Bolt action and a couple gearshift pens

[Jdubfudge]

These are the pens I did this week. I made the bolt action a few days ago out of some oak bog. I was supposed to make two, but got a little confident on the lathe and blew the pen blank out. Oops. Then gearshift pens are molten lava and I did both tonight in about two hours. It was my first time with acrylic and I still don't know how I feel about working with it. I like the look, but I like the feel of real wood. I also have some minor chips in them. These were the second and third time turning pens and I really like it.

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[Skie_M]

There's no shame in stopping your turning short of the bushings and sanding it down the rest of the way, especially when working with fragile materials that chip a lot.


Next time round on acrylics, kick the speed up a notch or two, and make sure you are using the sharpest tool edges you have!

Filling in chips with CA works, but you may still be able to see them, if not feel them. Hiding defects behind clips can only do so much for ya.

 

[eharri446]

I do a lot of pens with acrylics and those that are Acrylic Acetate are fairly easy and straight forward to turn. However when you get to Inlace Acrylester blanks then you have to slow down, make sure your tools are sharp, and take very thin cuts to prevent chipping.

I have some rhino blanks that I will be turning in the near future, and I have heard that they can be a bit touchy as well.

I also, love the feel of real wood and have started using the CA finishing techniques as well as the tried and true friction finishes.

All in all though, all three of your pens look great.

 

[Jdubfudge]

Eharri,

Thanks. I have done four more pens and plan on another four tonight with wood from the USS Missouri and North Carolina.

I'm a photographer in the military, so I'll be setting up a small table studio to photograph the pens. Cell phone pictures are killing me as they don't show some of the detail I want to show.


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