1st turned centerband attempt

[firewhatfire]

This Iroko with a Honduran Rosewood centerband. I have never turned a center band for one.

For all of you that have I sure cuold use a few tips for making the process easier next time around.

 

[G1Pens]

That is really cool. I am relatively new around here, but I have not seen anyone post a center band like that! It appears you actually turned a center band and then added it to the pen. All the ones I have seen (and done) are an extension of the upper or lower barrel, not a separate piece.

Looks great. Fantanstic job.

 

[ctubbs]

WOW! That is gorgeous! The fit and finish on the whole pen is outstanding, but the F&F on the cb is wonderful. As Gary said, usually the turned CB is attached, but I really like yours better. It has to be much harder to make something that small and fragile out of wood. Congratulations on a beautiful pen and a job well done.
Charles

 

[Drstrangefart]

I've turned a couple of those cb's, jut never had a pen I wanted to put 'em on. Try making DEAD sure your bushings are even all the way across, and separate the two barrels with two short bushings. Put the cb you drilled at 1/4 inch and used a pen mill to level both sides out inbetween those two bushings. You should get a beautiful fit. Mine was a perfect fit, but the material refuses to match any of my pens.

 

[ToddMR]

Wow that's pretty darn cool. Nice job! I keep thinking about trying it, but I am chicken lol.

 

[boxerman]

Nice pen and center band.

 

[crabcreekind]

Ive done a couple of those but none that had a stand alone centerband that actually worked, when you mount a 7mm cb on the mandrel it doesent have a tube so it is offcenter and wobbles when you assemble the pen, but ur pen is pretty sweet, what did you do about the wobble? I'm not a fan of satin pen kits, but ur pen looks awesome in satin!

 

[firewhatfire]

The pen was a requested piece with that satin trim kit. Gotta make the customer happy as they say. As an afterthought I saw a piece of rosewood on the floor and thought that would be cool to try.

To get it not to wobble I did the only thing someone who has no idea what he is doing would do. I took and cut a tube the size of the scrap piece of wood and glued it in. I cut it down a little on the bandsaw and squared it with a pen mill. I turned it twice to get it down to that size and maybe should have turned a little smaller.

I like the idea of turning it at same time as the pen gonna try that next round.

Preciate the comments and the help.

Phil

 

[Drstrangefart]

Ive done a couple of those but none that had a stand alone centerband that actually worked, when you mount a 7mm cb on the mandrel it doesent have a tube so it is offcenter and wobbles when you assemble the pen, but ur pen is pretty sweet, what did you do about the wobble? I'm not a fan of satin pen kits, but ur pen looks awesome in satin!

Drill the hole at 1/4 inch. It'll fit the mandrel AND the transmission perfectly. Here's my process: I find a scrap I wanna make a center band out of. Drill it with a 1/4 inch bit. Use my pen mill set up for Slimline to trim both sides to level. Then I mount it between Slimline bushings between the barrels on the lathe. Turn, seal and polish. It's straightforward and nearly foolproof. As I mentioned, I have a couple waiting for the right pen. The ones I've posted have been made to give a Trimline sized body and heft on a standard Slimline kit. I do glue them to the upper barrel for those because it works out better. I made one that was free-floating, and it just didn't do it for me. If you want, I'll put one of the normal size centerbands I made on an already made kit and post a pic to show results.

 

[firewhatfire]

I would like to see it posted. I just used my 7 mm bit and used a piece of tube.

Phil

 

[Drstrangefart]

There ya go. This was the first custom centerband I ever did, and where I figured out the process I described earlier. I made it for a pen the wife was making, materials didn't match up well. Still haven't found a home for the centerband, but at least now I know I can make them.

 

[firewhatfire]

I could find all kind of fire wood to add that too as most of my wood comes from a local burn pile. I dont have any acrylic laying around yet. I have only turned it once so a hand full of scraps seems a long way away for me at least for now. I will eventually have some then I will have some fun since the last acrylic made me sweat while working it.

still learning this game and having all kind of fun doing it.

Phil

 

[Drstrangefart]

I could find all kind of fire wood to add that too as most of my wood comes from a local burn pile. I dont have any acrylic laying around yet. I have only turned it once so a hand full of scraps seems a long way away for me at least for now. I will eventually have some then I will have some fun since the last acrylic made me sweat while working it.

still learning this game and having all kind of fun doing it.

Phil

Totally. Talk to Brooks803. That pen has a lot of the polyresin he caats. That stuff's superior to acrylic in many ways. Ask him for a batch of his "disappointed" casts,to practice on. Trust me, those casts are still awesome, you just looked at one.

 

[gawdelpus]

Although I have not tried to make one of these , if I was to , I would mount my drill chuck in the headstock of the lathe to grip what I wanted to turn ,and then work that way , I think a 7mm tube is right for the clearance needed ? Otherwise it would go straight in my Centre lathe hehe , cheers ~ John

 

[Drstrangefart]

Although I have not tried to make one of these , if I was to , I would mount my drill chuck in the headstock of the lathe to grip what I wanted to turn ,and then work that way , I think a 7mm tube is right for the clearance needed ? Otherwise it would go straight in my Centre lathe hehe , cheers ~ John

You can either glue it to a chunk of 7mm tube or drill it at 1/4 inch. At 1/4 inch it's a perfect fit for the mandrel and the Slimline transmission. I usually use a block about twice as thick as the desired finished product, and use the pen mill and a clamp to work it to final thickness while leveling both sides out.

 

[hilltopper46]

For all of you that have I sure cuold use a few tips for making the process easier next time around.

The best advice here is to simply keep at it. The next one you do will seem much easier than this one because you will know what to expect, and you will find that having thought through the process once was most of what was difficult. As you continue you will develop your own shortcuts and soon be turning them out quickly.

The one in your pictures above looks great!!

(James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.)