WHAAAHOOOOOO!! First pens! Yes plural

[Wild Dingo]

So I couldnt get my head around the face plate turning I want to do... yet!!:mad:
So I decided to have a burl at turnin a pen :cool:
... first pic is all four yes FOUR ;) So I got carried away shoot me! :D second is for son-in-law of Banksia third is for myself of Plum fourth is a hodgepodge of Black Palm and Sandlewood (ahem yes I made a booboo)and the final of Huon Pine for my 3mth old granson... so hes too little to write but I got him his first pen and by gar I MADE it!!! :cool:

And so can you guess who now has literally SHYTELOADS of blanks cut and drilled ready?? :D Ive got sheoak jarrah karri tuart redgum rivergum pauliwannia apple pear and several speicie unknown!!! Im gonna turn some pens!! WHAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I will get back to you when I sort the faceplate turning out ;)

Now I just gotta figure out how to seal them!! maybe make a wee board with a couple of nails on it and slip the finished pen blank over and varnish? Ive got some of that HUTT stuff but less than impressed with it and Ive tried polish but it doesnt seal it... so will do the nail thingy :cool:

Cheers!!

[dazzler]

She likes em!

[macca2]

Looks like the pens have trapped another Dingo.
Well done.
Macca

[Dean]

Now I just gotta figure out how to seal them!! maybe make a wee board with a couple of nails on it and slip the finished pen blank over and varnish? Ive got some of that HUTT stuff but less than impressed with it and Ive tried polish but it doesnt seal it... so will do the nail thingy :cool:

Cheers!!

Finish them while still on the lathe. I use shellawax. 3 coats with a light sanding in between and it provides a nice semi-satin finish that doesn't look like plastic.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Like Dean said, just finish 'em on the lathe. I use shellawax/eee & sometimes a touch of wax. It's easy as on the lathe, takes all of, oh, 30 seconds. :)

Just don't get 'em too hot when running in, else you risk the glue coming unstuck (depends on type of glue) or the wood cracking.

[Wild Dingo]

Shellwax? ALRIGHTY THEN!!! :D

So now since I posted that one up there the rain eased up and so I raced of with extention lead in hand plugged it into the hot water system on the back of the house and trailed it the 25mtrs out to the shed... yeah yeah gotta get power in there :rolleyes: Anyways I arced everything up again... power lights... mmmm what to do and then I looked around the bench and noticed there were a few spare unused pen inserts just sittin there!!! :eek:

So I thought... "mmmm gotta do something about that" So I did :p

Here we go
Top to bottom first pic
SheOak
Jarrah
Karri
Sassafras
and my favorite Tuart

Second pic top clockwise
Jarrah
Karri
Sassafras
Tuart
SheOak

9 in 2 days!! Whahooo!! I tried the varnish trick but damnitall Im too ruddy impatient to wait for it to dry... so will get some of that shellwax stuff cheers :cool: What a great way to pass a few hours eh!!;) about the same time as I get some more clock and pen inserts :rolleyes: oooohhh Carbatec!!! :cool:

[TTIT]

I've never tried my hand at the pen turning bit but your enthusiasm has at least got me thinking I should give it a go. Nice looking pens mate!:):):)

[Wild Dingo]

Its funny how the smallest things give the greatest satisfaction eh? :cool:

I got a fair amount of satisfaction making the table top... never done a circle in 1in Jarrah boards before mind you it was my first table with biscuits joining the boards too it was also the first work the Triton Routher has done as well so for it to work out really well was very satisfyingl... turning the big 3x3x30in peice of Tuart that was satisfying too... but mate its the small things theyre the ones that give the most pleasure ;)

Im gonna have a go at one of them small bandsaw boxes hopefully next weekend... small is good right? ;)

Have a go!!! :cool:

[CameronPotter]

Good work Dingo.

I was like that after my first few pens. I thought, not only is this fun, but the result is functional (and portable - so you can show off)! :p

Can I suggest you find a copy of Turning Pens and Pencils by Rex Burningham (sp?) and Kip Christensen?

It is a good book with a lot of ideas in it.

For instance, if you want something that REALLY seals the wood, a CA finish works well, but I think I prefer Shellawax like the rest of the guys here.

Cam

[soundman]

All right dingo.
Now youv'e done it.
I'll have to snap some pick of the pens I've turned in the last week.

N..NN..NN..N.... I've done 15.

Its realy habit forming.

Got say shela wax is a good thing i think the paste is better than the liquid for this app.

Now you are looking at every finger sized scrap piece of wood as a pen.

BTW garry pye has a special 10 pen1's for $23.

If you liked the pens how about letter openers, key rings and perfume applicators..... all happen on a pen mandrel.

Think about shapes... variety is the spice of life.

pic's soon.

cheers

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Now you are looking at every finger sized scrap piece of wood as a pen.

It gets even worse if you start turning lace bobbins. Any scrap 6" long and 5mm square tends to be put aside. Even the timbers that I know won't be strong enough when turned to 1/8" are kept "just in case..." [sigh]

At least I'm not keeping scrap MDF or ply! (Yet. :rolleyes: )

One problem with doing pens, applicators, etc. is that once you start getting into the variety of kits you'll find you need different mandrels, bushes etc.

Being of scot descent (and armed with a lathe) I decided "blow that!" and promptly turned my own set of bushes to fit the standard slimline mandrel. Some from corian, some from hardwoods, others from brass. Sure, they don't last as long as commercial steel ones, but they have the advantage of being replaced with minimum effort and no outlay. :D

[soundman]

it gets worse.
You find some nice pieces of wood but they are too small to turn pens or even lace bobins from so you consider lamination.
Can't let that go to waste.

[soundman]

As promised a few pictures of the last weeks turning.
A couple of the pens are already in use.
I showed Kidneygirl ( swmbo ) my first effort to which she said, " where's mine "

I gave one to one of my out of the loop non woodworking customers & he said he'd never seen any thing like it.

The silky oak looks prety specy, but you hae to be carefull it's prety soft I found its best to turn it a shade over size prior to sanding. the brush box the fine grained ones looks a bit dull but it feels nice
the darkes one is a bit of river red gum (i think) out of dai sensai's scrap pile.
the pale one is a piece of ornamental pine that was hacked down out of magicmurph's yard, the realy stripey one is a bit of dirty kwela.

I'm starting to get a feel for a variety of shapes, I cant bring myself to do them straight sided.

I'm toying with the idea of plywood, I think there are several chalenges there but it would look prety weird.

cheers

[Auld Bassoon]

Great first go mate!

[Auld Bassoon]

I'm toying with the idea of plywood, I think there are several chalenges there but it would look prety weird.

cheers

Hey Soundman,

Why not laminate some but complementary (or totally opposite!) nice woods - Amboyna and Myrtle spring to mind - but then I'm no turner...

[ss_11000]

great first goes soundman and dingo.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Why not laminate some but complementary (or totally opposite!) nice woods - Amboyna and Myrtle spring to mind - but then I'm no turner...

This gives some great effects but contrasting woods also usually means different turning characteristics; one might be prone to tear out for example. So long as you keep this in mind, things usually work out OK. :)

The main problem with mixed timbers is when sanding... and a tyro often sands more than is necessary. Different woods, different hardnesses. Light sanding is fine but if ya get overenthusiastic you'll find one wood disappears quicker than the other, resulting in some unusual finishes. This is fine if it's what you were after in the first place but when it comes as a surprise, well... ;)

When mixing woods, it's a case of sharp tools, good technique, minimal sanding and stopping often for visual inspection. Same as for any turning, really, but the penalties for infringement are more... obvious.

[dai sensei]

Wild Dingo & Soundman well done. Now your sucked in, you'll be making pens, pencils, perfume holders, trinket boxes etc etc etc. Enjoy - you now how a cheap method for all your family & friends birthday/Xmas gifts.

Cheers