Pen turning 101

[cmccarter1]

I really appreciated this series. Learned a lot. looking forward to turning a few pens as soon as I get my bushings.
How is Brazilian rosewood for pens? Also possible will try some eastern red cedar ( got lots of that in the shop)

Chester

[dasgud]

I made pens and pencils out of cedar and they were real fun to turn because the wood is so soft that it's quick to turn to shape. The only problem I had with the cedar that I didn't have with any other wood so far is that where I pressed the tip and the clip in the cedar flared out a little bit. I turned the wood very thin there and maybe that's why, but other than that they came out fine.
I like turning pens from corian too. I made a white set and made the middle band from rosewood. That's a nice contrast.

[pennview]

As mentioned by Terry, my earlier comments about squaring pen blanks were suggestions to someone contemplating penturning and not having a nice four-jaw chuck with long jaws to use, although one should still pay attention when using one as drill bits have been known to follow the grain in dense woods and not drill perfectly centered holes.

Here's a picture of an alternative for pressing pen parts together using a quick grip clamp. A block of softwood can be used when inserting the tip of the pen so as not to damage the rubber face of the clamp. You could also use the wood vise on a workbench, especially when pressing the transmission into the body of the pen because you want positive control over how deep it gets pressed into the body and the softer rubber in the clamp may not provide the proper "feel" for the operation.

The picture also shows the barrel trimming/squaring tool I've used with a handle attached, although doing it under power mounted in the headstock would be much easier and quicker especially if you cut your blanks a bit too long.

There are also a couple of turning tools made from cut nails and shaped with the sanding disk and dremel tool.

And, there are a couple of turned pen parts that never made it into pens, together with a "story" block for laying out the beads on the pens.

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The second photograph shows some pens that didn't make the grade for one reason or another. I keep them around to remind me of some things that shouldn't be done.

- the ink cartridge doesn't retract into the pen of curly maple on the left.
- the second one from the left, the fountain pen of birdseye maple is an example of not squaring the blank to the tube. It's probably not noticeable but the end piece is cocked a bit.
- the middle pen is of ebony that cracked after assembly -- guess the wood wasn't dry enough -- something to consider when buying some of those exotics with waxed ends.
-the next pen of padauk is something Mark warned about -- assembling the pen before the CA has fully dried and then not being able to separate the two halves to install a new ink cartridge.
- the last pen is also of padauk and here I just didn't like the looks of the upper part, but I still use it.



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[terrydowning]

Nice pens and examples Art.

Thanks for contributing. I'm turning an Oak pen shortly. I'll post up pics of my setup , squaring operation, and assembly using the SS Quill.

[woodburner]

HI MC and Others Interested,

I saw that you use CA-glue when assembling/pressing the parts together. Why??? I have made hundreds of pens over the last 25 yrs. and have never needed to glue the parts together as just pressing the parts together without glue is a strong enough.

All the instructions I have read from the all the various sized pen kits I have used have never said to use glue when pressing the parts together, and I have never had a pen, or a customers pen, come apart from use or any other reason. The parts are made to be pressed together without the need for any type of glue. I put a lifetime guarantee on my pens (minus noarmal where and tear) and have never gotten one back becuase the parts fell out.

Also, if you use glue you can not take apart the pen if you find a part does not fit correctly, is damaged during use, or some other problem that you missed before you assemble the pen. Using glue means you can't go back and you have to start all over with new blanks, a new pen kit, and not to mention having to turn new wood blanks. Basically, having to make a whole new pen because youcouldn;t remove a part because of the glue.

Also, using a four jaw chuck is a quick way to drill the blanks, as I have drilled hundreds this way, but you can still end up with the hole not parrallel with the blank. You need to make sure that the blank is cut perfectly square and is centered dead on with the drill bit when you mount it in the chuck. If not, then using a disc sander to square up the ends will not work. I have had several blanks cut uneven, especially those pre-cut from the various catalogs, so you can't trust all the blanks you use to be square, unless you cut them all yourself.

Well, that's my take on some of this thread.

[mbcabinetmaker]

HI MC and Others Interested,

I saw that you use CA-glue when assembling/pressing the parts together. Why??? I have made hundreds of pens over the last 25 yrs. and have never needed to glue the parts together as just pressing the parts together without glue is a strong enough.

Obviously you have never made a pen with a center band.

[beeg]

Using glue means you can't go back and you have to start all over with new blanks, a new pen kit, and not to mention having to turn new wood blanks.

I have read that if ya soak the pen in acetone, you can recover the brass barrel.

[JPG]

I have read that if ya soak the pen in acetone, you can recover the brass barrel.

Acetone dissolves CA.

[tom_k/mo]

The acetone trick works well, I've used it a couple times. Usually takes about 24 hours and they just fall out.

[cmccarter1]

You mentioned a method by Tom for drilling blanks. can you give me some specifics or point to to that thread.


tnx