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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Charleville Australia
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    Default 4 pens I made today

    Hi,

    Made 4 pens today using the same 7mm twist kit and 4 different timbers. They are in order - Gidgee, Sapelle, unsure and Western Red Cedar. The sapelle and unsure came in a kit from Toowoomba woodworkers and the gidgee and cedar I made the blanks from scratch. The gidgee is the hardest timber I have worked with. I am not looking forward to doing anything bigger with it as it is absolute murder on the chisels. Am extremely happy with the gidgee and happy with the sapelle. The unknown timber split when I put the pen kit in. More care needs to be taken methinks. The cedar pen is very plain and the timber does not flow onto the metal fittings. Finished with EEE and Shellawax.

    All comments welcome

    Todd

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Blackbutt QLD
    Age
    30
    Posts
    172

    Default

    I like the first two though im not sure about the belly under the clip it looks a bit funny, I do mine straight and they still look good.

    I think your unknown one is red cedar.
    How long have you been turning pens for?

    Ben.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Charleville Australia
    Posts
    229

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Woodkid View Post
    I like the first two though im not sure about the belly under the clip it looks a bit funny, I do mine straight and they still look good.

    I think your unknown one is red cedar.
    How long have you been turning pens for?

    Ben.
    Hi Ben

    Been turning pens for about 3 weeks. Done 7 so far.

    Todd

  5. #4
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Blackbutt QLD
    Age
    30
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    172

    Default

    Your doing good then keep it up.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Pretty Sally Hill, Wallan Vic
    Age
    84
    Posts
    1,723

    Default

    Hi Todd,

    Good fun isn't it ... I never tire of making pens
    although I recently made a couple of Sierras instead
    of slimlines.

    A couple of tips for the future:

    Try to take the wood down to meet the bushes as
    it will give a more pleasing result. It is a "no no" to
    leave a lip.

    I have found that EEE is not always a good idea on
    lighter coloured woods as it picks up residue from the
    bushes and impregnates the wood. I prefer to use
    Shellawax then Glow on most occasions.

    Look forward to seeing more of your work.

    Allan
    Life is short ... smile while you still have teeth.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Cairns Qld Australia
    Age
    69
    Posts
    1,229

    Default

    Hey Todd. My BEST advise to you would be to watch and copy ALL of Davids (Timberbits) tutorial info video's. There are about 9 vid's on pen turning. You can't go wrong if you follow his instruction. Here is the link to start you off.
    https://www.timberbits.com/videos.html
    I never forget anything I remember !!

  8. #7
    cookie48 is offline Old Fart (my step daughters named me)
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Mallala S.A.
    Age
    75
    Posts
    1,455

    Default

    You are of to a good start. With practice you will find it gets better. I finish my pens with Hutt wax. That is unless it a real special then I use floor varnish at present but intend to try the CA finish very soon.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Dandenong, Vic
    Posts
    2,029

    Default

    When I make mine I replace those tiny centre bands.
    I get whatever is lying around and drill a lot of holes in it, cut them into squares. Then I stack them all onto the mandril and turn them all down at once.
    I get those fine offcuts that people throw in the scap bin from the table saw, 3mm blackwood or redgum.
    I taper it a bit so I get centre bands from 13mm down to 8mm. Gives me about a dozen that I can use and it doesn't matter what I turn the middle size down to, I can always find one to fit. For effect I hold the fine rasp at 45 degrees to get a bunch of small grooves.
    Peter

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Brisbane
    Age
    67
    Posts
    2,061

    Default

    Todd

    The light coloured timber the split appears on looks like Canadian Rock Maple. It is a fairly common timber for blanks here. I noticed a bit of a dark stain at the ends of the maple. That is caused by sandpapering from the end towards the centre. The sandpaper picks up dirt from the bushes and grinds it into the timber. If you sand from the middle of the blank towards the ends you will overcome the problem. The same advice was given to me when I encountered the same problem when starting out. Just put a little more time into sanding making sure you move up the grits to at least 800 and you will love the outcome.

    Keep at it.
    Last edited by plantagenon; 28th February 2012 at 09:34 AM. Reason: spelling
    The Pen is mightier than the Sword

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