Thread: New to Pen Turning

Hey Corbs,

Yeah mate, your right. I did a lousey job on the glue up. I invested $2.00 in a six pack of super glue. It is possible that this was not the best $2.00 I ever spent, but if I had of done a better job of it, it still prolly would have done the job just fine.

Ive never used polyurathane glue for any thing, how long does it take to dry?


Steve

Originally Posted by Ticky

...

Ive never used polyurathane glue for any thing, how long does it take to dry?


Steve

You can turn in about 4 hours but I prefer to wait 24. Don't worry about the brand you use, I've tried expensive and cheap and couldn't tell them apart in terms of performance. Try not to get it on your skin if you can, any skin it touches will turn black. Use some gloves or just be very careful with the glue up

I haven't been doing any pen turning since my first attempt, but I have been doing a little prep work.

Last night, I ordered a Pen Mill from Jim Carroll & I an expecting that to arrive in the next day or so. I have cut quite a few blanks from about 9 different timbers & have drilled a few of the on the lathe. I have also glued up 1 set of blanks with 5min araldite and I think I have done a reasonable job of that, good coverage, but I need the pen mill now to square the ends & clean out the glue from my reclaimed brass.

I have also been in discussions with another forum member & we are doing a blanks swap, so we will both have access to other timbers from different parts of the country, so I have been quite busy getting that together.

So within a couple of days, hopefully, I will have my first solo pen coming off the lathe...with a bit of luck.


Steve

The end mill will not always clean out all the glue from inside the tube, and this can cause you problems when assembling.
I always use a brass rifle cleaning brush in a cordless drill to clean out any remaining glue. Sometimes you need to scrape out any thick deposits of glue with something sharp first, and then run the brush through the tube until the bore is shiny, and you can't see any darker spots where the glue is remaining.
I have a few of these brushes in different diameters to suit various kits. They need to be a firm fit in the bore to be the most effective. A .22 brush is good for Slimlines.
I also plug the end of the tube which is to be pushed in to the blank with a piece of potato (just slice off a piece about 5mm thick and push the tube into it on the bench) It's a bit like the old spud gun. This stops the glue getting inside the tube, so less hassle cleaning up.
I have never used the urethane glues so can't vouch for them. I only use medium CA on the smaller kits (providing the gap between tube and blank is only small). and on the bigger kits I use the 5 minute Araldite. I have never had a problem with either.

Originally Posted by Ticky

BSea,
The way I see it, there are 2 ways to look at this...

1. I have destroyed EVERY pen I have attemted to make,
OR
2. Of all the pens I have tried to make, I have only destroyed ONE.

I completely destroyed the first pen I ever tried too - AND I was in a class! I have destroyed a few pens since then too. I figure it's best to just keep at it, have fun and you get there eventually

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Good to see you marking the blanks where you cut them to keep the grain alignment right. I mark the inside of my tubes as well with a texta, because the marks on the outside get turned off, and some grains are hard to work out where the match up was.

This is a brilliant idea. I'll have to try that out myself.

A couple of suggestions for what they are worth.

Buy some Sika Poly glue from Bunnings and use it to glue in your tubes. It expands to fill in any gaps and remains elastic when dry, so it absorbs some shocks. When you put the glue on and push the tube in - wrap the glued blank in a small piece of glad wrap and put a clamp over the ends of the tube. Sika expands as it dries and can push the tube out if you are unlucky. The clamp stops this happening.

If your have a belt sander with the side disc, this is much better to square off your blanks than a milling took which tends to tear the timber.

After turning - sand your blanks to 600 grit. Then sand with 0000 steel wool to remove any small scratches. Also sand along the blank with the s/w with the lathe stopped. Then wet a piece of paper towel with metho and rub this over the blank with the lathe running. It will pop the grain and allow coats of CA to grip better. When you finish your CA coats and micro mesh sanding, put some Canaubra wax on and polish it in with the lathe running. Use lambs wool. The finish will be glass.

Finally, square off your finished blank again to remove any excess CA. I put some photos of a tool I made to square off the finished blank in a post two below this one (the one dealing with poly finish) . Its easy to make and very cheap. Then clear any dry CA from inside the tube and run a de-burring tool around the ends of the tube. Much better for assembly.

Thanks for the tips guys.
Sorry I have been slow to reply, my laptop is down and fixing it is proving more difficult than you would imagine.

I turned my first solo pen to completion yesterday and I'm pretty happy with the results but as I am posting this from my phone, I don't think I can post a pic.

Steve

I finally got my laptop back in action, & it only took me about 4 days.... Definitely more fun turning pens than fixing computers.

The good news is, since my last post on my phone, I managed to finish a second pen. The bad news is I also destroyed a second pen, so I am currently 2 for 2. I may have been pushing my boundaries a bit because my second pen was going to be a Segmented pen, but instead it is a Mulberry one.

I really improved the finish on the second one though, so I guess that's something.
My first one... I really like the shape of this one, It's made from River Red Gum (I think) & finished with CA.

The second one .... Still not a bad shape, but a much better finish although the pics don't really show it. It's made from Mulberry & Once again it is finished with about 5 coats of CA, Sanded, EEE, Polished & then waxed. It looks great (IMO) & feels amazing.


Steve

Hey Steve, from what I can see from here, your fit and finish looks great, the transition from wood to metal looks spot on Mate.

Don't be too disappointed to mess a couple up, its all part of the learning process.

Hey Brad,

Actually, I'm having a ball doing this, I find it quite relaxing. I have so many blanks cut up in the shed already. I have a 17" Bandsaw & I had a 6TPI X 6mm blade that was starting to get past its use by date. Some of the lumps of timber I was cutting saw the end of that blade, so I ordered a 6TPI x 12mm & while I was waiting I put on my 2TPI x 25mm, or as I call it... Jaws.

That ripped down some of my small logs, but even with that on, some of that timber is still very hard. I cut a lump off the end of a sleeper with my chainsaw & was expecting that to be Jarah or Red Gum, but it is quite white, probably some type of stringy bark or something. Must have found it's way over from Victoria I think. Anyway, it's pen blanks now. I also have a bit of scrub across the back road from my place, so I went over there & found a dead Mallee branch.... Glad I'm not cutting these by hand.

Haven't turned any more yet, finding the time is tricky, but I'm keen as mustard to have another crack.

I'm also thinking about having a crack at a bowl some time soon, but that's for another section of the Forums. Should be interesting though.


Steve

That's the problem with pen turning, once you get a couple to come out the way you want, you start looking for timbers that are better and showier than the last. Then it's on to acrylics, casting, decals, different finishes, diffrent kits etc. The sky's the limit now.
Enjoy the fun and keep showing us your progress.

Thanks Dallas,

I have to agree about looking for flashier timbers, & even different pen kits, but I have no interest in going down the acrylics road, but then, I had no interest in ever getting a lathe a while ago as well, so who knows.

I am keen try lots of different timbers though & different finishes as well. I still think I have a lot to learn from Pen1 kits before I try to move up to the next level.

I have a question for you guys. I rip the blank down & round with the roughing gouge, I think thats pretty standard, but then I do most of the rest of the work with my Skew chisel. Is this what I should be doing?


Steve

If you are comfortable with the Skew, go for it. That will give you the best finish off the tool.
I tend to rough down with the roughing gouge, and then use the spindle gouge. There is no hard and fast way, just what suits you.

Originally Posted by Ticky

......I have a question for you guys. I rip the blank down & round with the roughing gouge, I think thats pretty standard, but then I do most of the rest of the work with my Skew chisel. Is this what I should be doing?...

As mention you can use the chisels that you feel most comfortable with. From my perspective I use the roughing gouge from start to finish on the basic shape. Then when it comes to final shape I turn the roughing gouge at 45 degrees to use as a skew. Sometimes it works out and cuts fine.