help with my first few pens.

[holmsy2000]

i made my first pen last weekend and although in the end it does write, it didnt quite come out properly. i used sandpaper on a flat board when i sanded, however both the wooden bits have ended up with a curve inward on them. how can i avoid this in the future? Also i was just glueing up a blank and the super glue dried in about half a second and the brass tube is only half way in! AAARRGG can i some how unstick the glue? do i have to throw out the blank? can i maybe cut of the excess and push it in from the other side? from now on im going to epoxy them in.

thanks Brett

[darley56]

i made my first pen last weekend and although in the end it does write, it didnt quite come out properly. i used sandpaper on a flat board when i sanded, however both the wooden bits have ended up with a curve inward on them. how can i avoid this in the future? Also i was just glueing up a blank and the super glue dried in about half a second and the brass tube is only half way in! AAARRGG can i some how unstick the glue? do i have to throw out the blank? can i maybe cut of the excess and push it in from the other side? from now on im going to epoxy them in.

thanks Brett

For your first question do you mean that your pen is oval when saying " curve inward on them "?.
For the second question you find the way, cut the excess of tube and glue it the other side, when using CA use Medium CA that give you a little more time to work the parts, in pen making " the wooden bits " like you call is named Barrel you got upper barrel and bottom barrel, would like to see a photos of your pens, what kind of wood and finish did you use?

[JackoH]

Please, Please, Get some bloody lessons!!!

[JackoH]

Or at least Join A Club. (Try the Geelong Woodwrights)

[holmsy2000]

well i was too impatient to wait for any replys so i went ahead and cut the tube and stuck it in the other end, it worked fine, its then good to come on here and see that darley has sugested it. No the pen isnt oval its hard to explain hopefully a crude diagram will help.
http://img141.imagevenue.com/loc71/th_6ef8a_pen.JPG (http://img141.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc71&image=6ef8a_pen.JPG)


i finished the one with the cut tube and it came out fine, its rosewood and i gave it a few coats of super glue for a finish. i wasnt sure how many coats to go because the only other time i have used super glue is on a knife handle where i used 30 coats, so i just went for 5 and it came out well. ill try to post pictures once i've taken some, ill even get some of my turning setup,it redefines the word crude!

as for the idea of lessons, bah what a waste of time, i enjoy the learning curve to much, once i get good at it i will probably give up. hahaha im already a little board with the kits ive got, its simply a mater of making a square peice of wood circular and then assembling it.

thanks for your help guys.
Brett

[bdar]

Brett,
Both Darley and myself use a cork block when sanding a blank, this is also done very lightly. I have been turning for 25 years now and I took leasons at 4 years after I started when I was 17. The knowledge I gained over 2 years of training was invaluable. I have turned pens for quite a long time and I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about turning and finishing a pen. I discovered the IAP forum www.penturners.org (http://www.penturners.org) and The Pen Shop www.thepenshop.net (http://www.thepenshop.net) . There was this guy called Darley posting there using kits I didn't even know existed and finishing them with thing I never thought of using. The things I have learnt from him have made my pens even better. The best thing we had a chance to meet, talk, swap ideas, pen blanks and to watch him craft a pen on my lathe was an honour to me. It isn't just making a square bit of wood round, it is much more than that. Round is simple, it is what shape you do after you make it round. Go to the photo galleries on these sites and you see what I mean.

Darren

[JackoH]

Sorry. I thought you were serious about turning!

[darley56]

well i was too impatient to wait for any replys so i went ahead and cut the tube and stuck it in the other end, it worked fine, its then good to come on here and see that darley has sugested it. No the pen isnt oval its hard to explain hopefully a crude diagram will help.
http://img141.imagevenue.com/loc71/th_6ef8a_pen.JPG (http://img141.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc71&image=6ef8a_pen.JPG)


i finished the one with the cut tube and it came out fine, its rosewood and i gave it a few coats of super glue for a finish. i wasnt sure how many coats to go because the only other time i have used super glue is on a knife handle where i used 30 coats, so i just went for 5 and it came out well. ill try to post pictures once i've taken some, ill even get some of my turning setup,it redefines the word crude!

as for the idea of lessons, bah what a waste of time, i enjoy the learning curve to much, once i get good at it i will probably give up. hahaha im already a little board with the kits ive got, its simply a mater of making a square peice of wood circular and then assembling it.

thanks for your help guys.
Brett

Hi Brett look like you piece of wood when sanding was flexible the curve you got IMHO is the pressure of your fingers while sanding, Darren like he say, use a sanding cork block you will have better result, Whaaaoo! 30 coats of CA on a knife handle you will have the handle for the rest of your live, generaly I do 2 coats of CA on my pens sand down with MM to 12000 grits bettewn each coat.

Now like JackoH and Darren tell you surf the net or got to a club to prefect the skill no shame on that, I did and still doing it and teaching people who want learn pen crafting, now like you say " its simply a mater of making a square peice of wood circular and then assembling it. " so far your pen is not circular is't, LOL just practice and practice and practice.......

[holmsy2000]

Sorry. I thought you were serious about turning!

from the sounds of that post it would seem as if i slightly offended you, which i am sorry for. unforunately the internet does not convey the joking nature in my voice.

as for everyone else's sugestion about joining a club, i think it is a great idea for anyone who is really interested in turning, however i just do it to kill a bit of free time, if i aver get more in to it i will probably find some lesons to take. strangely enough i only got the idea to turn a pen by accident, i was looking for a supplyer of some interesting woods to use as knife handles(my primary hobby) and saw some of the pen blank suppliers and decided maybe i would give it a go.

darley, 2 coats! whoa its easier than i thought, i knew i would need less than i knife handle but i didnt know i would need that much less.
thanks for all your help guys.
Brett

[darley56]

from the sounds of that post it would seem as if i slightly offended you, which i am sorry for. unforunately the internet does not convey the joking nature in my voice.

as for everyone else's sugestion about joining a club, i think it is a great idea for anyone who is really interested in turning, however i just do it to kill a bit of free time, if i aver get more in to it i will probably find some lesons to take. strangely enough i only got the idea to turn a pen by accident, i was looking for a supplyer of some interesting woods to use as knife handles(my primary hobby) and saw some of the pen blank suppliers and decided maybe i would give it a go.

darley, 2 coats! whoa its easier than i thought, i knew i would need less than i knife handle but i didnt know i would need that much less.
thanks for all your help guys.
Brett

Brett are you making you own knife? I mean from scratch? look at this site
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/knife_making/join?yguid=193078552&finish=sub

pen is fun and make a nice pressy for your family and friends

[KevM]

well i was too impatient to wait for any replys so i went ahead and cut the tube and stuck it in the other end, it worked fine, its then good to come on here and see that darley has sugested it. No the pen isnt oval its hard to explain hopefully a crude diagram will help.
http://img141.imagevenue.com/loc71/th_6ef8a_pen.JPG (http://img141.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc71&image=6ef8a_pen.JPG)


i finished the one with the cut tube and it came out fine, its rosewood and i gave it a few coats of super glue for a finish. i wasnt sure how many coats to go because the only other time i have used super glue is on a knife handle where i used 30 coats, so i just went for 5 and it came out well. ill try to post pictures once i've taken some, ill even get some of my turning setup,it redefines the word crude!

as for the idea of lessons, bah what a waste of time, i enjoy the learning curve to much, once i get good at it i will probably give up. hahaha im already a little board with the kits ive got, its simply a mater of making a square peice of wood circular and then assembling it.

thanks for your help guys.
Brett

Brett,
I believe that you may be sanding for too long in the centre of each wooden blank. You need to ensure that when you sand, all of each timber piece receive equal time and pressure.

I don't use any backing for the paper apart from my fingers. Ensure that when you sand each section you work from one end to the other, because if you sand continuously backwards and forwards the centre section will twice the sanding of the two ends.

regards

Kev M

[holmsy2000]

darley, yeah i make them from scratch, i use old dropsaw blasdes for the blade steel which i aneal and the re heat treat, ad then add a nice wood hadle, i've also made a few foldig pocket knives. its another oe of those hobbies where the net is invaluable

Kev i think you may be right, the sading from one ed seems to make sence, i thionk i9ts happeig when ii try to remove the circular scratches.

heres qaother question, is black palm hard to turn or is it my technique, i keep rippig out chunks. i saved it till last because it was my favorite blank( ibought a mixed 5 pack) but im ot sure it will make a servicable pen. ive glued it back together so may times, i think its more glue tha wood.

brett