to long before you stop and put some ca on the beans to keep them in place, just stay on top of it and you will have a sweet looking blank....well it's workes for me .

 

[low_48]

What tool are you using? I've never lost a bean using a skew and light shear cuts. I love turning them, well the smell doesn't hurt the enjoyment either.

 

[donnalleyd]

I have tried them all except carbide tools. I usually end up using a skew as as scrapper. I am not very good with a skew but I always try to use it because I want to be better with the skew. I usually get the blank close then sand aggressively down to size. All the while using lots of CA. I would love to not finish with CA but I don't see any way around it. I want the customer to have something that doesn't turn her hands brown.

 

[Olsarge]

I found that if you use almost any finish, you loose the aroma of the coffee.

 

[kingkeyman]

Slimline Pro from PSI looks great with coffee beans. If it was for a guy I'd say Vertex.

 

[CrimsonKeel]

Id say a long clicker would be the best for keeping a thicker blank.