Thread: Yet another first pen

Thats cool

now be a good forumite and join the pen swap

atta boy

Chris, go here and bookmark it: Carroll's It's not a pen specific site, but will give you a good idea of what's generally available here in Oz and at more than reasonable prices.

A quick search of these forums on "cigar pens" will also provide a heap of other URLs, Pen Turners Paradise, etc. Sorry, I don't have 'em bookmarked and aren't sure of the exact URL.

Also remember Google is your friend.

its always hard to take good photos of small things.. bloody digital cameras just seem to hate close ups

looks great from what I can tell tho chris
If I may be so bold I reckon a nice chunky pen with a bit of shape to it might be fun.. but then I'm no good at straight lines so thats my answer to everything.

and rest assured there is now a small "chris" bucket next to the bandsaw that interesting sticks get thrown at from time to time

Looks damned nice to me! ... got the pen making fetish yet? I did but Im sorta over it now thank goodness he says!.. but whats a bloke to do with a million small peices of pen blanks he created in his maniacal frenzy?? I guess I will have to start making small boxes eh? very small boxes!!

Well done!

nice first attempt. what did you finish it with?

pen turners paradise as skew mentioned

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Chris, go here and bookmark it: Carroll's It's not a pen specific site, but will give you a good idea of what's generally available here in Oz and at more than reasonable prices.

A quick search of these forums on "cigar pens" will also provide a heap of other URLs, Pen Turners Paradise, etc. Sorry, I don't have 'em bookmarked and aren't sure of the exact URL.

Also remember Google is your friend.

Thanks Skew. I have searched the forums, and used google. The problem I've been having, is trying to get an idea of the diameters from the photos on the various sites. ie. I often can't visualise the pen kits on offer. I don't particularly like the slimline, but I also don't like the cigar pens. I want something in between. I'm going to try to get to a couple of Melbourne suppliers, and have a look at made up samples. Then I should be okay.

Originally Posted by Slow6

looks great from what I can tell tho chris
If I may be so bold I reckon a nice chunky pen with a bit of shape to it might be fun.. but then I'm no good at straight lines so thats my answer to everything.

I prefer them thicker as well, but I bought the kits fairly cheaply on ebay as learning curve sacrifices, so I'll use them up whilst I have them.

Originally Posted by Slow6

and rest assured there is now a small "chris" bucket next to the bandsaw that interesting sticks get thrown at from time to time

Originally Posted by ss_11000

nice first attempt. what did you finish it with?

pen turners paradise as skew mentioned

Sanded to 360, the gave a wipe with Ubeaut sanding sealer. Then sanded to 600, and finished with 1 coat Shellawax liqued. Not sure if I should use more coats, or put something else on top. Suggestions welcome, but I want to maintain the tactile feel of the wood.

Took it to work today, to show a co-worker, and ended up surrounded by the girls in the office . All going ooh, aah. So I gave it to the one with the shortest skirt.

Funny thing is, I'm happy with it as a first attempt. But it just hasen't got the quality that I hope will come with practice, but that didn't seem to bother anyone in the office.

sounds like a good finish, i usually give 2-3 coats with very light sanding in between.

Funny thing is, I'm happy with it as a first attempt. But it just hasen't got the quality that I hope will come with practice, but that didn't seem to bother anyone in the office.

Nice work Chris, One thing I've learnt is that you are probably the hardest critic of your own work and practice makes perfect.

Originally Posted by chrisb691

Thanks Skew. I have searched the forums, and used google. The problem I've been having, is trying to get an idea of the diameters from the photos on the various sites. ie. I often can't visualise the pen kits on offer. I don't particularly like the slimline, but I also don't like the cigar pens. I want something in between. I'm going to try to get to a couple of Melbourne suppliers, and have a look at made up samples. Then I should be okay.

Fair enough. Personally I can't say that I've come across any happy medium between the two, instead I mix'n'match from various kits (inc. keyrings!) and make my own bands from other materials, such as contrasting timber, metal, acrylic, corian, whatever.

The clip from a slimline will fit a surprisingly wide range of thicknesses (although not up to cigar pen size!) but the matching end cap can look a bit dinky... which is where I often use the end from a keyring kit.

Oh... if you do start to make your own bands: remember the centre hole is sized to fit the mandrel, not the brass tube.

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Oh... if you do start to make your own bands: remember the centre hole is sized to fit the mandrel, not the brass tube.

I was going to make some bands from contrasting offcuts, and I was about to fall into the trap of drilling them 7mm. So thanks for the heads up, and a greeny to you.

I think it looks good . I just started about 3 weeks ago. I , like you, bought a bunch of stuff not knowing what I was buying:confused: . When I turned my first pen it was bad:eek: , I won't even show it. Bur I let my imagin go and started doing these CHUNKY pens using the slimline kit,below. Just have fun and , in my opinion, dont read books they just limit you and but borders . I have now sold 8 pens and they still arnt that good. Keep up the great work.
Jude

The wood smith has PX pens & carolls has the polaris give them a go. also look at my thread on centre bands.