First Pen - Critiques Wanted

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Third Bay Woodworking

Third Bay Woodworking

Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
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179
Finished up my first pen last night. I wanted to get more practice on some blanks, but I decided to do this as a gift for an Uncle that's turning 80 next week, so time was running out.

He was a high school shop teacher, Navy diver, and spends a lot of time now volunteering at their church.

I decided that the American Patriot pen with Bethlehem olive wood would be very fitting.

I'd appreciate any and all constructive criticism on what I could do better.

Given that he's 80 I'd assume that his eyesight will help me out with a few things I noticed....LOL!!
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It is certainly a pen you can be proud of, given for a great occasion!!

It is extremely well done for a first effort. Take a bow!!


If the picture is accurate, it appears your top is slightly out of round--check your bushings to be sure the hole is centered (run the bushings on your mandrel with nothing else on the mandrel, are they turning in a circle? Or "wobbling". If you turned both on the mandrel at the same time, is the center of the mandrel bent? (move your tool rest up close to the mandrel and see if it stays an equal distance from the mandrel as it rotates.)
 
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Wonderful job on this pen! The Olivewood goes very well with the components.
I'm sure your uncle will love it!

As for a constructive critique, the upper barrel appears in the pic to be slightly concave instead of dead straight...and the lower barrel appears just a touch concave. As I said, could be the photo.
Also, where the ends of the blank meet the hardware, I would do a tiny round over to match the hardware instead of leaving a square corner. I understand you were most likely working to the bushings but sometimes the bushings leave these intersections a tad large.
Little things but working on the details makes a big difference.
Keep the pens coming!
 
It's a beautiful pen. If you intentionally turned a concave profile, you achieved your objective very well.
 
G'day,

My first observation would be that, you should keep those images sizes about 800x600mb otherwise we don't have a screen big enough to keep the whole pen in it.

You used a great piece of Olivewood, one of my preferred woods, the kit and plating colour seems to go well with this wood.

In general, for your first pen, you have done quite well, there may be a few minor details that other members did or will expend a little further but all in the name of constructive criticism.:biggrin:

Best of luck,

Cheers
George
 
Agree with others above. Slight concave - overturning or over sanding in the middle of each. If you have calipers, measure the ends and then measure the middle of both the top and bottom sections.

First pen - Excellent.

I admire your pursuit of perfection. Very few people want or ask for honest critiquing, but this attitude will move you forward into the upper echelons of pen turners faster than normal.
 
I put a straightedge to the screen and although there might be a slight concavity to the barrel sections, I think it is exaggerated but the grain pattern of the olive wood.
 
I think that is a nice looking pen, especially considering it is your first. The fitment of the center band attracted my attention right off the bat. I agree that if you'd rounded the ends of the wood over just a bit it would look much nicer. I didn't notice the appearance of the over-turned barrels at first, but I do agree that you may have gone a few thou too deep in the center (easy enough to do, even if you are practiced). In any case, I know the recipient will be thrilled and your next one will be even better.

Regards,
Michael

PS I really like the matte finish on BOW and make most of mine the same way.
 
That is a nice pen. The theme, the wood, and the thought make it priceless. BOW is a great wood to use. This is a case of live-and-learn. Ask questions- that is how we learn!
 
Thanks for the comments and feedback!

And yes, the barrels did end up being slightly concave. I think I got a bit aggressive with the sanding in trying to get a perfect finish after turning it. I like the idea of ever so slightly rounding over the ends to help with the matching to the components. IS that something that most of you do on most pens? Are there certain styles where that works better, or not, than on others? When do you do it and when do you not do it?

On to the next ones!
 
G'Day Steve: The pen looks awesome. All the previous comments are spot on. Slightly underturned/overturned, but not a real concern.

The comments on using the bushings and calipers is excellent. I never finish a pen without using the calipers to measure the components. Bushings are just "approximate dimensions."

To answer your question: YES, I at times do round the edges to match the components of certain kits. Others, less so. Depends on the edges of the kits (an individual kit query). But if you are aware of the issue, 90% of the concern is gone - you will measure when needed.

Be well. Mark
 
Thanks for all the comments and feedback! Learning every day thanks to you all.

Woodchipper: I used a few coats of teak oil on it just to get a kick on the color. I then buffed it with tripoli, white diamond, and then finally carnauba wax as I wanted a little more of a satin finish.
 
I agree about photo size. helps us if the pen is in the entire picture. Others have given good overviews as to the results of your first pen. I will say too that it is a great start and hope you continue to improve and test and challenge yourself as you continue to grow in this hobby. Make notes when need to remember things.

I would comment on the sanding part. If you are going to sand and you really should not have to start with anything less than 400 grit but to help avoid the problem of aggressive sanding in one area a good trick is to use a small block of wood and wrap the sandpaper around it. Sand back and forth and keep equal pressure. What the block of wood does is prevents your fingers to push harder in certain areas. The entire blank is sand together. Another trick is if you are going for flat straight across, just lay a straight edge across the blank. If done right there should be no high spots or low spots and a straight edge does not fool the eye. Keep at and have fun.:smile:
 
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