My First Pen!

Hello:

I've posted here before about how the woodturning vortex has slowly drawn me in (with a push from my wife . . . )

I purchased some pen supplies last week at the local Woodcraft.

Picture 1 is the jig I made a few night's ago to help me drill out the blanks on my drill press. It works pretty well. It's a little too tall so the blank needs to sit on a scrap of wood.

I then glued in the tubes and eventually used the end mill to cut the ends of the blanks flush to the tubes.

I then assembled everything on the mandrel and started turning. I didn't quite get the blank turned to perfectly match the bushings, but I'll do better on the next pen. The Decorative ring is proud of the cap and the transition from the pen cone at the front to the body is rough.

Picture 2 is the finished pen. It's a Woodcraft European Pen in Gold with what is supposed to be mahogany wood.

I did find one thing interesting - the hole on the pen clip which the cap is supposed to fit through is WAY TOO SMALL. I had to drill it out to make it fit - which was a PITA. Is that normal for the Woodcraft kits? All of the Euro kits I bought are the same.

Cheers

Jim

Jim,

Beautiful first pen! Much better than my first pen.

I usually will just use my pen press to insert the top through the tight holes in pen clip.

Again...very nice first pen!

Jim,

Some of the Euro kits have the rounded end cap bushing screwed into the end cap in the package. This unscrews so the clip ring goes between them.

Chuck : DOH!

You are correct - the cap has a threaded insert. That makes a lot of sense . . .

I didn't see that in the instructions - it's there - I just didn't see it.

Cheers

Jim

.,.,.,

Just make sure that you make yourself one you really like. I've ended up giving away all my 'good' ones and I end up using the 'factory seconds'

you did good on that first one jim. it gets easier as time goes on.

well done -- more more more -- photos are great

mazel tov!


as soon as your friends and relatives get a peek at one,youll be a busy man.

I’ve made 27 pens. I’ve given away 22. When my bro and his wife and my sis-n-law and boyfriend come over next week, four more are gone. I’m keeping the first pen I made because it is so pathetic and a reminder how far I have come already since then. Jim, your first pen is MUCH better than my first.

Chuck Rodekohr said:

...Jim, your first pen is MUCH better than my first.

Click to expand...

Ditto that. Great job Jim.

Very nice pen Jim!!!!! Pens are sometimes very quick and easy to turn and they make great presents. Other pens, take so much time and are works of art and love. You have fallen into a great big vortex (one of many for the lathe) just for pens!!! Welcome to the club!!!!

Thanks for all the kind words!

I spent the afternoon wrestling with a wine bottle stopper. I bought the mandrel from PSI and found that the supplied drill bit is bigger than the threads on the mandrel and stoppers. I discovered this AFTER I drilled the blank of course. The first blank spit up the middle - I drilling a TOO SMALL hole and twisting the blank on caused stress that split the blank.

I did play with what I think turned out to be walnut. I picked up a 2 HEAVY DARK BROWN BOARDS while curb side shopping last year. They appear to be walnut and it turns nicely. It's only 4/4 stock, so it's not really appropraite for stoppers, but I was just playing. I'm not in love with the design (my wife hates it) but I'm playing with things at this point.

They just plowed my driveway, so I can pull my car back out into the driveway and make some more chips now.

Cheers

Jim