Thread: RIP pen contributions

Garry it takes two to Tango and so far 2589 views with 80 plus named members have viewed my comment.

Your response with three pens of timbers I love is exciting.

One of my all time favourites has been Conkerberry and you chose to use a Cigar pen that I regard as a monster to conquer,the kit has so many variable needs from the design changes needed at the tip to the centre band then the top from the centre band to the flat clip.So many kits are easy peasy compared. Like the way you achieved continuity at the centre,the pen is bold and beautiful. Personally I try to wind the refill into the using position because there are many slip ups just there in pens ,ie the distance out etc. Picture wise the pen is clearly shown and proud.

Wild Olive and I am sorry I can,t flick back and forth cause its now on the previous page is a good example of the timber,the top to bottom shape is broken up as if two pens are represented,the angles of the pics make it hard to visualise.

Mango is terrific and the angle of viewing hard for me.Love the pen.

Love your approach to penturning and look forward to seeing more.

Brad is my friend for some time and his pics are superb, a good role model.

Now imagine my distress when the latest pen I put on the forum was received in silence yet viewed by over 1000 people, finally convincing me to comment s I have on this post.

May the forum prosper.

Kind regards Peter.

Peter, thanks for your kind comments. Your original post sure started something and has had a fantastic result! Couldn't agree more with your comment regarding the refill being shown in the ready to use position - looks like I'm too tight to buy a refill. That could be right, being a retired accountant . The wild olive pen does look extra heavy at the writing end; my excuse is that my family have big mitts! And the Mango looks to me to be too skinny at the clip end. But it's all part of the learning curve and I'm having a ball. Thanks also to the other members who have expressed their likes and for encouraging me to keep turning (and hopefully improving).

Cheers, Gary

I haven't really thought about the asthetics of a pen, so a few light comments scattered here help me picture things differently - now I'll go back to reading and not commenting until I have something more worthwhile to say! (and I mean that in the nicest way - i really don't have anything to contribute when I haven't even thought more about pen turning than my other post about where / how to start!)

Originally Posted by pkroeze

Very nice pens Gary.


There are a few of us around ironwood but as was mentioned above it is demoralizing when you go to the trouble of posting something and you get no feedback in return, I might start requesting comments on any threads I create and also posting more replies. I think part of it is that many people don't think about replying, they just want to read and see pictures and go, I was certainly that way inclined.

Thanks for confirming there are some younger guys around that are interested PK.

Certainly won’t hurt to give people a prompt that you would like some feedback, it would be nice if people just did it automatically though.

Originally Posted by pkroeze

.......... figure out how to drive my pen mandrel when I don't have an mt2 socket on the drive side of my lathe.......

Hi PK, have you figured out how to work around this yet ?
There are a few old threads that I can remember over the years that were on this very topic.
If you still need the info, I can have a look for those older threads if you like.

Those lathes without a hollow spindle and a MT drive aren’t ideal, but there are workarounds that will get you turning.

Originally Posted by Penpal

One of my all time favourites has been Conkerberry and you chose to use a Cigar pen that I regard as a monster to conquer,the kit has so many variable needs from the design changes needed at the tip to the centre band then the top from the centre band to the flat clip.So many kits are easy peasy compared. Like the way you achieved continuity at the centre,the pen is bold and beautiful.

Peter, you are so right about the Cigar, it took me a long time to come to grips with that kit. It’s now one of my favourites.
There are some design elements that I would like to see changed, such as that rounded section that makes the top of the lower barrel, I would love this to be a flat section, but being round does give you some leeway in the shape you choose for the lower barrel. I like what Gary has done with his, it makes the pen look more substantial and balanced.
I have seen the lower barrel turned bush to bush, the resulting pen looks too top heavy for my taste.

Brad is my friend for some time and his pics are superb, a good role model.

Thanks for that compliment Peter, but I have to add that you have been a good role model for myself for quite a few years now, and there are other penturners that would say the same.

You are the first one that I saw that perfected the Streamline shape, and I don’t think I have seen anyone match it yet.

Now imagine my distress when the latest pen I put on the forum was received in silence yet viewed by over 1000 people, finally convincing me to comment s I have on this post.

May the forum prosper.

Kind regards Peter.

I am glad you spoke up Peter.
It would be good to revive this forum back to how it once was.

Hi Ironwood,

Haven't figured it out yet, although I have thought of finding a nut that the mandrel could screw into and then I could mount that nut into my SC3 chuck. But I haven't found such a nut yet. If it's any help the drive side is a 1" x 10tpi thread.

in my opinion most of us are now of facebook where we can talk directly to each other even to those in the states. It was asked in these forums more than a year ago could this be set up as a chat and we were told no so it looks like most have now gone to pen groups of facebook and we only pop back in here on the odd occasion to see if anything is happening

Cheers Ian

Originally Posted by pkroeze

Hi Ironwood,

Haven't figured it out yet, although I have thought of finding a nut that the mandrel could screw into and then I could mount that nut into my SC3 chuck. But I haven't found such a nut yet. If it's any help the drive side is a 1" x 10tpi thread.

I have 1 inch 10 thread shaft on one of my lathes and use a collet chuck and a straight shaft mandrel with it ,quite straightforward made by the maker of my lathe Vicmark.

Peter.

Originally Posted by Penpal

I have 1 inch 10 thread shaft on one of my lathes and use a collet chuck and a straight shaft mandrel with it ,quite straightforward made by the maker of my lathe Vicmark.

Peter.

That would be the best and most accurate way for penturning, put a mandrel shaft into a collet a few spacers and away you go.
I made a 8mm mandrel that is held in my collet chuck, made some bushes to suit on my metal lathe, that thing is rock solid, no vibration or out of round problems, I don’t use it anymore since I started turning between centres.
I’m sure you could get a centre on a shaft that could be held in a collet chuck as well, if you wanted to go that way.
PK, what arrangement is on the tailstock to hold a live centre or drill chuck ? Does it have a thread as well ?

Naming the pen kit and wood used is a great idea and if everyone did it, newbies like me would luv it

Of my VL100 and VL150 pics,the VL100 is 1inch 10 thread.

Peter.

Well the pen I said I would turn and post last week happened toady. I was going to do it at the local Lee Valley store with a few members of the Hub City Turners, our local turning club last week but got the day wrong. I drove there last week and ended up feeling a little foolish when I found out I was a touch too early. Today I got it right. Yellow Sirocco

Pete

I have 1 inch 10 thread shaft on one of my lathes and use a collet chuck and a straight shaft mandrel with it ,quite straightforward made by the maker of my lathe Vicmark.

Thanks, I might try to find that.

PK, what arrangement is on the tailstock to hold a live centre or drill chuck ? Does it have a thread as well ?

The tailstock is just the standard mt2 tail. I have a couple live centres and a keyed drill chuck for it.