cestmoi
Member
I really want to do is take my lathe, my chisels, and everything else and stomp on them. :wink: However, I'll ask for advice instead. I'm 2 months into pen turning and I don't feel like I'm improving. I've turned many types of wood and some acrylics, but it seems like very few turn out perfectly. It's really frustrating, especially since I've seen several posts recently of people showing pics of their very first pen or their son's first pen and they appear to be perfect. When turning acrylic, I inevitably have gouge marks (see photo). The same sometimes happens with wood or when sanding the turned wood. I'm constantly sharpening my chisels, though I don't have a special jig for this. I've tried raising/lowering my tool rest. I've tried using the roughing gouge, versa chisel, and carbon tip pen pro. I really mess things up when I use the skew. Is this normal or am I just not a "natural" at turning? Any advice?