The I Love my Dog Pen Kit

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George883

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I'm still a relatively new pen turner – about 85 pens or so now – and I recently tried my hand at turning the I Love my Dog Pen Kit, of the three only one turned out. The other two the plastic click mechanism broke. It could just be me and my lack of skills and experience. What have your experiences been? Any tips? Thanks. George
 
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New kits. Start with one and see how it goes. If it works out well just keep repeating. I like the kits.
 
I have made two without a problem (believe me, no specials skills). Go back to the instructions. The plunger sticks up when the point is recessed. It even sticks up a bit when it is extended. Is it possible that you are missing the spring? Take a picture of what broke...maybe if we see the look of the break, we can determine what went wrong. I am holding one in my hand now (my wife uses it everyday). The metal plunger (with the dog paw in it) screws Dog Pen A.jpgDog Pen B.jpgDog Pen Pewter Bone Click.jpgDog Pen Pewter Click.jpg on to the plastic thread.
 
I just experimented with mine. If the plunger is turned/tightened to the max the refill will not advance.... Back the plunger off a revolution or 2 until it works properly.

"The other two the plastic click mechanism broke". Did you over tighen or force anything?
 
Last edited:
WriteON said:
I just experimented with mine. If the plunger is turned/tightened to the max the refill will not advance.... Back the plunger off a revolution or 2 until the works properly.

"The other two the plastic click mechanism broke". Did you over tighen or force anything?
Click to expand...

thanks.
 
I made one Penn State Dog Click pen in chrome for our veterinarian. In case it matters, the kit was purchased in May 2019. The wood was stabilized buckeye burl, purchased at Rockler. That blank chipped out a lot and required CA/sawdust fills. Nothing special happened during assembly. The pen mechanism worked after completion, and we gave it to the vet on 7 June. All my pens are gifts. Nobody gives me feedback. If a pen fails or is lost, I never hear about it. That dog pen could have failed the next day. All I know is that it worked after I made it.

Dog Print Pen Blank:
I looked for that paw print pen blank too; the one shown in Penn State's dog pen web page. My best guess is that it is handmade from slices of polyclay wrapped around the tube:
https://www.pennstateind.com/store/MCM-KP20.html
https://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKDOG24.html

I have no experience with polyclay, but it seems like a nice safe way for small kids to make pens. I thought about Spouse and I hosting a pen crafting session for our youngest family members, but have not gone further than that. Even though it is an interest of mine, I stop and ask myself, "Why would little kids want fancy pens?"
 
I haven't tried the Dog Pen kit yet, but there has been several negative comments on it, mostly what has been mentioned here. Whenever I try a new kit, I buy at least two of the kits. The second one usually turns out better due to the learning experience!
 
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