Measure twice - - er, three, no four - aw %!@^*!

[monophoto]

Sometimes things just don't go right.

I purchased some Majestic Squire kits. I made the first pen using some nice walnut, only to discover that the point would not fully retract into the body. Apparently, I had somehow made the barrel 1-7/8" long instead of the 2" that the kit called for. Don't have a clue how I managed to do that - must have trimmed too much while squaring the blank.

Fortunately, I was able to disassemble the pen without wrecking any of the hardware. I had purchased a length of 3/8" brass tube at the hardware store, so I cut a length a bit longer than 2", drilled half of a canarywood blank with a 3/8" bit, sanded the tube, applied glue - only to discover that the tube wouldn't fit into the hole. Turns out that the 3/8" tubing from the hardware store is actually 23/64". The ID is pretty close to the 3/8" tube that comes with the kit - the wall thickness is a bit greater

For the third attempt, I used a 10mm drill bit to drill the other half of that canarywood blank. Turned the blank, finished it in CA, assembled the pen, only to discover that the point would not extend beyond the end of the barrel. Turns out that I had made the tube/blank 2-1/8" long this time. The only good news here was that I wasn't really happy with the CA finish, and the canarywood blank was rather boring.

For the fourth attempt, I used a padauk blank. Carefully drilled the blank with the 10mm bit, but as the bit was approaching the end of the blank, I heard a crack - yup, the blank had split from one end to the other. I carefully pried the crack open, put some medium CA into the crack, and then clamped it closed. Will try to work with that one some other day.

For the fifth attempt, I used the other end of the padauk blank. Carefully (far MORE carefully) drilled the blank with the 10mm bit, carefully glued in the tube, and set it aside to cure.

Some days I feel like Charley Brown - that big, black cloud seems parked over my head!

 

[aggromere]

hey i had a night like that a few days ago. It sucks. I just finally quit and went inside and had a beer and did something else. the next day things mostly went according to plan.

 

[randywa]

Well here's the good news. I've heard someone say, no pics, didn't happen. Might have just been a bad dream.

 

[manatee]

Louie, I solved that problem by using the pen cutoff jig from PenState. It works great, no more measuring and saves me a lot of material.

Bob

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Well here's the good news. I've heard someone say, no pics, didn't happen. Might have just been a bad dream.

Sounds more like his worst pen turning nightmare than a bad dream. :frown:

I'll hand it to you though ... I would NEVER have gotten to number 5 - you would have found me parked in front of my fireplace before that!

Good luck with the repair job - just remember to take pics when it is finished so we all know it did happen :wink:

Linda

 

[monophoto]

Closing the loop, as it were - - -

Here's a picture of the final product. Actually, the fourth and fifth attempts proved successful. No 5 was finished with CA and will be a Christmas gift for a family friend. Unfortunately, my wife grabbed it for wrapping before I could photograph it.

No 4 (where the padauk blank split) was glued back together with CA. The finished pen was finished with about eight coats of a lacquer-based friction finish. It's going to be a gift for my wife.

 

[ToddMR]

I like the pen a lot in the photo there. It might just be the shadows, but the end looks like it hangs over the band a little? I have to give it to you for hanging in so long. After the 2nd failure I would have for sure been done for the night after I kicked a few things.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Yeah, definitely after the second attempt. I would have been out of the basement before I did something stupid that damaged my tools. I quit after a day of successful turns that ended in my acrylic shattering and I pulled it off the lathe and chucked at the concrete floor so I wouldn't try to save it. Again. Filled 2 large cracks with CA I was gonna color to match the acrylic. I didn't touch my lathe for a week afterwards.

 

[texaswoodworker]

I had a night like that last night. I turned a blank smaller than what my customer wanted, had to give up on another pen because it had large cracks in it, and screwed up a clip and cap. I had planned on making 3 or 4 pens last night and ended up only being able to make one and get another ready to be made. What a day!