How I turn pens and my setup.

[terrydowning]

sharpen chisels regularly.
Do a better job gluing.

Actually I need to make sure I have a better fit between the tube and the blank. The tube slid in very easily and that should have been my first clue that the glue was going to fail. I should have stopped right there and switched to either epoxy(which I'm currently out of) or Gorilla Glue. New Afzelia Blank is glued in with Gorilla Glue. I went home for lunch today and trimmed and squared using the methods above and started turning. I still need to finish turning to size.

[dgale]

I have a friend who owns a local marimba making company:
http://www.marimba1.com

They use rosewood they import from Belize and mill and kiln dry locally. He has mountains of scrap and I've always wondered what I could do with it as it's fairly small (they minimize waste as the stuff is expensive) - inlay was certainly always a possibility but I've never done much of that. Anyway, let me know if interested and what the minimum size is - I'm guessing he has plenty that would fit your required size criteria. If so, I'd be happy to send you some to play with and I'm sure he'd give me all I want for free as he has tons of scrap. Definitely beautiful wood and I bet it would make some nice pens.

[MikeG]

For TBC you need a Dead Center to drive the blank, a Live Center to support the blank, a shorter tool rest so you can get close to the blank.

This is my pen turning problem, where do you get a shorter tool rest?

[pennview]

Shopsmith sells a 4" toolrest -- http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... olrest.htm

[terrydowning]

I had 2 and cut one down. A friend has a metal cutting band saw and that soft cast iron cut like butter.

[terrydowning]

I got to finish last night here is the rest of the process.

When I left off I has suffered a catastrophic blowout and glue failure. I drilled a new blank, and wen through the same steps as stated above.

After getting the ends to the desired size turn the profile
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Now it is time for sanding. Since I used a slew I started at 320 grit and moved through the grits to 1000. Normally I'll stop at 600 but the burl on this blank just wanted a softer and finer grit.

Remember to stop the lathe and cross sand with each grit after sanding with the lathe on. This really makes the next grit easier. I also clean the blank with mineral spirits after each grit, to remove any stray bits that may still be on the blank.

Here it is sanded and ready to finish. Notice that I took the time to clean up my area. A clean work area is essential to a good finish.
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There are dozens of ways to finish a pen. For this pen I am starting with a Boiled Linseed Oil wipe down to remove any sanding stuff and dust, protect the wood and really make the grain pop.

Just a couple of drops is all you need. The BLO is the yellow on the paper towel.
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BLO applied, ready for the next step

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Next is applying a CA finish

[terrydowning]

I'm choosing a CA fnish because it really shines up to a great gloss and provides the best wear protection possible. There are as many ways to apply a CA finish as there are wood turners. I have experimented with several and this is my latest method. Experiment with finishing and practice, there is no "best Way" to apply a finish, just what works for you. So, here is my process

With the lathe at a medium speed I put just a drop or two of thin CA on the tip of my gloved finger.
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[stickthrower]

Terry, thanks for doing the write up. This is really informative.

I can't wait to get started.

Nathan

[terrydowning]

With just a drop or 2 of CA on my finger and the lathe spinning I slide my finger back and forth very quickly to spread the CA. I'll do this 2 or 3 times until I can see that I have a relatively even coat. That is 1 Application. I usually do 5 or 6 applications. Pay particular attention to the tackiness of the CA, if you feel that glove start to grab, pull away and wait for the application to dry. (less than a minute) The CA can and does occasionally grab that glove and tear it off of your hand. Don't be alarmed, It Happens, you just have top start over.

CA Applied It looks pretty good, starting to shine, but close inspection reveals small ridges and imperfections
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The secret to a good final product is the final sanding and polishing.
I start with 400 Grit wet/dry and DRY sand to "Level" the surface of the finish.
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The easiest way to tell the surface is level is the lack of reflection.
This looks pretty good. If there were any noticeably shiny spots, I would continue with the 400 until it get to here. Don't for get to cross sand.
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Now wet sanding can begin I wet sand with 600 and 800 grit.
wet down the blank and clean off the residue from the 400
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Note the white slurry on the 800 grit sand paper, this is good. If the the slurry is the same color as the wood, then you have sanded through the CA and you're sanding wood. It really doesn't take mush time or effort, a few swipes with each grit, stop the lathe, cross sand.
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Now for final buffing and assembly

[terrydowning]

I mentioned in the previous post that stop sanding at 800. Many people move into the Micromesh up to the 1200 grit world. But I choose to buff instead. In case you didn't now it, the SS makes a great buffer.
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Buffing wheels and compound are much cheaper than disposable sandpaper a set of wheels will last for years as will a stick of compound. By far this is the most cost effective way of getting a great finish.

The left wheel is a stitched cotton wheel loaded with Tripoli Compound (This is why I stop sanding at 800 beyond that and the tripoli is going backward.)

The right wheel is loose flannel loaded with White Diamond. I have another flannel wheel loaded with a blue plastic polishing compound.

Start buffing on the top of the wheel pushing your work away from you into the direction of the wheel, this is called a "Cutting" stroke. This what will remove the scratches from the previous grit.

Next move to the bottom of the wheel again pushing the product away from you (with the direction of the wheel. This is called a "Color" stroke it removes the compound applied during the cut stroke and brings up the shine. Move to the next finer wheel, cut and color, last wheel, cut and color, buffing only takes a minute or two.

Now On to Assembly.
Instead of buying a pen press, I just use my Shopsmith.

I use my scrap block faceplate/hand wheel as an anvil on the end of the quill and I turned a cutoff to serve as an anvil in the tailstock.
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READ AND FOLLOW THE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR KIT!!
Every kit is slightly different and has a different order for assembling. RTFM!

Pressing in the Nosecone coupler. The camera hand will advance the quill and engage the pen body and press the coupler into the brass tube inside the pen body.
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Pressing on the click assembly and clip. Note, this particular kit has a pressing tool that covers the click mechanism allowing it to be pressed on. RTFM!!
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Let's see how it looks!

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Not bad if I do say!