First Attemt AT Cigar Pens

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William Young

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Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada.
Got some supplies today so I tried my first Cigar pens this evening. Top one is bocote, bottom is padauk.
This pen turning is starting to be real fun. I think I'm hooked.



W.Y.
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Very nice pens! I just puchased a cigar pen kit from Woodcraft. Want to try itthis weekend. Was it too difficult, compared to the slimline?
 
Efletche.
Actually, it was amazingly easy. I was going to try just one but it went so well that I made a second one while I had the 10mm drill already out and had my barrel trimmer changed over to 10mm.
Just follow the directions very carefully on the first one and after that it's a piece of cake without the instructions.
Go for it. You'll do just fine.

W.Y.
 
Yup Bill, you're addicted, I hear it in your post!!! My hubby keeps asking when I'm going to return to the scroll saw so I did copy some Christmas ornament patterns today to get started on. Gosh, it's been a while!Having both the scroll saw and the lathe is like having your cake and eating it too!!!
 
Nice pens!Turnig bocote reminds me of opening packages on Christmas morning.
BTW I knew you were hooked when you posted your first picture.
 
Yep, definitely hooked. This afternoon I tried a couple slimline-pro gel writers with click top . Before even turning the first one I read the instructions for over half an hour and they just didn't make any sense. So I called my wife out to the shop. She is better at puzzles than I am. After another good half hour still couldnt make head nor tail of what they were describing. So I went ahead and turned the blanks and tackled the assembly and after a while everything made sense and I got a good working pen. So I turned a second one and it went together in a few minutes because I knew what I was doing that time.
Dont know if I am alone on the first awkward assembly attempt on that one or if the instructions seemed baffling to others as well.
W.Y.
 
Nice pens! Cigar pens are my second favorite to make (gentleman's pens are my fave), and they tend to sell very well too,at least among customers liking ball-points. I can sell them farily cheaply, too, which also makes them very popular. I love the grain on the Bocote. What kind of finish did you put on them? I find the Paduak tends to have fairly open pores - do you seal it at all?
 
I think we all have trouble with the instructions from time to time. That's one reason for the effort to create our own. Actually a couple of my more "unique" pens are a result of misreading the instructions - so it's not always bad.
 
Ed;
For the woods with open grain I have been doing a little experimenting. I turned a piece of honduras rosewood this afternoon and it had the most open grain I have seen yet. I made a slurry of wet sanding with 100% pure tung oil and that filled it pretty good. I have heard that BLO also works good for that but havn't tried it yet.

I am also in the experimental stage for finishing and stil a little squeemish about trying CA. Those two are finished with brown Hut stick, followed by white Hut stick and followed by Mylands friction polish and then paste wax after finished assembly..

I have a question; What is it that turns the rag or paper towel so black when using the EEE Ultra Shine. I find it to be a wonderfull product for darker woods but for some lighter ones the black can get right into the wood. It seems like the black is coming off the bushings . Is there any way around that?

I have never tried gentleman pens yet. I must look that up and see what they look like.
W.Y.
 
The blackness on the rag from using EEE is from hitting the metal bushings. It is actually sanding them a bit. Try to stay away from the bushings as much as possible. You can also clean up light colored woods afterwards with a tack cloth and alcohol or acetone.
 
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