some pens

allen levine

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new york city burbs
more wallstreet 2's, and a princeton.(the slimline will not go out, I was unhappy with the ca glue I used, thick, and I worked on smoothing it out twice, polishing it, so my wife got the pencil, the pen will be used by us to fill out the jumble or crossword puzzle)the slimline was made from the pack of 10 predrilled rosewood blanks.


I turned 2 pens yesterday , a walnut wallstreet, and another blue acrylic wallstreet 2(the other half of that blue acrylic blank) but we had went out to dinner with a couple, and they each took one.(smokin als, I had a full rack of baby backs, garlic mashed, mac and cheese,which the wife took, pulled pork nachos for an appetizer, was worth every cent)

(the walnut only got 6 coats of ca, and I didnt wait a day to cure, I just polished it up, he was anxious for it)

that other blank in the picture, not sure why Im having problems with this species, Red palm. this is the second blank that cracked on me. (this one was turned almost down to where it cracked by my friend, he was making himself a pen, but he was not turning even enough for me, so I took over, and it was too late, the edge cracked off)
Im also sure me turning pens at midnight had alot to do with my heavy hands, I was probably past my freshness date for the day, and should have left, but my buddy was so into it. I might be going with him to pick out a lathe soon.

I have quite a few exotic species Im about to start using on slimlines, but thats 3 times I lost them.(this blank was for a wallstreet 2) I just finished trimming the barrels for 6 more slimlines, all acrylics, 4 of them will be pen/pencil sets.

and one question-----I made an oooops. I trimmed up an acrylic blank for a wallstreet, thinking it was a wallstreet click, so ofcourse, once I put it together, I was out of luck, the tube for the regular wallstreet is shorter. Carefully, I managed to pull the pen apart, but I scratched the cap.
is there any source to just purchase a part like a cap for that? I didnt notice it on woodcrafts site.
 

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All those pens look really nice and well done. As far as the oops goes I don't think you can get those parts. I had one come in that had a big old scratch on it. I called them and told them what had happened. They said they don't have parts so they would send me a whole new kit. I can't be positive I just don't think they make pen parts. I have several pens with problems other than the transmiison part and they just sent me new kits.
 
Yeah, Allen, I find palm to be tricky, too. I've had better luck with a couple of approaches: either get it close and then sand to final dimension, or get it close then stabilize it with thin CA. Let it cure well, then turn it to final size. It sure has a unique look when it's done!


--dave
 
thanx dave, I have 2 more blanks of it waiting for me to get some rollerball kits.

My buddy was turning it, (he never touched a chisel in his life), and he got a little carried away and went a bit deep, so I tried to smooth it all out for him, but his cuts were uneven and deep.(not that I had enough experience to teach him)
Next time, Ill follow your advice and when I get down, Ill just paper it down to final dimension.
 
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Sandpaper is a turning tool!:D

What Rollerball kits are you going to use first time?

some guy from canada recommended I look at a site, so Ive been looking at their kits.

I got prepared just in a nick of time, temps are dropping down into the teens at night this week, and low twenties are expected(farenheit) for daytime highs.
Even though Im working on a builton attic box cabinet and repainting my office upstairs, I wont be able to work in the shop.
I have alot of blanks glued and trimmed, so when I get tired of doing painting or whatever, I can work on pens, alot of slimlines, but until I order new kits, its all gonna be slimlines.

Ill take a look over there also Jim.(Im not 100% sure, but I think back when I got started with pens frank gave me their site also(
 
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The pens look real nice, Allen. :thumb: Dave's right about palm being a challenging material to turn. Even experienced guys blow up palm blanks pretty easily. ;)
 
the good think about turning one tube pens is that I can get 2 pens out of one blank.
I purchased the red palm at the 2009 woodworking show when I thought Id get into pens.
My mistake back then was not researching pen kits, and purchasing 24 slimline kits.
(and a few others that require turned tenons)

Im going to be looking for big discounts at the saratoga show in march, I know(at least recall from previous events) there are alot of pen suppliers there, with tons of blanks. Ill find one guy with good prices and look to chisel him down if I purchase volume.
 
well, my lathe in my finish room got me reamed out last night by my wife.

with the lathe in the house, I often just walk into the room and turn a pen. I might not finish it that night, but its always there, and when Im done, I mount another blank so whenever the mood strikes, I just pick up the chisel and go to it.

Ive been turning alot lately late evenings. I turn on the radio, and spin a pen.

problem is, I dont change clothes, Im in my "lounge/sleepwear" type of clothes, like sweats and a fleece top. And even though I brush myself off, Ive climbed into bed and my wife found a few acrylic dusties, the tiniest little specs in the bed, and she wasnt happy. IM guessing last night at 4 am when I couldnt sleep, turning and going back to bed wasnt a good idea.
I promised her it wouldnt happen again.(who am I kidding)
 
Ha!! I do that all the time! I was programmed by the USN to rise at 0500 so that's what I do. Turning in the morning in our part of the country is a good way to start...coffee, house pants a T-shirt and pen blanks. Take whatever pens you have left over and send them to Pens For Soldiers or Freedom Pens...those kids deserve them and love getting anything from home!
 
Allen, the obvious solution is to turn naked. :D Jim left out THAT part of his daily routine. :rofl
:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I managed to get two slimlines finished this morning without any of them splitting, so it was a good morning.

Im out of turning blanks with tubes, Ill actually start making some wood pens again this weekend.
 
I made a few blanks of that beautiful mystery wood that I used to make my sons bar and a headboard, and a few other panels Ive posted here.
unfortunately, it wasnt so beautiful as a finished pen. kind of bland. got 2 more to make already glued up, same wood, I was very careful to slice off a piece with alot of figure in it, but I guess unless its a large piece, the figure doesnt show.

sorry about the dirty rag as a backdrop, been busy today in the finish room, havent cleaned up yet.


one question for you experienced turners-I have one slimline I made last night that everytime I write with it, it retracts itself. the top turns by itself, cant figure it out.
 

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one question for you experienced turners-I have one slimline I made last night that everytime I write with it, it retracts itself. the top turns by itself, cant figure it out.
Best I could think of Allen is faulty tranny. The upward pressure on the nib is making the tranny move inside the pen!

Tighten the screw-in on the cartridge and see if that helps.

Replace the tranny, and see what happens.
 
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