New to pen turning/Carving

[markfraser]

Hello from Inverness, Scotland
I'm new to pen turning and have turned a few slimline pens over the last 6 months. I am looking for ideas and tips/help on how to adapt different designs using the slimline kits. I had seen in a book a turned pen which was later carved using a dremel into a wood spirit, I would be interested in doing this but don't know where to start.
Any help would be much appreciated as I really enjoy turning pens and creating something I have never done before.
Cheers
Mark

 

[Glenn McCullough]

Mark, welcome from the mitten. First I woudl start by turning a couple pens, though I bet slimlines would be a tough way to go because they are...well...slim. You may want to learn to get to the heftier pens with a litttle more "meat" to work with., I would then check out different kinds of power carvers as a "Dremmel" and "Foredome" may be well known, but, too are too heavy. There are power carvers that are good for fine work like a Turbo Carver
Turbo Carver II High Speed Engraving Tool - Turbo Carver II - High speed wood working carving and engraving tool
check them out.

 

[TerryDowning]

Welcome to the fun Mark!!

I will respectfully disagree with Glenn regarding slimlines.

Slimlines are quite simply the most adaptable kit out there. I just don't understand why they are so maligned. With that 7mm tube, you can have as much meat as you want! Switching to a larger inside tube reduces the amount of material available for carving. My only complaint with the slims is the rather crummy refills and not many options for higher quality.

I have done some hand carving (not on a pen though) but no power carving so no recommendations from me on that.

If I were to carve on a pen, I would start with a 1inch X 1inch blank and use the smallest diameter tube I could get my hands on (7mm from the slim/designer kits unless you go custom). Cut to length, decide if I want 1 long single tube (there are several tutorials on how to do this) or two separate tubes.

Drill the hole(s), Glue in the tubes, square the ends to the tubes and then turn it round to the final diameter of your carving to prepare for carving.

Then do the carving and finishing.

You could even go with a closed end pen to provide more creative area for the carving.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to making pens. There is what works best for you to put the best pen you can with the resources you have.

Just my thoughts. Welcome to the IAP, have fun, show us your efforts, and share your techniques.

 

[markfraser]

Many thanks guys your comments have helped and I hope to try carving a wood spirit into a pen in the near future after a few practice attempts on scrap wood. Will post the final result as and when I feel happy with it. Again many thanks fr your input.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Hi Mark - Do you have a lot of experience as a carver? If not, then I would guess that it will take a lot longer to get proficient at carving than it will to get proficient at turning pens on a lathe. Of course, I'm saying that based on my own experience. I learned to turn pens in a day. Maybe I was slower than the average learner at carving. If you are an accomplished carver, just stop reading now. Nothing below will be of interest.

It took me a couple of months before my wife would look at my carvings and not ask "What's that?". After a year or so, people would actually say "that's not bad" every now and then. I'm still thrilled when I get the rare "that's really nice".

If you are just starting out, you might find the following book of interest if you want to do power carving:

HOW TO CARVE A WOODFELLOW - Power Carving Books - Books

Ed

Who dreams of being as good as Ian Norbury, but knows he has no chance whatsoever.....