FGarbrecht
Member
Thanks to the advice I got here and especially in the 'irritated by bushings' thread (https://www.penturners.org/threads/irritated-with-bushings.161522/#post-2041399), I attempted my first TBC pen. Here she is:
It's a black chrome Sierra with a dyed maple burl blank. Here's what I did. Prepared the blank and put in the appropriate Sierra bushings and placed between centers. I turned it down rapidly to about 1 mm or a little less above the bushings. I measured the pen kit and set my micrometer to about 3 thou less than the pen kit measurement, took the bushings off and turned down until the micrometer could just slip on either end. I sanded lightly longitudinally with 320, 400 and 600 Abranet and then set the micrometer to about 4 thou greater than the measured kit diameter. I started applying CA until there was enough built up to make the micrometer a snug fit. I then set the micrometer to the actual pen kit diameter and used micromesh to take it down to the exact size. I finished with some microcrystalline wax and a red rouge buffing. I haven't made many pens yet but this one is my best so far and the fit of the barrel to the hardware is perfect. I'm really happy with how this turned out and I wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions and ideas.
It's a black chrome Sierra with a dyed maple burl blank. Here's what I did. Prepared the blank and put in the appropriate Sierra bushings and placed between centers. I turned it down rapidly to about 1 mm or a little less above the bushings. I measured the pen kit and set my micrometer to about 3 thou less than the pen kit measurement, took the bushings off and turned down until the micrometer could just slip on either end. I sanded lightly longitudinally with 320, 400 and 600 Abranet and then set the micrometer to about 4 thou greater than the measured kit diameter. I started applying CA until there was enough built up to make the micrometer a snug fit. I then set the micrometer to the actual pen kit diameter and used micromesh to take it down to the exact size. I finished with some microcrystalline wax and a red rouge buffing. I haven't made many pens yet but this one is my best so far and the fit of the barrel to the hardware is perfect. I'm really happy with how this turned out and I wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions and ideas.