leehljp
Member Liaison
I made my first two pens a couple of days ago and dang if they didn't walk off before I could photograph them! 
Although I have been doing woodworking of some sort as a kid in the '50s, I just started pen turning and I like it. Finally a project that I can start and finish in an hour or so - or spend several hours on!
I learned some things on the first three pens - I did not expect any miracle looking pen that would be worthy of photos, but I am surprised at the CA finish. Not what I was expecting but compared to urethane and oil based finishes that I am used to in woodworking projects, the CA was acceptable and surprising.
I would recommend to newbies to pen turnering get some of the predrilled blanks that come with kits from PSI and experiment with them. I have some great wood for making pens, but am saving them until I get some experience under my belt.
I did do one of the pens with tung oil and topped it off with urethane. It did what I was expecting and the pen was darker. By contrast, the CA was lighter and showed more of the natural color of the wood. I never have liked that in a finish on most wood projects, but with the pens, I really liked it.
The three pens that I have done so far were done rather quickly. First one took about 1 1/2 hour start to finish with CA and wax. (Not having to drill.) The second one took about an hour (Oil finish).
The third took about one hour to complete with CA finish, but I did something different. I turned it down to close to the size I wanted and then put the carriage and cross slide on the lathe and turned it to the precise size of the bushings. I tried that for fun but the carbide toolbits did not do as fine a job as my chisels. It was much rougher, but I did take my time and feed it slowly like I would if I were turning aluminum. My chisels are sharper than the carbides though.
I cannot find the MM sanding sheets here, but I do occasionally find 4000 grit sand paper. Recently I found some of those 1/4 inch thick spongy cloth pads that go up to 4000 grit. They do a great job in shining the CA finish.
While I did turn only straight slimline pen kits and will probably for the next few to get a better feel, I will soon venture out into other designs soon as well as different woods. I really want to experiment with finishes. I still like oil and wax finishes and the time put in letting the finishes cure naturally. I know that many of you already have vast experience with this (as I have read) and welcome input. My woodworking background just makes "instant" finish seem like I am leaving something out. My last big WW project took me over a week to put the finish on it.
Although I have been doing woodworking of some sort as a kid in the '50s, I just started pen turning and I like it. Finally a project that I can start and finish in an hour or so - or spend several hours on!
I learned some things on the first three pens - I did not expect any miracle looking pen that would be worthy of photos, but I am surprised at the CA finish. Not what I was expecting but compared to urethane and oil based finishes that I am used to in woodworking projects, the CA was acceptable and surprising.
I would recommend to newbies to pen turnering get some of the predrilled blanks that come with kits from PSI and experiment with them. I have some great wood for making pens, but am saving them until I get some experience under my belt.
I did do one of the pens with tung oil and topped it off with urethane. It did what I was expecting and the pen was darker. By contrast, the CA was lighter and showed more of the natural color of the wood. I never have liked that in a finish on most wood projects, but with the pens, I really liked it.
The three pens that I have done so far were done rather quickly. First one took about 1 1/2 hour start to finish with CA and wax. (Not having to drill.) The second one took about an hour (Oil finish).
The third took about one hour to complete with CA finish, but I did something different. I turned it down to close to the size I wanted and then put the carriage and cross slide on the lathe and turned it to the precise size of the bushings. I tried that for fun but the carbide toolbits did not do as fine a job as my chisels. It was much rougher, but I did take my time and feed it slowly like I would if I were turning aluminum. My chisels are sharper than the carbides though.
I cannot find the MM sanding sheets here, but I do occasionally find 4000 grit sand paper. Recently I found some of those 1/4 inch thick spongy cloth pads that go up to 4000 grit. They do a great job in shining the CA finish.
While I did turn only straight slimline pen kits and will probably for the next few to get a better feel, I will soon venture out into other designs soon as well as different woods. I really want to experiment with finishes. I still like oil and wax finishes and the time put in letting the finishes cure naturally. I know that many of you already have vast experience with this (as I have read) and welcome input. My woodworking background just makes "instant" finish seem like I am leaving something out. My last big WW project took me over a week to put the finish on it.
