Having too much fun making pens

o1d_dude said:

After reading this thread yesterday I made a point of roaming down the pen turning supplies aisle at Woodcraft today. I saw some really sweet pen blanks that reminded me of what I saw you had made.

I can see where this particular facet of turning could easily become an obsession!

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Is there a lathe in your future, Kit?

I made this pen for a friend who wanted a carbon fiber body. The carbon fiber blanks are unique, in that they lay up the carbon fiber on the brass tube, then embed it in clear resin. I wasn't happy at all with how it turned out. I wet sanded it twice, and went through the 9 grades of Micromesh twice, the second time with it wet. But it still wasn't as shiny as I expected. The resin felt softer than other acrylics I've turned, that may have had something to do with it. I was going to try Meguiars PlastX liquid plastic polish, but my friend loved it as it was. He actually wanted it dull. It still bugs me, but he was ecstatic with it.

I made these for four of the girls at work that have helped and supported me while I've been sick these last few months. They're very caring, and I appreciate their friendship. It was the least I could do. The wood is bocote.

onebadhawk said:

Take a look at this video...
Really cool...

I guess you have to have turned a lot of pen blanks before you'd think of doing this....lol....

Super interesting...

Teddy

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That's kind of like segmented turning. I'm far from that talented. That pen turned out amazing.

Here's a pen I made out of plywood in 2007. I must have been experimenting. It's pretty ugly, but it does have a unique look.

qquake2k said:

That's kind of like segmented turning. I'm far from that talented. That pen turned out amazing.

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I'm not either Jim,,
When I watched the vid he didn't look like he was being all that precise with the scroll saw...
He sure had the right tools though...
Yours are just coming out awesome ...

Teddy

qquake2k said:

Here's a pen I made out of plywood in 2007. I must have been experimenting. It's pretty ugly, but it does have a unique look.

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Sorry man,,
I don't think those are ugly at all...
Very distinct...
I love mechanical things...
It's a dead ringer that those are a sheet of plywood,,
You can see the plies and faces...
Very cool...

Teddy

qquake2k said:

Is there a lathe in your future, Kit?

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I have more than once considered purchasing a small wood lathe... ~sigh~

o1d_dude said:

I have more than once considered purchasing a small wood lathe... ~sigh~

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This would be a good one for pens and small nose cones.

https://www.woodcraft.com/product/863667/rikon-10-x-16-pen-lathe-70105.aspx

They're opening a Rockler in Rocklin.

https://www.rockler.com/excelsior-mini-lathe

Of course, there's always Jet. I love my Jet lathe.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F2ZC33K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

o1d_dude said:

I have more than once considered purchasing a small wood lathe... ~sigh~

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You have to make it a priority. That's what I did. I knew my upscale rockets would have nothing in the way of nose cones that I needed. I have turned at least 50 since I owned it. Along with a few other assorted projects. Bottom line...GET ONE!!!

Gary Byrum said:

You have to make it a priority. That's what I did. I knew my upscale rockets would have nothing in the way of nose cones that I needed. I have turned at least 50 since I owned it. Along with a few other assorted projects. Bottom line...GET ONE!!!

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What he said!

Gary Byrum said:

You have to make it a priority. That's what I did. I knew my upscale rockets would have nothing in the way of nose cones that I needed. I have turned at least 50 since I owned it. Along with a few other assorted projects. Bottom line...GET ONE!!!

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You turned 50? I didn't get a chance to say Happy Birthday! :wink:

qquake2k said:

What he said!

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Thank you for your approval. I've wanted one since long before I ever thought about turning my own nose cones.

K'Tesh said:

You turned 50? I didn't get a chance to say Happy Birthday! :wink:

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50 includes some variety of other requests that came my way. I turned 4 NC's for LW as a Bday present..uh...er Cmas? Scotty Dog got a duplicate of a 45 caliber bullet aft section he was going to use to make a rocket in honor of his passing father. And another one for his "Wavy Gravy". I turned a boat load of honey dippers as Cmas presents one year...yadda, yadda. And no, I generally don't take requests.

As far as my Bday is concerned, you musta just missed it, because LW always starts a thread on that note.

A list of reasons I want a wood lathe:

• Nose Cones
• Transitions
• Turning down centering rings
• Pens
• Bowls
• Other Small Trinkets

I'm excited to say that I may be getting a lathe soon for the cost of $0 from my schools woodshop. It would really only be useful for bowls and because it is missing the tail stock, but for the price, I can't complain. The school is getting rid of it because they got a new lathe with the tailstock and it is either going to me, or the dump. I can't let that happen .

After that, I will probably focus on getting the other essential woodworking tools and hopefully a smaller lathe for pens and the other projects.

qquake2k said:

This would be a good one for pens and small nose cones.

https://www.woodcraft.com/product/863667/rikon-10-x-16-pen-lathe-70105.aspx

They're opening a Rockler in Rocklin.

https://www.rockler.com/excelsior-mini-lathe

Of course, there's always Jet. I love my Jet lathe.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F2ZC33K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

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You were close. Here's the one I was looking at https://www.woodcraft.com/product/832637/rikon-mini-lathe-model-70100.aspx

And of course the same Jet late you have.

o1d_dude said:

You were close. Here's the one I was looking at https://www.woodcraft.com/product/832637/rikon-mini-lathe-model-70100.aspx

And of course the same Jet late you have.

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That there is a mighty fine looking lathe! When are you going to get it?

o1d_dude said:

You were close. Here's the one I was looking at https://www.woodcraft.com/product/832637/rikon-mini-lathe-model-70100.aspx

And of course the same Jet late you have.

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Too bad Klingspor's isn't nationwide like Woodcraft is. You could get the same lathe for $30 less.
https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/rk70100/#.VeBrxX3kr_B

o1d_dude said:

You were close. Here's the one I was looking at https://www.woodcraft.com/product/832637/rikon-mini-lathe-model-70100.aspx

And of course the same Jet late you have.

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Kit,

I have the Rikon. It is a really solid lathe. I'd like to have variable speed, but speed changes are really easy on it. I did put the bed extension on mine since I turn long items like peppermills and tool handles.

The supplied live and spur centers got replaced with quality centers, and I have two Nova chucks, about a dozen jaws, including the Nova pen drilling jaws (amazing!), a Beall collet chuck and handful of collets, three Jacobs chucks of various sizes, pen mandrels, and countless other accessories.

The lathe is a small investment compared to all the accessories I've accumulated!

I made this one for my friend's wife. It turned out lighter than I expected, but it's still pretty.

qquake2k said:

I made this one for my friend's wife. It turned out lighter than I expected, but it's still pretty.

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Good looking pen. The craftsmanship looks to be top notch.

I got an Easy Wood Tools Mini carbide lathe chisel at Woodcraft yesterday. It's amazing! I haven't cut acrylic with it yet, but this is a desert ironwood blank. Cut through it like butter! Can't wait to try it with acrylic. This is with the R2 radius insert.

[YOUTUBE]5aw5dkSnYRg[/YOUTUBE]

bradycros said:

Good looking pen. The craftsmanship looks to be top notch.

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Thanks Todd!

And this is the desert ironwood pen. It turned out much better than I expected.

Carbide insert cutters for wood... You'd have to know a carbide cutter would work well on the hardest of woods when it used for the hardest metals, metals that no tool steel would touch. A nice tool for the wood turning craft.

dave carver said:

Carbide insert cutters for wood... You'd have to know a carbide cutter would work well on the hardest of woods when it used for the hardest metals, metals that no tool steel would touch. A nice tool for the wood turning craft.

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The only thing I'm concerned about are the steel bushings. They're chrome plated, but I'm sure the carbide chisel would cut right into them. On the ironwood pen, I did the very final cuts with a HSS chisel, just in case.

qquake2k said:

The only thing I'm concerned about are the steel bushings. They're chrome plated, but I'm sure the carbide chisel would cut right into them. On the ironwood pen, I did the very final cuts with a HSS chisel, just in case.

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A great advantage of wood turning over metal lathing, so much easier to change tooling

qquake2k said:

And this is the desert ironwood pen. It turned out much better than I expected.

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Very Nice!!! Reminds me of Hawaiian Koa wood (one of my favorites). I'm also a sucker for Oregon Myrtle.

qquake2k said:

The only thing I'm concerned about are the steel bushings. They're chrome plated, but I'm sure the carbide chisel would cut right into them. On the ironwood pen, I did the very final cuts with a HSS chisel, just in case.

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Yes they will. The inserts will cut tool steel. You're doing it right; go slow, be conservative, use the right tools (it's easy to take wood away, hard to put it back).

dave carver said:

A great advantage of wood turning over metal lathing, so much easier to change tooling

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I've found that, with the right catalog and an open account, there are *many*, *many* more tools/bits for removing metal and a whole big bunch are designed for ease of change (industrial design) . I worked on a research project where we took 4" billets and made chips out of them just to record the "sounds" various bits made as they wear out.