Nice work! You will get better as you turn more acrylics. (Not that this looks bad - you will just not have the paint smears and blowouts!)
Ah, yes--I have now learned that it is a good idea to NOT drill through acrylics--cut the extra-long blank AFTER drilling partially through it.
The paint smearing I'm not so sure about. I'm thinking of spray painting the tube, q-tip in the blank and mixing some paint into the epoxy next time. I did notice that the paint I used (white nail polish) made the thick CA I used set up really quickly. Also, I had tube slippage during assembly, which was a PITA.
Regards,
Michael
PS I know you can't see from the pic, but finish and fitment are good. After turning I went up to 400 grit dry, then wet MM'd through 12K.
Yup, clear epoxy to glue in the tubes.
Since you have the metal lathe, you can make your bushings solid, long enough to fit in the chuck and turn the other end to fit in the tube. If you have a 60 degree live tail center, turn that bushing with a 60 degree recess. Size the OD of the bushings to your pen parts...not other bushings...they might be off.
After your wet sanding with MM, I use a plastic polish and then buff with acrylic buffing wheels with the blue rouge. These things will kick up your shine and remove the scratches from the MM.
Sounds like you are on your way!