that was a learning experience

[BOE]

Got home today and found a box from PSI :biggrin: Finally I can get started.

Last night I glued up a scallop blank for my first pen. Went to the firewood pile and grabbed a chunk of spalted alder which we have been heating the house with. Not wanting to be to small I started with a 1 inch square blank, used some black walnut I had and put a piece of thin brass between the walnut and alder using tips learned from Tim. :good: I also learned it is a long way lathing brass from 1 inch square to the tip of a comfort pen. :tongue:

I ordered some slimline and some comfort pens and pencils from PSI since they were cheaper than some of the other ones, and I was just getting started on this hobby.

I finally figured out how to get the live center off the lathe and the mandrel saver on the lathe, got the mandrel mounted in the lathe and looked over the parts, it all seemed simple enough. There was a little gray plastic piece I have no idea what I should do with, and the kit I opened had two clips

Anyway it was chip making time, I sharpen the heck out of my tool and got started. The brass was going better than I expected (more on that later )

When I was done and the writing part wouldnt come out the tip it took me a while to figure out how to get the guts seated deeper, but finally I work thru those issues. I was less than happy when I realized I made the middle part to small, that plastic piece in the middle was a different sized piece and I should not have lathed to the bushing. Wont make that mistake again anytime soon. :embarrassed:

I didnt have any MM and all I had was 600 grit sandpaper on the fine end of the scale, I need to get to a bigger town or place an order online for some finishing supplies.

Still trying to figure out this CA, I didnt have any accelerator and when I thought I had given the first coat enough time to dry, I reached up and felt the wood with the back of my hand with my latex gloves on. It is amazing how fast a glove is ripped off your hand when the lathe is spinning. Wrapped the glove around the blank, and latex doesnt sand off a blank real well. Wont make the mistake again anytime soon. :embarrassed:

Anyway, enough babbling here is how she turned out

I have since removed the black band in the middle which is bigger than my wood, and it looks better without the oversized band. (well maybe the band wasnt oversized, the tool on the tool didnt know what he was doing is more like it :wink.

My scallops didnt turn out nearly as big as I had envisioned them, I lathed most of them away.

I took a pic of the blank when I was about half done, it was looking OK

but what the last pic didnt show was the reason I stopped and took a pic. I blew out the scallops. I glued the piece that flew across the shop back together and went back to lathing. I cant even see where I put it back together

When it was all done and said, I came out smarter, no blood was shed, and I didnt completely stick myself to the workbench with CA

Do I ever need to get some more finish supplies

One down, several more to go.

 

[tokyotank]

Nice job with the scallops. The accelerator makes a night and day difference. You can also use boiled linseed oil as well.

 

[firewhatfire]

If you want to pracitce some scallops, I would reccomend buying the bushing and just some tubes for a larger kit, Majestic Jr, Jr Statesman or even like WiseT get the full size Majestic tubes. When you get one you like done then order the kit to put it on. That way you are only out about $2 for tubes instead of $30-50 for the kit.

Use your comforts to get the hang of making a pen and play on the larger tubes for scallops and such.

Welcome

Phil

 

[TonyBal]

Hey Boe, just an observation, what is your turning process? The roughness of the wood during the turning process is indicating that there is possibly an issue with turning tool selection, tool sharpness, lathe speed, ect. This is also probably contributing to the scallop coming apart during turning due to it being the weakest link. Just trying to help. Keep on turning!!! :biggrin:

 

[kovalcik]

Nice job on the scallops. Were you using the comfort pen bushings? My guess is that you had them in the wrong order or used a slimline center bushing.

I think I am in the minority, but I almost never use accelerator. I seem to get a better finish if I am patient and just let the CA harden on its own.

If you need some local sources for finishing supplies, try an auto supply store. They usually carry wet/dry sandpaper in the higher grits.

 

[wiset1]

You've done a great job here and the best thing is that you're learning something new that will help down the road on future projects. Doing a slimline with scallops is difficult and as you noticed...most of the effort will be turned off. Phil nailed it when he said you should buy the tubes first and try things out before you get the kit. I have tubes all over the shop for things I test and try out. If they don't work I'm just out the cost of a brass tube and I don't feel preasured to use the kit because the tube is used. This is a great start and I think you'll be fine down the road!

 

[Displaced Canadian]

First off I find a pen finishes better if there is part of you, blood or skin doesn't seem to matter is in/on the pen. :biggrin: As you noticed when turning segments the size changes. When you build a blank be sure to think about the size of the finished pen and that there will only be the center of the blank left. I don't use accelerator either. A set of calipers will help with the size of blank vs. hardware. Bushings are usually off a little bit. If you have one around Home Depot carries up to 2000 grit sandpaper. To get the fine scratches out of the finish I use Turtle wax polishing compound scratch remover. If you get really good with a skew you can get by with very little sanding and it will gently remove layers of wood. Hope this helps and want to see the next one.

 

[BOE]

Thanks for the comments, and I did had a slimline bushing in the middle of my comfort pen. There was a single bushing in the pen kit, I didnt measure it but I assume it was the one I was suppose to use in the middle. Gotta take a look at that.

After processing my thoughts on the hurdles I cleared to get to this point, I am ready to tackle another one, might be a few days as I have some kid sporting events to attend the next few evenings.

We have a Lowes nearby but they only stock down to 600 grit. I will be near a Woodcrafters on Sunday (about an hour away), and hope to stop by and pick up a few things I need.

 

[RSQWhite]

Try putting the scallops in the center of the Comfort pen. The final diameter is larger there.

Tim

 

[firewhatfire]

here is a one I done on a set of Majestic Jr Tubes in the center like RSQWhite is talking about. I am not sure I like it enough to finish it and put it on a pen. It has been turned only no sanding or finish on this. It is frican blackwood and box elder.

 

[BOE]

I really like that center scallop :biggrin:

Found some time this afternoon to make a pencil. I used the calipers to get the correct diameter this time. Cut a piece of black walnut at an angle and put a strip of alder in the center.

I now need to work on my camera skills

 

[boxerman]

Very nice job on the pen and pencil.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Much better.

 

[ctubbs]

Very good job for the equipment at your disposal. Keep that one so you can be sure to remember where you started a year from now.
For practice, the tubes you build and turn are reusable when you do not like the outcome. Just turn the blank off the tubes, clean the glue off and stick another blank on and turn that one. If you are just working to practice your technique, just drill a 1/4" hole in the blank and slide it on the mandrel with your bushings and turn it round, sand it and apply finish. Ok, that looks pretty good, turn that finish off and do it again. When it gets too small to work on any more, throw it away or save the last finish for history and do anther piece. Use FOG wood or heat wood. FOG= found on ground. Cheap. There is no reason to practice on a $10 blank when a piece of 2X4 will work as well for learning. My $0.02 today.

 

[markgum]

Your well on your way.

 

[azamiryou]

When it was all done and said, I came out smarter, no blood was shed, and I didnt completely stick myself to the workbench with CA

Any day I can say that, I count as a good day at the shop! :biggrin:

 

[Cherie]

Lesson's learned. You did a fantastic job on the pen despite everything. I do a lot of slimlines myself and have had my share of ups and downs. Frustrations and a few cuss words later I finally have a good pen.
You should see what I did yesterday! That was a mess, but like I said, lesson's learned and this pen is not for sale. However, our son thinks its cool so he will prob get it.