new pen making kit

[nev]

just made my first pen (hammer) and it looks like it might become addictive. i had the usual weekly email with offers from rutlands (other shops are available), and this week was a pen making kit at much cheepness, so ordered one, it arrived the next day and this is the result...

ruined the first blank (didnt wait long enough for glue to dry and ended up pushing ferrule out and making it too short) (lesson 1) thats why its two woods, and finished it only with the wax(?) in the kit, ok but not fantastic (lesson 2)
its the first time ive really used the skew and as said before it is quite satisfying (lesson 3)

so a couple of questions....
what are suitable finishes for (wood) pens?
and does the same apply to acrylic if i venture down that road?
and what is the little metal bush thingy in the foreground? there are four of them in the kit.

 

[jpt]

Looks very good especially for a first pen, have a look on my site http://www.woodturned.co.uk/html/projects.html on how I finish pens.

john

 

[nev]

Looks very good especially for a first pen, have a look on my site http://www.woodturned.co.uk/html/projects.html on how I finish pens.

john

cheers john, very informative =D> now in my bookmarks
just got to work out what the bush thing is for now

 

[jumps]

I think those are 'universal' bushes that can accomodate a range of tube thicknesses (when you don't have the correct bushing). You have to measure the OD of the turned blank to match requirements though. Well that's what I use them for anyway!

 

[jpt]

Sorry missed the question about the bush, they are as jumps said. All pen kit suppliers should sell bushes to match the kits they sell these come in different sizes that match up with the diameter of the pen parts so when you turn an item if you get it to the same size as the bush, after sanding, then when you put the pen together there will be no ridge between the pen part and the wood.

They also come with ledges on them for different size tubes this saves having to buy lots of different size mandrels. The bushes you have with that kit are usually called cone or universal bushes. The ideas is that you put them on with the cone pointing towards the blank so if the pen tube is bigger than the mandrel then the cone will slide inside the tube to keep it central whilst turning. They do work very well but as jumps said the downside is you have to measure the diameter of the wood when turning to get a good match to the pen parts, personally I prefer the dedicated bushes for each kit.

Hope that makes sense.

john

 

[nev]

cheers chaps, i had a suspicion they may be bushes of some kind, for fatter pens or something,
been back out in the shed this afternoon and came up with pen no.2

this one from a bit of yew, finished with 600, red then yellow nyweb and 0000 wool and two coats of sanding sealer then yellow nyweb again then the pen polish stick thingy.

 

[solti]

Hi nev

look up this site http://ukpenkits.com/ukap/ dedicated to making pens

solti

 

[Melinda_dd]

Hi i think you asked about acrylics?

I finish turning then sand with some 600 grit then 800grit wet and dry, then use the 800 with a bit of water, then i use hut plastic polish.... they shine like glass!

remenber that when you sand them... think it counts with wood too.... to also stop the lathe and sand length ways too.

love the second pen... i'd be proud of that one!

 

[jumps]

Sorry missed the question about the bush, they are as jumps said. All pen kit suppliers should sell bushes to match the kits they sell these come in different sizes that match up with the diameter of the pen parts so when you turn an item if you get it to the same size as the bush, after sanding, then when you put the pen together there will be no ridge between the pen part and the wood.

They also come with ledges on them for different size tubes this saves having to buy lots of different size mandrels. The bushes you have with that kit are usually called cone or universal bushes. The ideas is that you put them on with the cone pointing towards the blank so if the pen tube is bigger than the mandrel then the cone will slide inside the tube to keep it central whilst turning. They do work very well but as jumps said the downside is you have to measure the diameter of the wood when turning to get a good match to the pen parts, personally I prefer the dedicated bushes for each kit.

Hope that makes sense.

john[/quote

John, In fairness to the Rutlands 'starter kit' I believe that the kit Nev's got has both the appropriate 7mm bushes for the supplied pen kits and these, presumably as a starter for people who dive in and get further pen bits without thinking 'bushes'.

But then again they will have to think drills etc too!

 

[nev]

John, In fairness to the Rutlands 'starter kit' I believe that the kit Nev's got has both the appropriate 7mm bushes for the supplied pen kits and these, presumably as a starter for people who dive in and get further pen bits without thinking 'bushes'.

But then again they will have to think drills etc too!

yes it does. i have only 2 criticisms of the kit,
1), it was a bit light on the instruction front, but a phone call to rutlands and they emailed me some better instruction straight away, great service
and
2) there are so many different pen styles out there to choose from i think my head (and wallet!) are going to explode

on a slightly related note - is there a way of 'temporarily' fixing the tubes into the blanks? i am rooting through all the little offcuts of timber i've accumulated to see what i can turn into a pen, and it would be good if i could turn them to size without wasting the tubes if its not that pretty.

 

[Jonzjob]

Nev, if you don't like what you have turned then all you have to do is to keep on turning, right down to the brass tube :mrgreen: Dead easy, but just be careful not to damage the tube. You can turn the glue off too that way.

Something else that I do is before I glue the new tubes intro the blanks I put the tubes on my pen mandril, wtart the lathe and sand them with a course grade, about 150 grit, abrasive. That helps to key the glue and make a stronger bond. A lot quicker and easier than sanding them by hand

The second pen look really good to me mate!

 

[nev]

Nev, if you don't like what you have turned then all you have to do is to keep on turning, right down to the brass tube :mrgreen: Dead easy, but just be careful not to damage the tube. You can turn the glue off too that way.

#-o what a muppet! (me not you ) obvious when someone tells you cheers =D>

 

[Jonzjob]

It's a case that I always used to put to my customers when I ws installing their small mainfraim computers. "What questions do you ask when you don't know what questions to ask". No-one was born an expert mate and we all ask 'daft' questions, but if the person you are asking thinks that it's a daft question then he must have been born that expert?

I was never going to 'do' pens. Up to now this Macbook Pro I have has been paid for by the ones I've sold!!! The shape of the ones I do were come about because I've got arthritis in my thumbs and it's a nice comfortable shape for me to use :mrgreen:

 

[nev]

Looks very good especially for a first pen, have a look on my site http://www.woodturned.co.uk/html/projects.html on how I finish pens.

john

hi john, following your 'how to finish pens' how long do you wait between 'coats' of blo/ca?
do you do one barrel then the other then straight back to the first again, in a sort of semi wet on wet or wait for full drying before the second coat?
cheers

 

[jpt]

HI Nev

Sorry missed this before.

I rub the glue with the paper till it is dry you can tell when this happens because the paper goes hard. If you dont dry each coat before applying the next it will go dull. Yes I do one barrel with one coat then the other barrel then back to the first etc.

john

 

[Melinda_dd]

Nev, if you don't like what you have turned then all you have to do is to keep on turning, right down to the brass tube :mrgreen: Dead easy, but just be careful not to damage the tube. You can turn the glue off too that way.

#-o what a muppet! (me not you ) obvious when someone tells you cheers =D>

I too only figured this out after I had 3 pen kits without tubes when I first started!!!