My First Pen and Letter Opener Set

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:03 am

I am giving my first pen/letter opener set to my friend who provided me with a bunch of wood blocks to feed my first pen making venture. I didn't make the case, it came from Penn State. I have 10 sets already made up which will be Christmas Presents this year. I know this is old stuff for you old SS fans but it's exciting to me since I'm finally realizing a return on my $xxxx.xx investment

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terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:23 am

And a handsome set it is too.

Welcome to the madness that is turning!!

drl · Post by **drl** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:50 am

Very nice set. I do not recognize that style of letter opener--where did you get the kit. I also like the inclusion of the sapwood into the turning--cherry is my guess? Like it or not you are now hooked into turning.
Regards,
Dwight

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:54 am

drl wrote:Very nice set. I do not recognize that style of letter opener--where did you get the kit. I also like the inclusion of the sapwood into the turning--cherry is my guess? Like it or not you are now hooked into turning.
Regards,
Dwight

Both the pen set and letter opener set came from Penn State. I believe the wood is red cedar.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:31 pm

Looking Good, Fred.

saminmn · Post by **saminmn** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:42 pm

Looks real sharp! I am still hoping to start on Christmas presents. In time for this year maybe:rolleyes:

steamfab · Post by **steamfab** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 3:18 pm

Fine pieces. Lucky are those who will be receiving these for Christmas.

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:00 pm

Twenty sets down and 10 to go. Here are the wood blanks glued up and ready for turning for the final 10 pen and letter opener sets for my Christmas presents project. Unless I could sell these for $50.00 a set, I'm having second thoughts about doing this for retirement income. Much more work involved than I would have thought.

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JPG · Post by **JPG** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:57 pm

fredsheldon wrote:Twenty sets down and 10 to go. Here are the wood blanks glued up and ready for turning for the final 10 pen and letter opener sets for my Christmas presents project. Unless I could sell these for $50.00 a set, I'm having second thoughts about doing this for retirement income. Much more work involved than I would have thought.

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Methinks not only that, but, they be much easier to give away than sell!;)

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:58 pm

fredsheldon wrote:Unless I could sell these for $50.00 a set, I'm having second thoughts about doing this for retirement income. Much more work involved than I would have thought.

That price is not out of line for the set.

Here are some shortcuts I've learned.

Don't sand the brass tubes prior to gluing, just wipe with DNA, acetone, or mineral spirits to remove the stuff that may prevent glue from bonding.

Switch to Medium CA Glue or 5 min epoxy for gluing the tubes into the barrels, (much less wait time than the "Gorilla Glue")

Use an old center punch or tapered dowel for handling the tubes. This keeps your finger oil off the tubes and makes positioning the tube into the blank a snap and it's a lot neater as well.

Set up a squaring rig that uses a sanding operation to square your blanks before and after final removal from finish application.

Get a second mandrel for finishing.

Have a dedicated sharpening setup and master sharpening/honing quickly, this is by far my biggest time killer and nothing ruins blanks faster than a dull tool. Depending on material being turned I typically as a minimum touch up the edge before each pen. Some materials require more frequent sharpening/honing.

Consider a duplicator if using the same profile repeatedly.

Make or buy finishing bushings (Tapered Bushings) so a CA finish does not stick to the metal bushings and metal sanding dust does not get on your blanks. I made mine out of scrap polyurethane. 5/8 inch diameter tapering down to the thickness of a slimline tube.

They kinda look like this.

->===<>===<-

The equals signs are the tubes of the pen. Tubes get sandwiched between the cones.

Stop sanding the wood at 400-600 then burnish the wood to bring up the chatoyance of the wood rather than sand further. Do stop your lathe and sand along the axis of the barrel at each change in grit, before moving to the next grit wipe off or use compressed air to clean of the previous grit and dust.

Stop sanding the finish at 800 - 1000 and switch to buffing for final finish. Buffing is much faster and less expensive than some of the other abrasive options out there.

Just some time savers I've learned form others.

Here is my batch process:

Cut all blanks to length. If blank lengths are a different length cut 1 size first, the the other. I usually work long to short. If working with 2 barrel pens, Make sure that all of your blanks are numbered and have an orientation line so the grain can be lined up when turning and during assembly.

I drill and square on the lathe. I use the pin jaws in a scroll chuck and a drill chuck in the tail stock. After drilling all of my blanks, I do the glue up for the entire batch. While the glue for the last tube is drying, I swap my scroll chuck for the sanding disc and slide the head stock closer to the drill bit (leaving enough room to get blanks on and off the drill bit.) Switch to a drill bit the same size as the ID of the tube you are using and slide the blank over the drill bit by hand with a twisting motion, this reams out any errant glue that may be inside the tube. With the blank on the drill bit use the quill advance to position the disc approx 1/8" from the end of the drill bit and lock it in place, set the quill advance stop at this position. Turn on the machine and with the disc spinning, advance the blank along the drill bit by hand to the disc and rotate slightly until the end is square to the tube. Once squared, back off the disc, flip the blank, reset the disc and square again, repeat for all of the blanks in the batch in the order they were glued. By the time you get to the last set, the glue should be ready. I can do 30 pens cut to length, drilled, glued, and squared in a couple of hours if I don't have any interruptions or problems.

Once the batch is squared, set up the 1st mandrel for turning and turn your first set. Once turned to the desired size, set up the 2nd mandrel for sanding and finishing using the finishing bushings. Sand and finish the first pen. Once sanded and finished set it aside to cure a bit and set up the turning mandrel for turning the next set. I cycle through once the turning is done, remove the previous set from the finishing mandrel and set the blanks aside, finish the second set, etc etc. alternating between turning and finishing until all turning and finishing is complete. another couple of hours here.

Repeat the squaring process after finishing and prior to assembly to make sure no globs of finish are stuck on the end of the blank prior to assembly.

"Buffing": I put 1 wheel on the left side of the headstock and one on the right. Left wheel is tripoli, right wheel is white diamond. I use a "Buffing" mandrel which is nothing more than a tapered dowel to hold the blanks so I can buff along the axis of the pen blanks. Once all are buffed, I move on to assembly. It takes about 1 minute per pen to buff and polish.

I use the SS Quill for a pen press. I made some hardwood plugs that fit into the hole for the MT holder and over the end of the quill. I put on cotton gloves so I don't get finger prints on the plating or the freshly polished barrels. I do twist pen assembly a bit different than the instructions. I start with pressing the twist mechanisms in first. I have a 1/4 - 20 carriage bolt with a nut that I use a depth stop that prevent the twist from going in too far. I insert the depth stop into the the lower blank (nose cone side) up the nut, the head of the bolt goes against block on the tailstock, with the twist between the quill and the tube. I gently advance the quill which inserts the twist until it reaches the end of the bolt. I do the first pen and then set the nose cone and test the fit of the refill, and adjust the depth stop if needed. I have had to remove the nose cone once or twice. But one that depth stop is set, you can plow through assembly pretty quickly. I do the Lower Barrels (Twists and Nose Cones) then the upper barrels (Clip and finial), then final assembly upper to lower by hand.

Important step: If using CA allow at least a few days for CA to cure and off gas before packaging or the CA fumes can damage the plating. Other finishes should probably also be allowed to cure and finish drying also before packaging.

Just how I do it.