Wanna make "closed end" pens...

[ed4copies]

....but don't know how???

Well, later tonight the answer will magically appear on Youtube!!

Utilizing a Serpentine blank from TerryQ, I will show how to make a closed end Atrax Rollerball with no special tooling. You make your own sleeve, and use the end of an adjustable mandrel (OR you can use a regular mandrel, but you have to put lots of spacers on "headstock end" to shorten it.

The video will explain in some depth.

Will let you know when it is "up"---I would expect about 3 hours (8 ish Central time)---rendering on Sunday night takes forever.

See his latest offerings here: http://www.exoticblanks.com/Terry-s-Segmented-Serpentine-Blanks/

Comments are very welcome, again this was a 4 hour process, AFTER the video was "shot". But I do think it is worth the effort.

Gave me a greater appreciation of Terry's great blanks!!! Not a hiccup in the process and "turning to a point" is not a forgiving exercise.

Ed

 

[mark james]

... I bought some of Terry's blanks last month.

Then I saw your last thread about the Altrax Pen... And I bought a few of those. You mentioned a forthcoming U-Tube, so I've been waiting to try a "closed end" pen!!!

Now if I could just get U-Tube to behave...

 

[ed4copies]

Here is the link for the "Serpentine, closed-end Atrax Rollerball"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlIA_VWR3us&feature=youtu.be

Comments are always welcome, including suggestions for how to improve my presentations!!

Thanks,

Ed

 

[RKB]

Thank you Ed for taking the time to make these videos. Being a new turner I really appreciate them, it has reduced my learning curve significantly. I have a lot more to learn, however I am making decent looking pens that people seem to really enjoy. I give most of my pens away as gifts.

 

[treeturner1962]

Ed... this is a wonderful Video. It has given me the confidence to try a closed end pen! thank you very much.

you are very very talented

Hope to see more instructional videos!

 

[ed4copies]

I sincerely appreciate the comments!!

Let me assure you I have no more talent than any of you!! I BROKE the TOOL on my first lesson!! I merely have a LOT of failures behind me (Next year is 20 years of mistakes!!) Be patient and practice often!!

And, what we usually forget: Pay attention when things are going RIGHT!! If you know what you are trying to repeat, you have a higher probability of repeating it!!

Watching YouTubes is GREAT!! Being able to DO what is on the YouTube will require hands-on practice!! You WILL fail---the question is, will you try again, until you succeed!!

Hope so!!
Ed

 

[leslie hines]

Thanks Ed for the video will give this a try

 

[Dale Allen]

The video does not show the last step of parting off the end. Is the internal sleeve able to support the blank from just that end so the tip can be rounded?

 

[ed4copies]

The video does not show the last step of parting off the end. Is the internal sleeve able to support the blank from just that end so the tip can be rounded?

Yes, as long as you are a little careful. Sometimes I think the camera is running, when it is not.

I could easily make another vid on that aspect---it is kind of interesting and I have all the "stuff" to do it.

Thoughts? A short "5 minuter" or not worth the effort?

 

[Dale Allen]

Something else that was puzzling.
One of the screens with notes indicated that the live center was riding inside a 7mm hole. However, I did not see where that 7mm hole was drilled into the closed end of the blank.
Was that just a shallow 7mm hole to hold the live center?
When I do this with my closed end cigar pens, I hold the end in a chuck and advance the live center just far enough to support the end. The when the last little bit of the wood is turned off, it is still supported and will not go flopping around.

 

[ed4copies]

Something else that was puzzling.
One of the screens with notes indicated that the live center was riding inside a 7mm hole. However, I did not see where that 7mm hole was drilled into the closed end of the blank.
Was that just a shallow 7mm hole to hold the live center?
When I do this with my closed end cigar pens, I hold the end in a chuck and advance the live center just far enough to support the end. The when the last little bit of the wood is turned off, it is still supported and will not go flopping around.

Well, you "made me look"!!

And, I understand what you saw vs. what I meant.

I can see where the original version was unclear. I hope this better defines the setup.

IF this is too big for your screen, hold ctrl down and touch the minus sign, the screen will resize to fit, may take a few pulses with the minus sign.

To get back to normal, hold ctrl and touch the plus sign, same as above--it will make the screen image larger.

Sorry, I could not get the image to resize--don't have all the tools on this computer.