What is your worst story about a ruined pen?

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putnamm

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Jan 12, 2016
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Some months ago a particular pen blank (alumilite/burl combination) caught my eye while I was in my local Woodcraft store. It was in a locked case, and the price was high. But I thought I would save it until my skills were sufficiently developed and I felt comfortable working with it.

I started turning the blank yesterday. And just as the barrel was coming to size, a chunk came flying off--ripped straight down to the brass tube. I didn't yell. I didn't cuss. I just silently turned off the lathe, turned off the shop light, and went in the house. (The blank is still sitting there on the lathe...)

So as a way to commiserate and help assuage my sorrows, I thought I would ask everyone to share their worst (best?) stories of ruined blanks and pens gone wrong. I just need to know that I'm not alone!

-Mark
 
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Hahahahaa. :laugh: Hahaha.:laugh: Hahaha:laugh:



I've never ever ever blown up a blank......especially not a pricey one....:rolleyes:

Do you feel better now?:biggrin:
Apologies if you don't...... but now a couple of others and I, do.:laugh:
 
BTDTGTTS (Been There, Done That, Got The Tee Shirt) .
If you can find the piece that blew out, you can sometimes glue it back in with CA and it not be noticeable.
Usually a blow out is caused by a slight catch and a lack of glue coverage where the blow out occurred.
 
I worked on a pen for several days. Got it all polished and put together...then dropped it walking inside. Landed on a small piece of gravel so it took a direct hit. Several days...applying small sea shell on a painted tube. Letting them dry and gas off before casting in clear resin.

Things happen. It's not how or why something happens, it's how we react that is important.
 
putnamm said:
Akula said:
It's not how or why something happens, it's how we react that is important.
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I couldn't agree more.

My reaction was to prepare a very tall, very strong rum & coke!
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I prefer a shot of bourbor, a shot of Peppermint Snapps, a half shot of Everclear, and one can of Seven-up. Usually one of these and I am asleep for the evening.

Sorry to hear your bad fortune but hopefully you can fix it. If nothing else, maybe you learned something.
 
This never did get a chance to grow up to be a pen.:biggrin:This project did not survive and I have not revisited it yet but will at some time and go after it with Epoxy instead of CA. Had high hopes on this one. Would have been one of those moments. Had another I cast and it did not survive the turning. Have no photos of that one but I do have that project in the near casting stage. Probably the only 2 that had some time into them and hurt the most.


 
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Only the most expensive and cherished blanks fly part on me...and only when they're almost finished. I have dropped a newly finished pen.
 
If this is the best way to deal with a mishap, I believe I will go home and attack a blank with an old rusty gouge and then proceed to dealing with it.






stonepecker said:
putnamm said:
Akula said:
It's not how or why something happens, it's how we react that is important.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more.

My reaction was to prepare a very tall, very strong rum & coke!
Click to expand...


I prefer a shot of bourbor, a shot of Peppermint Snapps, a half shot of Everclear, and one can of Seven-up. Usually one of these and I am asleep for the evening.

Sorry to hear your bad fortune but hopefully you can fix it. If nothing else, maybe you learned something.
Click to expand...
 
I made a White Alabaster Jr. Emperor that came out amazing. About a week later, I was showing it to a client and dropped it on the tile floor. It landed just right and the lower barrel shattered. All I could do was stare at the pieces. My client choose a different material for her pen. I can't imagine why ..... :confused:
 
Buffing a blank on the buffing wheel when I pressed too hard. Tube was ripped out of my hands and slung against the concrete floor.

I now have rubber mats around the budging station
 
Monty said:
BTDTGTTS (Been There, Done That, Got The Tee Shirt) .
If you can find the piece that blew out, you can sometimes glue it back in with CA and it not be noticeable.
Usually a blow out is caused by a slight catch and a lack of glue coverage where the blow out occurred.
Click to expand...

I was turning a nice piece of iron wood burl when the end broke apart. I trimmed it back about 3/16th of an inch and glued on some turquois true stone. saved the blank and I sold the pen for extra because of the "in lay"

Use your mistakes for stepping stones.
 
I was turning a set of stars and stripes blanks. Looked at the blanks and they appeared opaque so I did not back paint them. When I got the stars turned down to spec I noticed that in some spots it was opaque and in others it was translucent and you could see the tube. My reaction was to keep turning until I had turned them down to the tubes and start over by pouring my own red, white and blue swirl.
 
I turn acrylic blanks without gluing the tubes. That way I can better determine if painting is necessary and what color looks best.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

efrulla said:
I was turning a set of stars and stripes blanks. Looked at the blanks and they appeared opaque so I did not back paint them. When I got the stars turned down to spec I noticed that in some spots it was opaque and in others it was translucent and you could see the tube.
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Sent from my SM-G900P using Forum Runner
 
How about having a finished pen crack as you press it together? Dropping a tube or spring and stepping on it while looking for it? I would never admit to doing these things, I have just heard of them happening. LOL
 
I spent months designing and making a kitless FP. First time making a pen where the cap and body are flush. First using a blank where I had to match the pattern on the body and the cap. First time (not really) I turned the cross slide the wrong way and crashed into the end of the cap. I sighed and went upstairs to bed.

Mess ups bring out creativity because we don't want to ruin all our hard work. Good luck with your repair/salvage.
 
I've had a couple lately, a dichroic glass one which chipped as I got near to the final cuts ( this now sits above my lathe waiting for inspiration ) and a rose inlay blank which chipped a large chunk of the inlay out along with the outer and I couldn't find the bits anywhere. So that got turned off the tube and then I went inside and poured a jd to come rate myself......
 
I wanted to make a pen set for our young priest upon his priesthood. I ordered three custom purple acrylic blanks with gold crosses cast in them. Paid a bundle. Cut it carefully over long and cut off the end to insure no blowouts. The desk pen came out beautiful! Then I started on the rollerball. I had it almost turned down to the bushings, when it literally exploded. I was really confused, because I couldn't figure out where it went! It was just totally gone from the lathe!

Then I saw the brass tube sitting there...I had forgotton to glue it in and was turning it without a tube! (and it took over an hour to find the TBC bushings!)
 
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I put together 13 laser-cut pens of various designs over four days. Today, I went to turn them all. At the end, I ended up with only 3. Ten of them broke into pieces a flew all over the place. I have turned quite a few without them doing this in the past but now I am through with them for a good long while, maybe forever.

I was taking very light cuts with a mini Easy Wood finisher.
 
BKind2Anmls said:
I put together 13 laser-cut pens of various designs over four days. Today, I went to turn them all. At the end, I ended up with only 3. Ten of them broke into pieces a flew all over the place. I have turned quite a few without them doing this in the past but now I am through with them for a good long while, maybe forever.

I was taking very light cuts with a mini Easy Wood finisher.
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Just a note here that maybe of help in the future. Many times the pieces do not set all the way in place and you wind up with a lot of sharp edges sticking out. Before taking a tool to them it maybe a wise thing to wrap a piece of sandpaper around a block of wood and sanding the blank some to get rid of all those sharp edges and any glue residue from gluing them in. Next time you do one just run it through your hands and your fingers will feel all those edges. This tip is free of charge:biggrin::biggrin:
 
I've forgot what the high end pen model was but it had two different section lengths and two different bushing diameter sizes. I had a hard to find beautiful eastern black walnut burl blank I was saving for something special. I completed the pen blanks thinking it was going to be one of my very best pens so far. Then, when I tried to assemble the pen, I realized I turned the short section with the long end's bushing and the long with the short bushing. Duh!

I was devastated and desperate because when I went to bed about midnight, my wife said, "We should go somewhere special for my birthday dinner tomorrow." I didn't sleep well for wondering what I was going to do. I got up groggy before 6am to make something before she awoke, usually about 9am. My deadline was close and I was in a hurry.

So... with my second best burl (last nice one), I completed the blanks. They were nearly as good as the first. I started assembly and realized I had made the same mistake. Double Duh! Hard not to get mad at myself.

I left a note on the table that I was going to the store to buy coffee. Being in the country, that may take an hour or so. I bought her a nice watch at Wall Mart, wrapped it, and hid it in the garage. I went into the kitchen to make coffee and she was there, eating breakfast. I said, "Oh! Yes... It's your birthday! I have something for you in the garage." I got it and she smiled when I gave it to her. A CYA lesson that worked.

I learned to check and double check twice when I have pens with different size bushings and blank lengths. I also learned not to turn in a hurry, especially groggy in the early morning, after a short rough night's sleep, and forgetting to buy coffee the day before. I also think my old age contributed a little by forgetting her birthday. This is a true story and you folks are the only ones I've told.
 
EdGallop41 said:
I've forgot what the high end pen model was but it had two different section lengths and two different bushing diameter sizes. I had a hard to find beautiful eastern black walnut burl blank I was saving for something special. I completed the pen blanks thinking it was going to be one of my very best pens so far. Then, when I tried to assemble the pen, I realized I turned the short section with the long end's bushing and the long with the short bushing. Duh!

I was devastated and desperate because when I went to bed about midnight, my wife said, "We should go somewhere special for my birthday dinner tomorrow." I didn't sleep well for wondering what I was going to do. I got up groggy before 6am to make something before she awoke, usually about 9am. My deadline was close and I was in a hurry.

So... with my second best burl (last nice one), I completed the blanks. They were nearly as good as the first. I started assembly and realized I had made the same mistake. Double Duh! Hard not to get mad at myself.

I left a note on the table that I was going to the store to buy coffee. Being in the country, that may take an hour or so. I bought her a nice watch at Wall Mart, wrapped it, and hid it in the garage. I went into the kitchen to make coffee and she was there, eating breakfast. I said, "Oh! Yes... It's your birthday! I have something for you in the garage." I got it and she smiled when I gave it to her. A CYA lesson that worked.

I learned to check and double check twice when I have pens with different size bushings and blank lengths. I also learned not to turn in a hurry, especially groggy in the early morning, after a short rough night's sleep, and forgetting to buy coffee the day before. I also think my old age contributed a little by forgetting her birthday. This is a true story and you folks are the only ones I've told.
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Easy enough to do--I made this faux pas on the first full-sized Majestic I did. Luckily, I was able to get it apart and reverse the blank w/o damage and it fit perfectly. Now I double-check with the digital calps before assembly.
 
Different bushing sizes must match different blank lengths.

Guess I wasn't clear, mecompco... The problem wasn't with improper assembly. It was with turning. The short section had the long section's bushing and the long had the short bushing. I could have assembled but the hardware would not match the blank's diameter. I could cut the long and re-turn if the diameter was too large but not if too small. I did it twice because I was in a hurry and not thinking clearly. Different diameter bushings with different blank lengths are critical to match.
 
EdGallop41 said:
Guess I wasn't clear, mecompco... The problem wasn't with improper assembly. It was with turning. The short section had the long section's bushing and the long had the short bushing. I could have assembled but the hardware would not match the blank's diameter. I could cut the long and re-turn if the diameter was too large but not if too small. I did it twice because I was in a hurry and not thinking clearly. Different diameter bushings with different blank lengths are critical to match.
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Ah, I get it! In my case I just stupidly assembled the lower barrel bassackwards. It's only a couple thou different, but makes all the difference! :biggrin:
 
3 Strikes before a hit

I wanted to make a really special pen deciding on the Majestic FP and a beautiful Thuya Burl block. Stabilized the wood to be safe. Turned the first section without problem but when drilling the cap section the bottom blew out about a 1/3 across the corner. Strike 1. So I pulled out a piece of stabilized spaulted pecan I had been saving for one of my custom knives. Drilled fine. Turned without a problem until I was almost finished then a small void opened catching the tool and blew apart. Strike 2. Back to buy more wood. I bought 2 blocks of desert ironwood just in case with the Karma biting me in the a55. Well the bit woundnt bite into the first blank and ended up swirling into the block making a hole too big to work. Strike 3. Good thing a bought 2. Karma must have evened the score. The next one worked without a hitch. All in all I spent about $150 just in wood for a single pen and very expensive saw dust.
 
Don't you just love this hobby??? Can be humbling at times as we read on. Live and learn as they say. We are all learning right????????:biggrin:



I really love pain because I have 2 hobbies that can inflict some pain. Not only do I turn pens but my true love is scrollsawing. Now that can be both fun and painful.
 
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Been a while since I joined in on a post like this. Hope to get back to turning this summer.

For me, my most memorable was not the failure, but the perfection of a pen. http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/ss-baron-penstripe-33138/

Perfect alignment of the stripes! After I made it, posted it and it made the website front page post, I was asked how I did it. I explained. Some PM'ed me saying they were having trouble following my instructions. (Hey my wife says the same thing! :D )

After 5 or 6 folks inquired and said it wasn't working for them. I decided to make a second set of blanks and take photos and document every move and cut. The first new blank was off even before I could glue it up. Started a second one. Same thing. Did a third blank. Start turning and alignment issues showed forth real quick. After 6 tries, I gave up.

I ate humble pie because I thought it was easy. I just got lucky on the first one! I couldn't duplicate it!
 
tomtedesco said:
How about having a finished pen crack as you press it together?
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This happened to me more than once. I made my Mom a nice burl Slimline pen for Christmas, and as I pressed it together, it cracked & split.
I showed Mom the pieces & had to make her another one, after Christmas.

It sure ticked me off at the time, but I learned not to be in a hurry when assembling them in the future from it. :wink:
 
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