Pen Turning

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:58 pm

since the guys made me get the camera out to snap pics of the extension tables i took some pics of the afternoon's work. these were all partially done before this afternoon as i have done two demo's recently at my woodworking clubs. with five craft shows coming up i need to build up inventory anyhow. from left to right they are three corn cobs, a printed circuit bord, box elder and two cherry one with red, white and blue poker chips in the center. they guys love to see the corn cobs done starting with a cob fresh from the field they are not stabilized, just turned and hardened with ca glue as i go, then polished with micro-mesh to 12000 grit and then brasso.

rdewinter · Post by **rdewinter** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 1:46 am

Betty
Nice work, very original. How do you get that much done in one afternoon?

Bob
San Diego

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 4:28 am

Looks like bettyt4470 can do 5 pens simultaneously, with all the Mark 5's he has!

Great stuff, very creative!

(PS I never thought of using Brasso on pens, but it sure does work a lot of places. Probably an excellent value.)

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:46 am

i'm not a super turner. lol these pens were all at least partially done from demos that i've done at two different woodworking clubs lately. the corn cob pens only needed a couple more coats of ca, polished and assembled. the circuit board pen only needed a little more polishing and assembled. the two cherry pens did need minimal turning, finish and assembled. here is a link to the club newsletter if interested. also keep in mind that bettyt is really bob on this forum. bob

http://www.bwwt.org/bwwt_sep09_newsletter.pdf

tom_k/mo · Post by **tom_k/mo** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:00 am

Can you expound a little on the PCB pen? Exactly what did you use for the blank, something you made yourself or purchased? How did it turn?

rkh2 · Post by **rkh2** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:20 am

Bob

Nice looking pens. A couple of questions for you. What size bushings are you using for the corn cob pens. I only have the 7mm slimline setup at present. Curious whether the larger bushings will fit on the standard mandrel I have currently. Thanks for sharing your club newsletter. BTW - Is that you doing the demos?

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:39 am

the printed circuit board pen blank was made by a fellow pen turner
"bruce119" at penturners dot org. there is a process that he uses to disolve the orange part of the circuit boards so they can be wrapped around the tubes, then cast clear resin over them. we had a group buy and were able to get them for $14 each. i just bought three, in hindsight i should have got more because i did not how popular they would be. woodcraft and bera hardwoods now sell a kit that looks like them for $20. the big difference is they are not circut boards but are pictures printed on a lable. they do look nice gotta look close to tell.

navycop · Post by **navycop** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:09 pm

I read in a forum that a person used sandpaper to turn pens. Is it possible to just turn the SS on and hold a piece of sandpaper to a blank; making a perfect pen?

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:17 pm

[quote="navycop"]I read in a forum that a person used sandpaper to turn pens. Is it possible to just turn the SS on and hold a piece of sandpaper to a blank]No. It wood require many pieces of sandpaper!

This was a "flip" response. No idea really.

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:19 pm

rkh2, yes that is me old bald me in the photos. each pen kit uses it own bushings. so every time you try a different kit you will need another set of bushings and probably a new drill bit too. the good news is most bushings will fit the mandrel you have. there are a few larger diameter pens that use the larger "B" mandrel. the first corn cob pen is a "Wallstreet III" and the other two are "Polaris" kits all from woodcraft. i use them because the are pretty large in diameter. "Cigar" pen kits work great with corn cobs also. you can search for corn cobs with the center pith area small enough for a slimline. if you know anyone that raises popcorn the cobs are very small and work on slimline pens. some places sell popcorn still in "ear" form. get them if you can. i have two nephews that are dairy farmers and raise corn for feed. pretty soon i'll walk the fields picking up the smallest cobs i can find.

the guy that said he just sanded his pen was following the directions. if all else fails, follow the directions.