My first pen

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swanny70

swanny70

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May 8, 2012
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Monticello, Wi
I'm pretty happy with my first pen. I made it out of Walnut. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. I do know one thing....try not to pick a pen kit that you have to turn a tenon on. Very tricky if you haven't ever used a lathe before!
 

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Thanks! I used water based clear General Finishers Wood Turners Finish. Since I'm new to this, I thought I would start off easy. Any suggestions on some different finishes?
 
swanny70 said:
Thanks! I used water based clear General Finishers Wood Turners Finish. Since I'm new to this, I thought I would start off easy. Any suggestions on some different finishes?
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For wood pens, CA seems to be the finish of choice, and it's definitely mine. There are others, but I prefer the CA. It shines up really nice and really brings out the grain in wood. For some reason, it gets a rap as being difficult - lots of people seem to have trouble with CA finishing for some reason. I don't understand why, really. I've always had good luck with it, so I'd definitely give it a shot. Maybe I've just gotten lucky, or live in a climate where CA goes on easily.

That said, there are a couple of ways to screw it up very easily. Don't let your applicator - especially if you use paper towel - stay in contact with the blank for more than a second. The CA sets up very quickly and will grab the paper towel. That's a start over unless you like paper towel chunks stuck to your finished pen.

Either apply CA between centers with no bushings, or use some sort of non-stick bushings. CA will stick to metal bushings, making removal of the blank difficult to do without ruining the edges of the finish.

In any case, check the library - lots of good info on finishes and everything else in there. Good luck!
 
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For a 1st pen, you did exceptional. About the only thing that sticks out to me is where the centerband meets the upper barrel. It appears to be slightly overturned. That could have been because of the tenon difficulty. But it still looks really good. One thing that's fun to do with those euros is to replace the centerbands with a complimentary piece of wood. It's a pretty simple segment, and really adds to the overall pen, and eliminates the tenon. Certainly not what I'd suggest for a 1st pen though.

And I agree that a CA finish is the way to go with pens. An even though they will really shine with a CA finish, you can buff them with some 0000 steel wool & give them a satin finish if you prefer.
 
+1 on the CA finish!.....dont buy the hype it's easy to do if you dont over think it. Only minor thing I can see is the center band and you'll get better at the pics as time goes by.
 

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I think you certaunly on your way. Great first pen, much better than my first thats for sure! Keep on keepin on and you'll be an ace before you know it.
 
Nice job! I'm new to pen turning also. read the forums and ask questions. Also youtube video has alot of videos on ca finishes. I did have some trouble at first but after a couple of weeks i finally got it right. You will get it. congrats on a nice first pen
 
Your first pen is much better than my first pen was. And yes, you really picked a pen that is more difficult than most for a first effort, due to the tenon. However, once you learn to master the Euro, the rest will seem easy by comparison.
 
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