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Thread: More pens

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Default More pens

    Here are some more pens I have made recently. They are in order of when I made them starting from the top down. The first 4 are the original Carbatec blanks I bought and the last four are from MapleMan.

    The third one was my first attempt at a CA finish and I followed Timberbits youtube instructions as closely as I could. I must have done something differently though because I got so much white residue from the glen 20 that I had to sand it right back, hence the flatter shape compared to the others. You can still see some of it at the edges where I didn't have the width the sand. About that time I also noticed I was getting some black liquid over everything during the process which turned out to be from the brasso on the bushings.

    Starting with pen five I ditched the glen 20 and the brasso and just used the CA without an accelerator and eee and shellawax instead of the brasso and car wax and I was pretty happy with the finish. It still doesn't look anywhere near the finish of Timberbits 10 cigar pens he just posted but that's why he is a pro and I'm just a gumby with a lathe too much time on my hands. You may notice that pen 5 is broken and this is because, in my enthusiasm, I pushed the swivel mechanism in too far and then crushed the barrel and broke the mechanism trying to pull it out.

    Pens 6 and 7 I tried to make the same for a set. These 2 will probably go to my father in law for his birthday. They aren't perfect when you look close but I am pretty happy with them.

    Pen 8 I made today. Once again I was trying to make a set but the other blank tore open. This one has a couple holes in it which look to my gumby eye like flaws in the wood. I was going very slowly on both of them. I originally inteded for 8 to be assembled backwards to what it is but this way the pocket clip covers the holes and it is pretty symmetrical anyway.

    IMG_8529.jpg

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Gold coast
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    Well it looks like pen turning has you hook line and sinker,

    Great job so far,

    I have only used glen 20 once with same result and I won't use it again, I use the pump spray bottle of accelerator from GPW who is also a forum sponsor, I find it works great for me,
    but also sometimes I don't use any if I have other little jobs to do while I wait for it to dry

    what i also did was practice a lot using a normal piece of wood which I turned round and then worked at getting a good CA finish. Once I did it to a acceptable finish I would turn it of and start again, a bit tedious but I got better and I wasn't ruining pen blanks either. You could even do it as you turn your blank round, as son as it's round sand it up an have a practice. Even change the shapes to get better at it as well,


    in regards to the broken one, you can buy a pen disassembly tool, or what I would recommend is to buy a set of transfer punches ( they will come in very handy as you progress with your pen making) and what you do is remove the refill and place a punch small enough to fit through the mechanism until it hits the nib but not too small as it goes through, and then using a mallet or a hammer tap the punch until the nib come off, then use a bigger punch through the newly vacated nib end to knock out the mechanism, does that make sense? ( what I used before I bought the transfer punch was old drill bits as I had bucket loads off them and put them in bottom first and hit the drilling end, it is a bit rough but I made do )

    keep up the good work

    Hope some of what I have said is of some help

    cheers Ben

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    It looks like you are getting plenty of practice in and the results are showing. Everyone has some mishaps, but you learn from them and keep going. The good ones will far outweigh the bad ones.
    I too would stay away from the Glen 20. I tried it once when I ran out of accelerator, and in desperation used the G20, with similar results. As Beedeejay says, the GPW pump pack works well and is quite economical. I apply the coat of CA and wait about 30 seconds before spraying a light mist of accelerator on from about 150mm away. I find that if you spray the accelerator on straight after applying the CA, the surface will dry quickly and wrinkle. I only put accelerator on about every 3 coats as the previous application seems to be effective for a couple coats. The GPW accelerator doesn't make the CA go off as quickly as the NCF aerosol available at Carroll's, but smells better.
    Keep up the good work and keep showing them, mistakes and all.
    Dallas

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Ormeau, Gold Coast, Australia
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    Good progress there Doc but ditch the glen 20 quick smart and get a decent accelerator. The finer you can apply the accelerator the better the result (an aerosol works best). As beedeejay has suggested practice on some scrap, turn it off and practice again and again and again and you will get it in no time flat. Good luck.
    Regards Rumnut.

    SimplyWoodwork
    Qld. Australia.

  6. #5
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    I agree with them all above. we have been down this road before about the glen 20 and It's Rubbish is is not worth the trouble that it causes and you should just grab some dcent accelerator and go from there.

    Cheers Ian

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Postmans Ridge
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    Thanks, guys. I've ordered some accelerator from GPW and I'll see how it goes. I finished a pen today and it got some build up of ca at the edges. I guess I wasn't waiting long enough between coats. I'd show you but the copper tube came loose on one side and I've had to glue it back in so it's still in the shed.

  8. #7
    Join Date
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    I agree, Glen 20 is crap and only leaves the white marks you are talking about. You really don't need accelerator if you are using thin CA. It will dry on the lathe in a few seconds. Thin means 50cps or less
    The Pen is mightier than the Sword

    www.artisanpens.com.au
    www.facebook.com/artisanpens.penmakers

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    You have a bit of a mixed bag on this lot of pens that you made. I found that it does get better as you go along.

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