How long does it take you?

[John M]

I am just curious how long it takes you guys to make a pen. It seems it takes me a while just to do a slimline. Was curious how much time people spend on pens. And not a crazy segmenting, just a standard one blank pen.

 

[RichB]

I think it can take what ever it takes. In other words how personal will you get in the pen. I can take 1 hr to 2 hrs in a slimline depending on the finish and shape. I take a long time for all my pens because they are a personal project and I want it not to be a production line pen. Most of my pens have 15 to 20 coats of CA on them and sanded to 12000 two times. A friction polish is much faster. Some others can really peal off the wood and I take thin cuts. Have fun

 

[ed4copies]

Have fun is the operative phrase!!!

Wood, properly finished takes MUCH longer than acrylic and other plastics.

I once said NO ONE could complete a plastic pen in less than 90 minutes --- that was Many years ago and I was mistaken.

But how long it takes depends mostly on your level of confidence - I see chunks flying off of resin, but I know the SOUND of a mistake - so the chunks don't bother me. I don't recommend this approach.

A great time for the worn-out phrase, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY!!!

 

[skiprat]

Hey, what's the rush??:biggrin: Sit back and enjoy the ride.

90 mins Ed ??? Heck, these days it take me longer than that to get out of bed, let alone make a pen!!! :redface:

 

[its_virgil]

How Long Does It Take To Make One Of Those?​

Do you mean…​

not plant the tree, but find the wood,​

just 'see' the piece, (as if I could)?​

to find a highly figured burl,​

a crotch, an eye, or pearly curl?​

And once I spy it, perhaps buy it,​

inventory, store, and dry it?​

Then saw or cut it, possibly I kiln it,​

glue, imbue with fill, or drill it?​

You mean, that once I'm satisfied​

it's stopped the warps, checks, cracks, once dried?​

And mounted on the lathe, to turn it,​

(which takes much practice, just to learn it;​

and then employ a gouge, or two,​

or use a skew, which I don't eschew,​

to mold it, shape it (what's your pleasure?)​

by all means, I'm sure to measure,​

then sand it smooth, please wear your mitts,​

from coarse to fine, 10,000 grits,​

then braze, or burnish, paint, or polish,​

(the goal: enhance, and don't demolish)?​

Is that your question, start to end,​

how long's that path, its way to wend?​

Or do you merely want to know how long it turned?​

Ten minutes, or so.​

© John A. Styer, The Lathe-meister



Do a good turn daily!
Don

​

 

[hunter-27]

How Long Does It Take To Make One Of Those?


Do you mean…


not plant the tree, but find the wood,


just 'see' the piece, (as if I could)?


to find a highly figured burl,


a crotch, an eye, or pearly curl?


And once I spy it, perhaps buy it,


inventory, store, and dry it?


Then saw or cut it, possibly I kiln it,


glue, imbue with fill, or drill it?


You mean, that once I'm satisfied


it's stopped the warps, checks, cracks, once dried?


And mounted on the lathe, to turn it,


(which takes much practice, just to learn it;


and then employ a gouge, or two,


or use a skew, which I don't eschew,


to mold it, shape it (what's your pleasure?)


by all means, I'm sure to measure,


then sand it smooth, please wear your mitts,


from coarse to fine, 10,000 grits,


then braze, or burnish, paint, or polish,


(the goal: enhance, and don't demolish)?


Is that your question, start to end,


how long's that path, its way to wend?


Or do you merely want to know how long it turned?


Ten minutes, or so.


© John A. Styer, The Lathe-meister​

Do a good turn daily!
Don​

Longest answer to a one sentence response I've ever seen.

Me, about 15-45 minutes depending on my need to sell or give it away or use it in the shop.

 

[PenTurnerfromMaine]

I've knocked off big orders of slimlines, wood, friction polish is 6-7 minutes on the lathe. Gentlemens pens, an hour to the get the CA finish and dimentions right. So, it depends..................

 

[CSue]

Yup. They're all correct. It makes a difference. But for me the primary matter of time is enjoying bringing is all together into something quite different to behold - making the whole much more than the parts.

(I'm sorry. Just saying "Depends" reminds me of my grandmother's shopping list.)

 

[Rmartin]

I usually do 6 of the same kit at one time.

I cut, drill, and glue in the tube on the first day. Probably less than an hour.

Day two I square, turn, finish, and assemble the pens. Maybe a little over an hour.

Sooooooo, around 20 minutes per pen.

I once saw a video where a guy did a slimline from start to finish in one minute.

 

[chriselle]

With the finish I use....two or three months,,seriously!

 

[Texatdurango]

Well let's see, I started a pen in early April, and I'm thinking very seriously about sanding the CA finish tomorrow so my assembly time ranges from about an hour to 80 days, depending on the blank of course. :biggrin:

 

[Texatdurango]

With the finish I use....two or three months,,seriously!

Chris, I'd dearly love to learn to do one of your finishes just to see if I have the patience required!

 

[chriselle]

Chris, I'd dearly love to learn to do one of your finishes just to see if I have the patience required!

Hey George.....A little Deepak Chopra before I start always helps..:wink:

 

[Wildman]

Time it takes to make a pen is not important. Have learned the hard way, haste makes waste. Time needed to turn a pen depends upon kit, blanks, (wood or acrylic), glue (CA, epoxy, polyurethane) sanding & finish used. I don't count the few seconds it takes to touch up the edge of a tool.

Like lots of other folks may prep, cut, drill, glue up blanks one day then turn & finish over next day or so.

 

[Wheaties]

I once saw a video where a guy did a slimline from start to finish in one minute.

I would love to see that!

As for me, I generally work slowly and enjoy the process... about an hour to hour and a half. I have done a few in 20 minutes or so though.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I don't do many pens anymore... still do a few now and then, but it usually takes me longer to match the kit to the blank than anything else.... Like Richard, I'll set up a few at a time... match blanks to kits, then cut the blanks, then drill and glue the tubes... the next day I'll turn the bodies and work on the finish... might take 15 minutes on a pen or might take an hour... assembly is the quickest... usually can assemble a pen in about 5 minutes... if step two is all correct.

 

[John M]

It takes me no less than an hour to do any pen, I as just curious how long it took people. Just thought when I see people post up 5 pens they did in a day, I dont think I could do that. The wood ones take me a very long time cuz i am still working on my finish. But it is all good. The pens i do sell I only make my money back on for the most part, as long as I can keep going is all that matters.

 

[wolftat]

Some days it takes longer than others. It depends on my mood and the choice of materials I use.

 

[JimB]

I don't really know how long it takes me. When I first started making pens I did one pen start to finish and paid attention to how long it took. I then realized this took the fun out of it as I was competing with the clock.

Now I do like many others do. I spread it out over days or weeks. I may cut and drill today. Glue the tube next week then maybe turn them some other day. Finishing will be done on another day. If its CA it will be in one day. Other finishes, sucha as poly can take me weeks as I let it cure overnight and may not go into the shop for days. Assembly can be on another day.

Today I made 6 pens! Of course that just means they have all been in various stages for weeks or months. Today I just got around to assembling all of them.

If I were to guess how long I actually spend making a pen I would say a pen takes me 1 1/2 to 2 hours but I'm not really sure. I'm not in any rush and get easily distracted when making a pen.

 

[BobBurt]

How long is a piece of string

 

[altaciii]

Don, first time I've seen that, thanks for it. As far as turning a pen average about 90 min depending on how sharp my tools are.

 

[chriselle]

How long is a piece of string

Wait, wait.....I know this one!:yin-yang:

 

[ldb2000]

Instead of worrying about how long it takes to make a pen you should worry that the pen you make is the best you can do . The people that you make the pens for won't care if you can make 20 pens in an hour unless they look like it . Craftsmanship doesn't work on a schedule , it takes time to make quality .

 

[Mac]

How long is a piece of string

Its this long.

 

[dasimm]

I've been know to disassemble a pen and redo it b/c I did not like the fit once assembled. So hard to say. If I had to guess I would say about 60-90 minutes from rough wood to finished product.

 

[aggromere]

I too sometimes set up to make multiple pens of the same kind at the same time. I recently did 10 acrylic cigar pens. 2 hours first night, drilling, putting in the tube and turning to rough size. Next night about 2 hours finishing off with the skew and mm. so 10 pens in 4 hours. On the other hand I have taken many, many hours to make others.

 

[leehljp]

Average one to two hours per cigar, baron, Sierra etc. However I have done a start-to-finish Sierra in 30 to 45 minutes and have it look great.

That said, I fiddle with each blank now, studying it, figuring which end to use in which position and where to cut. Usually I will drill and glue up and let it set for at least an hour but usually overnight.

Most of the time, each pen is a journey and I try to enjoy the journey as much as the final pen.

 

[GouletPens]

A lot of times I'll do up pens in batches, which goes much faster. Probably 30 minutes or so per pen in that case. If I'm doing one at a time, probably 45 minutes. But again, it varies depending on what I'm working with. The majestics and whatnot working with some of the crazier woods I'll spend more time perfecting....1-2 hours depending.

 

[stolicky]

I would say anywhere from 20 minutes to 3+ hours. It depends on material (nice wood versus porous/brittle problems), glue used, painting tubes/blanks, pen kit, selling vs. personal use, familiarity with kit and material, sharpness of tools (doh!), added details, etc.

With that said, I tend to do things in batches. All of the cutting, drilling, gluing, and squaring in stages. I find that these events tend to take longer than actual turning. Once I have a batch of blanks prepared, I'll turn them here and there.

 

[rjwolfe3]

With my multi tasking, about 2 weeks unless a customer is waiting, then 3 weeks, lol. Seriously, I have like 15 pens that I have started on weeks ago but real life has been killing me lately. Of course, working 7 days a week tends to do that.

 

[Daniel]

30 to 45 minutes and most of that is doing the finish. I split it between two days though because I give my tubes 24 hours to set up. but cutting drilling and gluing is 5 to ten minutes max. turning is another 10 to 15 minutes. the rest is doing a CA finish. Acrylics take less time to finish longer time to turn.