Thread: 1st Tru Stone Pen

:whisper: You've forgotten the pic.

Oh! There it is.

Beautiful work David, the Tru-stone has come up a treat. I think it is worthy of a higher end kit though!

I would possible be going up to 12000MM then brasso and auto polish. Tru-stome will take all the polish you can throw at it.

That came up beautifully, very nice Turqouise TruStone

You must have been overweight coming back!

Very nice, and a good pickup as well.

Mike

Beautiful blank David, and certainly worthy of the high end kits, Amos

Well worth the effort and nicely turned, must confess I know little about Truestone but that pen is fit for anyone. Since I am a sassanac I must be an exception because unless most all people are told this pen kit is expensive it must be better then people will feel inadequate if they do not agree.

Shown alone it stands alone. I have been married longer than most but I also know better than to second guess any womans choice of colour or pen and I am certain few people can prejudge men in their choices.

The pen is a comfy one to use, will show a good return may you make many more and enjoy the experience. I visit a site in the USA and read continually of the changing fortunes of the big time makers of pens who have experienced the highs and lows with so called classy and not in penmakers eyes that comfortably acheive with pens like this kit., I firmly believe in freedom of choice and exercise my own at all times.

Since I live within my means I will pursue the Slimline path with variations, they give lasting pleasure to so many in all social areas. The value of a pen is not for penmakers to decide but to share and appreciate, in my visits to the site every visit brings a new idea and real appreciation for those with the courage to show us their pens and the real variety is a joy to me.

Truestone has a real place for me together with the infinite variety of Burled and figured timber. Degrees of difficulty are only rewarded when explained.

Thanks mate. Peter

Nice pen, David. Another method to drilling the blanks is to cut them longer than necessary and to not let the drill bit exit out the bottom. Once you've drilled deep enough go back to your saw and trim the end off. After destroying more TruStone blanks than I care to admit, I stumbled onto this process.

Nice pen. Getting ready to do a turquoise Tru Stone myself. I've always got some water handy for drilling acrylics. It helps keep the heat down & also lubricated while drilling. I've got the bottom 4" cut from a plastic gallon jug & use a soda straw to drip water in the hole every time I pull the bit out. Plan on the same with the truestone. I use a pen vice with a small block of wood for the blank to sit on. That way I got some backup when the bit goes thru the blank. Even with my old setup I've been lucky & have never blown a blank while drilling.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone.

I found that with the water method, water goes everywhere. Because I use a metal vice to clamp the piece down, you end up getting surface rust all over the vice and the drill press.

Last night I went through the machine with WD40 and a scouring pad to get rid of the rust.

Next in line is the green tru stone. Lets see how that turns out.

Regards

Timberbits.

Originally Posted by timberbits

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone.

I found that with the water method, water goes everywhere. Because I use a metal vice to clamp the piece down, you end up getting surface rust all over the vice and the drill press.

Last night I went through the machine with WD40 and a scouring pad to get rid of the rust.

Next in line is the green tru stone. Lets see how that turns out.

Regards

Timberbits.

I don't use water for that reason, I use Methylated Spirits (DNA to our seppo friends), it does a good job cooling, even used sparingly, and evaporates quite quickly.

I just use an oil can with one of those flexible spouts and squirt a bit every now and again.

Looks really nice. Love the colour

I don't use much water. Using a straw I can put just a drop or two in the hole after pulling the bit out. There is a piece of wood under the blank that catches most of the water. Under that & the vice is a piece of 3/4" plywood. The pen vice is painted so water doesn't bother it.