Another way to make custom Finial

[KMCloonan]

For a couple of years now, in order to fabricate a custom finial for a pen (example: Junior Gentleman), I have followed the method John Underhill so awesomely demonstrated in his YouTube video.

This weekend, I was making a Jr. Gent Rollerball pen and decided I would like to make a custom finial for the pen. I have been spending quite a bit of time recently making kitless pens, which requires me to cut multiple tenons for each pen. I thought I would try using my Hinze Tenon cutter to cut the tenon for my finial, and it worked very well. The Jr. Gent finial is about 0.415" diameter, which is about 10.5mm. I set up my tenon cutter with a 10mm setup bushing, then loosened it a bit, aiming for 10.5mm. I cut the 10.5mm tenon very easily and proceeded to complete the finial the same way as shown in John's video. I'm not sure if this saved me any time... I did not have to glue a piece of blank to a wood support and then cut the finial but otherwise the methods are about the same. I just get more use out of my tenon cutter.

 

[sorcerertd]

Nice pen. The final method looks like it works well. If I may offer a critique, it does seem very slightly overturned. I do like the idea of something easily repeatable, without playing around with calipers every time. I'm curious, where did the blank come from?

 

[KMCloonan]

Nice pen. The final method looks like it works well. If I may offer a critique, it does seem very slightly overturned. I do like the idea of something easily repeatable, without playing around with calipers every time. I'm curious, where did the blank come from?

It is slightly overturned, which I hope to not do with my next attempt, I was aiming for 0.415" and I got 0.409". This was mostly from when I was shaping the finial. Ugh,

The blank came from the "Far West Workshop" on Etsy. I believe it was called "Oka Blues"

 

[bugradx2]

The pen is gorgeous, nice job! The blank looks like it's a fluid.

For those of us who haven't tackled kitless yet, could you share a photo or two of how you do it? It could be a different post or in here.

Thanks

 

[KMCloonan]

The pen is gorgeous, nice job! The blank looks like it's a fluid.

For those of us who haven't tackled kitless yet, could you share a photo or two of how you do it? It could be a different post or in here.

Thanks

To be honest, I am still learning how to make kitless pens. There are many nuances and variations. I think an excellent source of "How-To" for kitless pens are Turners Warehouse YouTube videos, which I watched over and over to let it all sink in. They demonstrate how to use the Hinze tenon cutter, how to add finials, etc. The videos will get you started, but each pen is a learning opportunity. I have been very fortunate to have David Bondi (@d_bondi ) as a mentor and coach. There is quite a learning curve, but the end results are worth the effort.

Here are a couple pics of my latest kitless pen (Blank was "Insidious" by PenSmiths):

 

[bugradx2]

very nice work! Love the added touch with the burl as a pen rest too