tenoning

[ahoiberg]

well, i've turned my first few pens with tenons on them and they've come out pretty good. i figured i'd use my "1/8th inch" parting tool to create the perfect tenon, but much to my dismay, the parting tool is NOT 1/8 inch. so, the next time i used it the same way and just used my barrel trimmer to trim the exposed brass tube down to 1/8". this worked fairly well, but i'm curious to know what everyone elses tool/technique of choice is for cutting a cap or centerband tenon??

 

[Dario]

You can make your parting tool a bit thinner you know,especially IF it is a dedicated parting tool for pens. All you need to trim is the front 1/2" or so...just run the side through a sander or grinder and you are set.

You can also make a cheap one made of old knife, chisel, etc. (I heard some use old butter knife).

 

[ahoiberg]

thanks dario, great idea. i've got a few cheapo parting tools, looks like one will be getting ground down this afternoon. []

another question, have you found that cutting the tenon slightly smaller than required hurts the pen at all? it seems if you were to go a little less than 1/8", you'd be better off than accidentally making it a hair too large and seeing that irritating little gap?? [}]

 

[Dario]

I thought my tenons are 1/4". Anyway, yes I do go a hair less most of the time.

 

[thewishman]

I always cut the tenon short on the Euro pens. I like the band to cover the spot where the top and bottom barrels meet.

Chris

 

[ahoiberg]

good thinking...
dario, the 1/8" tenons i was cutting were for the "classic" series, fountain, gel and roller.

 

[guts]

Andy,I use a 1/8th parting tool for the tenons but I put a pencil mark on the barrel at 3/16ths for the euro's that way I know where to stop.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I use the 1/4" parting tool and use the thickness as my guage. Works for me.

 

[theartist07]

Andy, i also use the 1/8 parting tool but very rarely measure. Works fine for me .

theartest

 

[clewless]

On the Euros, the tenon is supposed to be 7/32 but 3/16 works better and allows for the CB to cover the joint. So just mark the blank and stop at the mark.

Shortening tubes is ok on the Euro, but some pens,like the cigars and others, are very sensitive to shortening, so I'd not get into that habit or you may be cussin' some time in the future.