Thread: hit and miss ?

I am by no means no expert but if I can offer any advice it would be just to take your time and it will all work out fine. Also yes it is not unusual to have a few failures along the way. But the finish products will make it all worth doing.


Cheers ian

I bought a woodlathe last year with the specific aim of turning pens and other small items. As I had never having touched one before I went to a friend who was kind enough to teach me the basics of turning; I then practised spindle turning on a load of karri I had lying around.

Whern I judged myself reasonably competent I imposed on my friend again and he showed me specifically how to turn and assemble pens.

I also read a good book on pen turning by Barry Gross and utilise some of his techniques.

I don't really have a hit or miss rate; every pen body I've turned has been acceptable to me. I've done some experimentation on different timbers, different cuts and different techniques and these can come to grief initially but as the pen tubes are only a few cents each I really don't worry about it very much!

Dave I am no pro pen turner far from it I have had a few blow out not to many though.

roughing down is the easy part but still you need a light hand, from then on its easy does it using the skew light cuts take your time. Don't forget watching people who have done it for years or a while at least the have learnt their mistakes.

Speed, timber, sharp tools, steady hand and light cuts is the way I approach it. If you like I can either have a dual lathe pen turn or just come over here or there and we can destroy wood together.

Ray

ps might even invite Pat

Pat should be taught proper turning

I've found I only have blow outs when I'm near the end of a one off pen and am being very delicate. If I decide that there is likely to be a problem and thus decide to make two the same then I get two good pens

Murphy's law of pen turning: If it's important to you it will blow out near the final turning!

Jump in and give it a go, if you have a blow out reuse the tube and try again. Take up any help you can get and most of all have fun.
David
p.s SAFETY

Try and get in touch with a local and an experienced pen turner who should be able to get you on the right track , Don't expect problems ,that can be self defeating hehe, If in doubt rough to almost size then finish with various grit sandpaper (it's a turning tool ) There are also heaps of videos on U-tube that can give you visuals of the processes , As a retired fitter and turner I came to working with wood with some skills ,but mostly had to start from scratch as wood and metals are worlds apart my worst enemy is impatience to get finished hehe, Take the time to get it right and you won't look back ,took me a year to stop using the infamous "skew" as a scraper lol. But used correctly it can do a pen from start to finish . It's a slippery slope and full of challenges along the way ,but very satisfying and results will come very quickly if you put in the time and groundwork , cheers ~ John

I had been turning for about 12mths before I fell to the addiction and I'm lucky to have a experience turner to teach me the ins and out. In my early days I used to destroy a fair number but once I learnt to slow down and not go at it like hollowing a bowl my casualty's dropped to next to nothing. As Sawdust maker said if it is important or rare that is the one I blow out now but I have learnt good ways to fix them

The best thing you can do is find a mentor like Wheelinround you cannot beat years of experience in a hands on manner.

Originally Posted by Rum Pig

The best thing you can do is find a mentor like Wheelinround you cannot beat years of experience in a hands on manner.

Thanks for the nice words RP but the years of experience is zilch really turning is new to me to 3rd year now and pens are just recent.

That doesn't mean I would not jump in to help out young Dave at all. Be glad to he's keen and has such a positive attitude to life. Game to try anything.

Now Nick would be a good pen mentor he's at it more often.

Blowouts are just a method of teaching, the main thing is to learn from your mistakes.

Don't rush things do a lot of reading and if possible get someone who lives by who has experience to teach you. A good wood club is an excellent start.

I live up in the Hunter Valley and if your up this way pop in and we will see if we can help. We are only 5 minutes off the New England at Rutherford.

Originally Posted by Simomatra

Blowouts are just a method of teaching, the main thing is to learn from your mistakes.

Don't rush things do a lot of reading and if possible get someone who lives by who has experience to teach you. A good wood club is an excellent start.

I live up in the Hunter Valley and if your up this way pop in and we will see if we can help. We are only 5 minutes off the New England at Rutherford.

Now thats an offer Dave from the Master