Shopsmith Forums

Hi All,

Having a bit of the flu-bug has let me catch up on some of the Sawdust Sessions I missed previously.

Besides the general immense enjoyment I've had, I also wanted to specifically praise the Jim McCann projects in "Making Small Parts Precisely."

In fact, I just went over and glued 7 small ply-squares of my "on sale but not very attractive" veneer sheets together. This type of home-made plywood, which Jim showed, will exactly solve a couple of component challenges that I've been pondering for a while.

Also: Did I catch that Drew is on honeymoon? Best Wishes!

Hi Again,

Via the Penn State folks (here I'm adding to the 168+ posts on "turning ... pens" that you may search) I had got the Shopsmith mandrel and a number of Slimline kits a while back.

Wasn't long and I decided Slimline was too slim for me, so I tried fabricating my own center bushings of larger diameter, such as the "Pens from the Wood" book from Shopsmith describes. On the ballpoint pens, this is easy enough since the center-gold-band was only a spacer. On the pencils, however, the center bushing has to hold the 2 barrels together pretty strongly.

Here is where I decided to try my own 7-ply maple-veneer plywood. I glued it all up last night and turned it today. Not the finest of color and grain matching on my 2 rosewood blanks, but the 7-layer "joiner" turned out great! It is strong in both axes so I'm not worried about it splitting.

Thanks again to Jim McCann for this fine idea.

nuhobby wrote:Hi Again,...
...Here is where I decided to try my own 7-ply maple-veneer plywood. I glued it all up last night and turned it today. Not the finest of color and grain matching on my 2 rosewood blanks, but the 7-layer "joiner" turned out great! It is strong in both axes so I'm not worried about it splitting.

Thanks again to Jim McCann for this fine idea.

Chris - That is one fine looking pencil. It's shape and color, to me, is just what I would want. Also your story behind the pen is interesting and unique. Sorry you had to get sick in order to find the time to get inspired, but glad you did!;)
I think you may have inspired other of us also!

I agree that the slimline bushing is too small. I have gotten in the habit of using the bushing until the blanks are round. Then I remove the bushing and turn both ends one against the other. This way I can pick my own diamenter and have a perfect match in the center. Now I give away another secret. I have never liked the metal rings so once I have them turned the way I desire I use the parting tool to finish the joint between the two blanks. Then I use a thin wire and burn the joint. This gives a nice clean joint that enhances the view when turning (open or close) the pen. Sorry no picture today perhaps tomorrow. Jim