Making pens in Portland, OR

[hummingbird]

Hello to all. I work at a woodworking store in the Portland Oregon area. Lots of my coworkers are woodturners, and I finally caught the bug. I got a Rikon midi lathe and started out making small projects. My first pens were a bit lacking, with gaps in the joints between the blanks and the fittings. After more than a year hiatus I started making pens again and this time I have figured out how to keep everything trued up. I have also been experimenting with different finishes and materials, and trying to master the various lathe tools. My goals are to make the pens ergonomic but still pleasing to the eye. I have always been interested in fountain pens and would probably be a collector if I had deeper pockets. Bespoke fountain pen turning sounds like a natural direction for me, but requires an additional investment in equipment and some of the taps and dies seem to be hard to source. I also have to decide what to do with all the pens I might turn out. You can only use or give away so many, eventually I would need to sell them. Craft fairs are appealing, but they are shut down for now. I have heard bad things about ETSY, but how do you get traffic at you website if you decide to go it alone? I think these are questions all penmakers have and I am hoping to find some ideas in the forums. I also have some ideas to share about blank preparation. I have come up with some procedures that are a bit different from the usual methods that might be helpful to other novice turners. Looking forward to jumping in here!

 

[magpens]

Hi Diane !! . Warm welcome to IAP !! .

You say " I also have some ideas to share about blank preparation. I have come up with some procedures that are a bit different from the usual methods that might be helpful to other novice turners. Looking forward to jumping in here! "

I think all of us will be looking forward to your contributions ..... after all, we are all learning ... every step of the way ! . Even after 10 yrs doing "it" !!
I also do things differently .... like trimming my blank to length BEFORE gluing in the tube !!

Thanks for showing the above pens .... they look GREAT !!! . BTW, what kit is the first pen ?

 

[studioseven]

A warm welcome to you Hummingbird. I really am looking forward to your ideas.

Seven

 

[Alan Morrison]

Welcome to th forum, Diane.

Alan

 

[Jim15]

Welcome Diane.

 

[Edgar]

Welcome from Texas, Diane.

 

[hummingbird]

Hi Diane !! . Warm welcome to IAP !! .

You say " I also have some ideas to share about blank preparation. I have come up with some procedures that are a bit different from the usual methods that might be helpful to other novice turners. Looking forward to jumping in here! "

I think all of us will be looking forward to your contributions ..... after all, we are all learning ... every step of the way ! . Even after 10 yrs doing "it" !!
I also do things differently .... like trimming my blank to length BEFORE gluing in the tube !!

Thanks for showing the above pens .... they look GREAT !!! . BTW, what kit is the first pen ?

The first pen is an Arete fountain pen. I got the kit at Woodcraft, and selected it because it seemed to be of better quality than the other fountain pen kits. The metal fittings have some real weight to them and fit and finish is good. I don't know the maker of the nib, it is shrouded and the catalog description doesn't say anything. It is of decent quality, and I would say the width of the nib is fine.

I struggled with drilling straight holes in anything when I started. I tried the lathe and my drillpress. I bought a dedicated pen vise for drilling blanks on the drill press, but of course many pen sections are longer than the throw of most drill presses so accuracy goes out the window. I recently replaced my jacobs chuck which was a harbor freight. Right: so there's your problem! Only the chuck wasn't really to blame. When you use a jacobs chuck you should make sure it is securely set onto it's own taper. The morse taper that goes into the tailstock will not be very secure unless you use a drawbar to pull it into the receptacle firmly enough that it is centered and won't come loose. This may be common knowledge for most turners but it was never explained to me, and none of the videos I've watched have talked about it. When the drill chuck is properly mounted, and you use a good quality chuck with pen jaws to hold the blank, suddenly the holes drill straighten out and become parallel to the sides of the blank! It also helps to make sure the ends of the blank are squared up to the sides so the drill doesn't twist when it first penetrates the blank. If the blank is drilled accurately, a simple miter jig on a disc sander is enough to square up the ends, and the disc sander is also very good at removing excess material after installing the tubes.

 

[hummingbird]

Welcome from Texas, Diane.

Thanks, happy to be here!

 

[hummingbird]

Thanks to all that have welcomed me. I'm happy to be here and look forward to hanging out with all of you.