Hello from Orange County

[GodofBiscuits]

I recently picked up a Delta Midi Lathe from a friend who purchased it a few years back and proceeded to make one pen on it, then let it collect dust till a couple weeks ago when I took it off their hands. My first pen off the lathe came out looking like it was crafted by a half blind five year old. the shape was good, everything fit well but the finish was a lot to be desired. I tried the whole CA finish technique but it came out blotchy and uneven and the paper towel ended up leaving bits of fibers all over the pen that had to be sanded out. My second, third and fourth pens have not really impressed me so I shall be taking a woodturning class at Woodcraft next month and the local chapter meeting next month as well. I donlt think the people attending have any idea the barrage of questions they will be greeted with. I'm hoping to learn as much I can on here and take what I gain in the woodcraft class and at the meetings and make some pens worthy of the masterpieces displayed on this site.

 

[johnnycnc]

Welcome Jeffrey!
Your first pens look somewhat better than mine did, so take heart.
You can find a ton of wonderful, useful information in the many
posts here. Check out the finishing forum, there are almost as many
ways to finish as there are members here.
I'm sure you will find your finishing groove soon, looks like the turning
came pretty easily for you.

 

[GodofBiscuits]

Thank you for welcoming me to the board. To be honest, the turning portion was the easy part. I am a machinist so working on a lathe, all be it in metal, was easy to transfer over into wood. the skew chisel has taken some practice but once I got it down with the second pen, I only use it now. I have been reading the finishing forum, I do believe I am more confused than I was going in. As you state, there are more ways to finish than there are members and I am certain everyone has differing opinions on which is best so I will just have to play around and figure out what works for me. I've sprayed lacquers and use oils to finish wood projects so I may give those a shot as well as the BLO/CA CA/BLO techniques. Just attemping to use CA alone has not given me the the results I seek so back to the drawing board I go.

Again, thank you for the warm welcome.

 

[rherrell]

Welcome!

 

[Jim15]

Welcome Jeffery.

 

[OLDMAN5050]

welcome

I do believe that the wooddcraft class will not teach you much, they do the basic from the begenning (how to turn a square into a round) you will learn a lot more here just looking and reading and then applying these lessons. I also took the woodcraft lesson and should have spent the money on pen kits to learn on, welcome aboard, and your first pens look good. try mr, Williams ca finish.a thread on this forum.

 

[mitchm]

Hi Jeffrey, welcome from sunny South Africa!

 

[Manny]

Hey man I'm not far from you.

Rancho Cucamonga


Cheers

Manny

 

[leehljp]

Welcome Jeffery!

Below is a link to PDF file that is a general overview of tools, methods, pens and options that might be helpful to you in making pens. It does not go into detail of the many aspects at all, but just gives a general overview and options. The woodcraft class will be a great help too!

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42446

 

[GouletPens]

Welcome! Whatever you do, hang on to those first pens. Assuming to stick with it and make many more pens, you will get a big kick out of pulling those guys out a couple of years down the road to see how far you've come DAMHIKT

 

[Ligget]

Welcome to the group, nice work on those pens!

 

[Fred]

Welcome to the Forum. Have a blast and remember we do answer questions.