Largest pen from a 1/2" blank?

[thewishman]

I've got a source for some nice woods. The thickness will be a max of 1/2 inch. I wanted to make cigars, but am concerned about having enough room to make it work.

What would you suggest as the best pen to show off wood of that size?

Chris

P.S. Thanks for your help!

 

[jthompson1995]

I think a cigar is too much for 1/2" wood, unless you glue some together for segmenting. I have made Elegant americans and Euros (cross) from 1/2" blanks and been just fine with plenty of room to spare. Just be sure to drill as close to the center of the blank as possible.

 

[les-smith]

I agree with Jason.

I've made a bunch of europeans with 1/2" blanks. Another good choice may be the Perfect Fit at Arizona Silhouette. The Elegant American Ball Point is also called the Hart double twist at Woodcraft. Both kits call for 5/8" blanks, but you can get away with 1/2" Like Jason says drill-em dead center.

 

[Russianwolf]

Not an exact measurement but the centerband of a cigar is about .6 inches.

 

[Randy_]

The finished size of the upper portion of the cigar pen is 0.577" so there is no way you can get that out of a 1/2" blank!!

 

[alamocdc]

Chris, from my experience about the largest you can go for a .5" blank is something like a Perfect Fit. The Euros (including Olympias) are no larger so they would work as well... as would about any of the snap cap RB or FP.

 

[LEAP]

his daughter speaking but i know how to turn pens and make resin. so i'm thinking for that to work is to turn to wood to how you want it to look then cast it in resin thereby making the wood large enough to make the pen you're after. it would be a unique pen and look great while protecting the wood from wear and tear. my father dose this with rope pens and they come out great so i think it would also work with a wooden pen. please try it and tell me how it works. most of my pens are mdae with reain with wood scraps fround around my dad's lathe it often looks really cool, so the same concept would work well with your wood

 

[RussFairfield]

I have never been able to get anything bigger than a SlimLine out of a 1/2" blank, and if I don't get the hole perfectly centered, even that can be difficult.