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Hi peggy,

I did seal the pens with oil then crystal coat but found atfter a bit of time the Shalac in the crystal coat was giveing the pens a rough fealing so just useing crystal coat now works well

Rob
 
Thank you Woody and Rob,

I'm glad you said that Woody, about the questions as I have asked rather a lot since joining! I think I will use oil and wax, I suppose I can treat them in batches and don't mind if it takes a while. I would prefer to avoid chemicals as much as possible. I just hope it does get to the stage where i'm in a hurry to polish them because I've so many orders to complete!!!

I have ordered a pen mandrel which comes with five pen kits so I'll start with those. I also ordered from Axminster a 3/4 inch chisel, is that enough to get me started? Or should I also get a smaller chisel? And I'm going to order a pen assembly kit which I see makes it easier to put it all together.

Peggy
 
Which chisel did you order Peggy?
So far all I have used to make a pen is a spindle roughing gouge and a 1/2 inch skew. But I will be the first to admit that I am very new to pen making and indeed, wood turning so this may not be ideal. The general vibe I have picked up is that you need to experiment a bit and adopt whatever works best for you personally. What works for you, may not work for me and what works for me, may not work for the next turner along the line.
You will need pen blanks, or some way of cutting wood into blanks of a useable size, a bandsaw seems to be the preferred method for most. Also a way of holding the blanks so that you can drill a hole square through the centre lengthways. I have a drill press and a drill press vice for this, but with care a hand/cordless/power drill could be used with a pair of large grips/bench vice or even just a few bits of wood screwed together to make a jig. You will need a pen mill to square off the ends of your prepared blank (this will likely be included in your mandrel kit) or failing that a disc sander can be used with a little practice. Glue to set the tubes into the blank, CA glue for speed or epoxy if you are prepared to wait overnight for it to cure.
For the turning part, everything you need to mount the blanks should be included in your mandrel kit. Obviously the mandrel, correct size bushes to hold the blank in place and guide you to turning to the correct size. Also whatever finish you have decided on. As above, I use a spindle roughing gouge to get the blanks round and roughly down to size and then I use a skew to work in the final shape and clean them up. I will admit that the skew is not the easiest of chisels to use though, so maybe a spindle gouge may be better. For final sanding I have various grits from 80 grit (which I rarely need to use) through to 600 grit which should be smooth enough for a finish to be applied. It looks like you won't, but if you decide on a "plastic" finish such as CA of lacquer then Micromesh pads from 1500 through to 12000 would be a good idea.
For putting the pen together you can indeed use an assembly kit, though to be fair I think this is unnecessary if you have a bench vice, but that is just me.

All the above works well enough for me personally, but I expect that others on the forum can offer alternatives that may work better for you. As above, just get stuck in and see what works for you and above all, enjoy it!
 
woodyturner":1ebsdu1n said:
Peggy":1ebsdu1n said:
If I treat the pen with oil, would I then seal it with wax?

Peggy
Hi Peggy
It all depends what oil you use as to what finish you want some oils will give you a satin finish some a gloss most will give you a very durable pen with a deep finish but it dose take a lot longer to do as it will need several coats over several days and you can put polish over the oil after but the best thing I can suggest is to experiment with finishes and find the one best suited to you personally using oil on pens takes to long for me but some swear by it the same with supper glue get hold of some cheep kits and just have a play till you have found the perfect way for you or just put some wood between centers and experiment with that and carry on asking your questions Happy turning



i'm not knocking Mr Woody but.... even cheaper than cheap pen kits (or the ones that are coming with your mandrel) is to just spin up/turn a piece of the wood you're looking to make the pen with and apply some of the intended finish and see if its the look you're after... just a thought... :)


Nick
 
NikNak":lnlzptxz said:
woodyturner":lnlzptxz said:
Peggy":lnlzptxz said:
If I treat the pen with oil, would I then seal it with wax?

Peggy
Hi Peggy
It all depends what oil you use as to what finish you want some oils will give you a satin finish some a gloss most will give you a very durable pen with a deep finish but it dose take a lot longer to do as it will need several coats over several days and you can put polish over the oil after but the best thing I can suggest is to experiment with finishes and find the one best suited to you personally using oil on pens takes to long for me but some swear by it the same with supper glue get hold of some cheep kits and just have a play till you have found the perfect way for you or just put some wood between centers and experiment with that and carry on asking your questions Happy turning



i'm not knocking Mr Woody but.... even cheaper than cheap pen kits (or the ones that are coming with your mandrel) is to just spin up/turn a piece of the wood you're looking to make the pen with and apply some of the intended finish and see if its
the look you're after... just a thought... :)


Nick
Naughty Nick didnt read all that I said or (just put some wood between centers and experiment with that) LOL :lol: :lol:
 
oooppss.... :oops: :oops: :oops:
mr woodster is right, think my eyes musta just glazed over that bit, :lol:
 
Thank you for your replies Pete Woody and Nick,

The chisel I ordered is actually a roughing gouge. Perhaps I need some other types of chisels as well. I am getting a drill press. All the new equipment, bought with the grant, will arrive at the end of this week! My husband is doing up the shed and making me a work bench so things are happening!

Luckily I have heaps of wood to practise with. I've so much wood I'm not going to buy any blanks hopefully ever. We have our own patch of woodland, so I have lots of seasoned branches and bits and pieces. I'm going to chop up the branches into blank sized pieces and use them, I presume that will work ok?

I will have to post a picture when I've actually made my first pen! And I will figure out a way to polish pens that soits me.

Peggy
 
Have your own path of woodlands how jammy is that I am envious all I can say Peggy is all the very best in your new venture and I look forward to seeing some of your pens in the future don't keep us waiting to long
 
Thank you Woody, yes I am lucky, all the trees planted by my mum over twenty years ago so its an extra special patch. And we've loads of gorse and willow so I plan to make gorse and willow pens too. And fuchsia. And i've been collecting drift wood also!

Peggy
 
Your own patch of woodland!That is just too cool. I am suitably envious.
As Woody said above, keep us to speed with your progress.
 
Peggy":2is5d9di said:
Thank you for your replies Pete Woody and Nick,

The chisel I ordered is actually a roughing gouge. Perhaps I need some other types of chisels as well. I am getting a drill press. All the new equipment, bought with the grant, will arrive at the end of this week! My husband is doing up the shed and making me a work bench so things are happening!

Luckily I have heaps of wood to practise with. I've so much wood I'm not going to buy any blanks hopefully ever. We have our own patch of woodland, so I have lots of seasoned branches and bits and pieces. I'm going to chop up the branches into blank sized pieces and use them, I presume that will work ok?

I will have to post a picture when I've actually made my first pen! And I will figure out a way to polish pens that soits me.

Peggy

Peggy,

I seriously suggest you get some training before you enter the shed on your own and start. Im very concerned you dont know what chisels to use, and the fact you though a full face mas was for fumes,

As a member of the IWG i feel at duty to be sure you are safe, please visit a local chapter, or contact one for some/even a days tuition,

Please see the map of tutors ( not inclusive or complete ) and map of chapters on the site - any chapter secretay can point you at a local turner that will spend an hour with you.


http://www.irishwoodturnersguild.com
 
Thank you Loz, for your concern and the link, but it's ok, I'm not on my own because my husband is a very experienced carpenter and wood carver. He has used a lathe before and knows much more than me about tools, and he has a full face mask...he's just told me.

Woody, thank you. I have told my husband about the cross vice and the engineers square so we are going to look to buy them here as the postage might be too enormous if I ordered them from Axminster.

Peggy
 
I have a 3/4 inch roughing gouge and I think i'd like to order a spindle gouge, but unsure what is the best size to get for making pens? Any advice would be very welcome.

Thank you,
Peggy
 
All you will need now is an 1/2" skew but practice with it before you attempt to turn a pen, turn your pen to round then use the skew for your finishing cuts if you feel you need a spindle gouge then a 3/8" or 1/2" will do you just fine but all you really need for pens is your roughing gouge and a very sharp skew which your husband can show you how to sharpen I'm sure
 
Thank you Woody, yes my husband will be able to sharpen tools for me. Ok then i'm going to order a half inch scew, probalby from Axminster as the woodturning tools here in Ireland seem to be even more expensive than in UK.

I painted my shed today. All the equipment I ordered with the grant will arrive very soon, including the lathe, so that's exciting!

Many thanks, Peggy
 
Peggy":4z590jok said:
Thank you Woody, yes my husband will be able to sharpen tools for me. Ok then i'm going to order a half inch scew, probalby from Axminster as the woodturning tools here in Ireland seem to be even more expensive than in UK.

I painted my shed today. All the equipment I ordered with the grant will arrive very soon, including the lathe, so that's exciting!

Many thanks, Peggy

Hi Peggy, your going to have to be able to sharpen tools yourself, woodturning tools require much more frequent sharpening than tools of the woodworking world, and im sure hubby isnt in the shed waiting for to jump when you need him. You must turn with sharp tools, nearly sharp is blunt, wont leave a good finish, and is dangerous ( require pressure to cut )

eg
a plane, might traverse only several feet of wood and be done with , a skew chisel might traverse several hundreds of feet of wood in a few minutes due to the rotation of the wood, - im sure some maths can give you the idea, rotation and the dia of the blank over time ( wheres chas ! )

i might sharpen several times in an hour the same tool dependant on what im doing.

on another note a 1/2 skew is all you need for pens, you can rough pen blank with the same skew, and turn to finish with same skew, i use an oval, but its preference, i find i can move the oval more easily around the tool rest for pens, i prefer the square for other spindle work where i don't move around as much, eg for large beads.
 
Thank you Loz, then I'd better get my husband to give me a few lessons in tool sharpening. I haven't tried all those sellers, I'll look them up.
 

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