Thread: getting started nearly

As you said it all comes together in the end,if it was too easy everybody would be doing it ! hehe. The better mills are designed with a detachable cutter so it can go onto different size shafts for different pen kits, the tubes can be up to a !/2" in some kits. Hand milling is the safest way as most of the wood for pens is end grain ,so is easily damaged.In the end the best tool we have is our brain ,hehe problem solving is all part of the addiction, enjoy it all thats the main part ,as some of the techniques become more familiar you will find yourself looking for more challenges and variety, the forums are great for that ,and people only too willing to help out with any queries or problems, cheers ~ John

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

As you said it all comes together in the end,if it was too easy everybody would be doing it ! hehe. The better mills are designed with a detachable cutter so it can go onto different size shafts for different pen kits, the tubes can be up to a !/2" in some kits. Hand milling is the safest way as most of the wood for pens is end grain ,so is easily damaged.In the end the best tool we have is our brain ,hehe problem solving is all part of the addiction, enjoy it all thats the main part ,as some of the techniques become more familiar you will find yourself looking for more challenges and variety, the forums are great for that ,and people only too willing to help out with any queries or problems, cheers ~ John

well my brain just died then everything was set only when i stared turning the first pen the wood was really REALLY crap so i turned it all off all 4 blanks and looked around and got some silver ash (i love ash great wood) cut the blanks on the bandsaw and it really made a mess of them but they will still work, the holes drilled and then i just had to glue the sleaves in and got 2 done but it was to tight and one side is flush on the end and not far enough for my liking but they will still work tried the 3rd and bugger the glue went off before i could get it in all the way and the 4th wont go in so ill only be able to do 1 pen tomorrow not today with no spare blanks and my bandsaw is really crap!!!!!!!! yet another thing i have to sort out today is not my day ill leave it to tomorrow and maybe go down to do some odd jobs in the shed and make some nobs for the cabinets down there

owell tomorrow then oh on the plus side i love the mill's new handle

Patrick, I always buy spare blanks, just in case.

I also cut all the wood one day, drill and glue the next and turn, turn, turn the next.

The turning is the QUICK part!

Better luck tomorrow

New guy! try medium or thick CA for your blanks as you will get up to about 15 secs to get them together, before they set on you .sometimes if they get stuck you can still push them in with your drill press as the glue has very little shear strength and gives pretty easy .Its all a bit frightening at first but does get easier hehe, cheers ~John

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

sometimes if they get stuck you can still push them in with your drill press as the glue has very little shear strength and gives pretty easy .Its all a bit frightening at first but does get easier hehe, cheers ~John

i think ill try that latter um tomorrow thanks

ill sharpen my skew to its mostly what i use for small stuff like this and i just put the grinder back into place and dressed lol

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

New guy! try medium or thick CA for your blanks as you will get up to about 15 secs to get them together

As a beginner, I'd recomend you try some 24-hr Araldite instead. It gives you about 5 minutes working time before it starts going tacky; usually just enough time for me to do 4 pens. (Mind you, that's from when you first add the hardener, so if it takes you 2 minutes to mix it through... )

Araldite is a messier job, but with the longer working time it means that if you start to press a tube in and discover the hole is too tight, you can pull the tube back out and simply wait 24 hours to re-drill the blank and re-sand the tube for reuse. With CA, once it goes in...

Personally I believe that epoxy gives a better bond than CA, provided you apply glue to both inside the blank and the tube. (And CA breaks down after only a couple of years! ) CA is much, much quicker and quite a bit cheaper though. I guess that's why it's so popular.

I'm not trying to start a "my glue is better than yours" type argument here; my point is that for a beginner an epoxy glue up is easier to get right (even though it's messier) and will save some early heartaches.

Bad glue jobs have probably caused more broken blanks for beginners than anything else.

Froggy from Addictive put me onto polyurethane. Brand name "vise" available from Bunnies. I use it for any wood blanks. It is a foaming glue and seems to give a good bond.

Also as it is a one part glue it gives a longer working time, ie squeeze out enough for each glue up at a time. I squeeze out some into the end of the blank, use a bamboo skewer to spread around the inside of the blank, then squeeze out some onto the tube and evenly spread around tube, then insert in a twisting motion. I also insert into the non glue end of the blank on the basis of there being no need to put glue on glue, and by pushing through the blank with a twisting motion, by the time there is little glue on the tube I've hit the area in the blank which was previously spread with glue. When I'm doing a batch I use the squeeze out from the previous pen to coat the inside of the next one. I've done about 27 or 28 sierra blanks at a go with this glue. I also leave the blanks on a rack so the glue that foams out the end doesn't glue the blank to something

For acrylic blanks I tend to use the two part epoxys - simple reason, one I glued up with polyurethane, I could see the foam bond through the blank onto the tube after turning

other point is to scuff up the tube with sandpaper, stop up the ends liberally with play doh and clean with acetone

happy gluing

PS I've no problems with the epoxy but I do hate the mixing then the limited time to get the damn things together. I also tend to wait a day before turning.

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

Froggy from Addictive put me onto polyurethane. Brand name "vise" available from Bunnies. I use it for any wood blanks. It is a foaming glue and seems to give a good bond.

Is that the one that foams due to contact with moisture in the blank? Can be sped up with a dribble of water inside the blank first, then the adhesive?

If so, it's good stuff... I'm after some for my chisel handles.

Nice work on the pen mill. Bad luck with the tubes, obviously didn't get all the old glue off before applying the fresh.

I prefer CA glue for the tubes, you wouldn't believe the mess I make using epoxy glue, at least the CA dries quickly on your fingers.

thanks for the advice on glues ill keep it in mind for next time

well finally i have a pen, finished turning/sanding before 12 and put 5 coats of polly with an hour between each coat, burnished with the chips and #### hot wax for the final treatment well i like it hope you guys to


its a mechanical pencil in silver ash by the way and the only problems were grain tear out while turning, sharpening helped but it still did it a bit and i noticed the blanks had ovaled out a bit but it doesnt bother me its a nice fit and thats what matters (well its not going to be sold) to be honest i didnt enjoy the turning much i was really displeased with the skew and finishing was the most fun lol next time i go to carba-tec ill get some more and post them

thanks for reading

Turning pens is the boring bit - just flat, basically! But the whole process leaves you with a lovely, useful product.

What other timbers do you have?

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

Turning pens is the boring bit - just flat, basically! But the whole process leaves you with a lovely, useful product.

What other timbers do you have?

um normal ash, silver ash, campha .......not sure what else the stuff that the mill handle was made of is my fav right now i think its a gum but not sure comes out great

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Is that the one that foams due to contact with moisture in the blank? Can be sped up with a dribble of water inside the blank first, then the adhesive?

If so, it's good stuff... I'm after some for my chisel handles.

I believe so
go to bunnies - Vise brand
If you need a piccy let me know

new_guy90

great - your first writing implement - I hope all the family is proud
keep it
I've got mine, still in use but am wondering how to fix the lower barrel to the timber as it seems to have come loose