Christmas gift for a beginning pen turner

[Cliff Holmes]

My oldest son has apparently inherited his mother's interest in turning. He's now discovered pens and is doing a decent job (enough to have sold a few).

He (obviously) has all the basic tools, are there any pen-turning goodies I could get him for Christmas?

[Dennis McGarry]

Nice new Powermatic lathe?

[Alan Trout]

Cliff,

Figure out his favorite pens and get him set up to turn between centers for those pens. Johnny's bushings are awesome and the only way I will turn a pen anymore. Great products and great service. http://www.penturnersproducts.com/

Alan

[Cliff Holmes]

Nice new Powermatic lathe?

That's his mother's Christmas present. It's been hidden in the shop for the last month, it's about to kill him ...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Cliff,

I suspect Dennis was aware of that and was trying to make two huge dents in your billfold!:eek::rolleyes:

[Scott Lux]

A selection of blanks? A class? An order (you give him $X for Y number of pens, then you give them as gifts)? An ad in a local paper? A booth at a local show?

Sandpaper! There's never enough. I like the bushings idea too.

[Cliff Holmes]

Guys, remember you're talking to a turning ignoramus. What are bushings and what advantage do they give? I looked at the suggested site and it immediately went over my pointy little head.

Oh, and he already just bought himself a pile of blanks and kits.

[Alan Trout]

Cliff turning between centers gives you a more accurate barrel and a better fit to the parts for a better looking pen. Factory bushings and mandrels tend to be less than accurate and it will show up in pen fit particularly in larger and longer pens. To use the bushings you need a 60 degree dead/drive center and a good live center with a 60 degree cone or tip.


Alan

[Rob Young]

Guys, remember you're talking to a turning ignoramus. What are bushings and what advantage do they give? I looked at the suggested site and it immediately went over my pointy little head.

Oh, and he already just bought himself a pile of blanks and kits.

The idea of turning between centers gets you off the pen mandrel. Pen mandrels are easy to damage or over tighten and you end up bending them. A bent mandrel will make out-of-round pens.

Turning between centers eliminates that issue. Also, I think Johny's bushings are Corian or Delrin, both of which are great for when you are finishing blanks with CA glue as it makes it much less likely you are going to glue the bushing to the blank.

But if you just rub a little parafin wax on the bushing surfaces that go into the pen tube first, the steel bushings won't get glued either.

How are you fixed for lathe tool sharpening? Grinder? Jigs (lots of choices including make your own or go free hand), hones and slip stones? Videos or books (not pen-turning per-se but Alan Lacer's Skew videos are very informative)

[Joe Adams]

What about a gift card to his favorite turning supplier? Craft Supply, Woodcraft, Rockler, etc.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joe beat me to it. A gift card would be a great gift and he could then pick what he wanted.

[Mark Hix]

Some high end blanks or kits.
Collett chuck--holds small things
Jacobs chuck--drill on the lathe
Casting supplies--create his own blanks
Pen display case to show off his work

[Keith Outten]

Get him a Beale Pen Wizard. That will keep him busy for a long time and add another dimension to the pens he can make.

[David E Keller]

I would get him some stabilized blanks as stocking stuffers... Bill Baumbeck at Arizona Silhouette has some beautiful blanks but there are many other vendors as well. I often ask for people to buy me the kit and blank that they would like to have. That way, I get the fun of making them a pen, and they get a beautiful pen in return. Amboyna Burl, redwood Burl, spalted maple, and desert ironwood are a few of my favorites. Cigar pen kits are very easy to make, and it's the pen style that I most enjoy writing with. The elegant Sierra kits are also easy to turn and quite classy looking. Let us know what you decide.

[Dennis McGarry]

Cliff,

I suspect Dennis was aware of that and was trying to make two huge dents in your billfold!:eek::rolleyes:


:) :)

Cant have just one really really happy family member now can we?

[Jim McFarland]

A selection of Tru-stone (powdered stone in resin) blanks to make some really nice pens. Here's the source I use:
http://www.randbcrafts.com/tru_stone.html
The 3/4" size is sufficient for "Junior" sized pens and below. Wild Horse Jasper, Banded Black & White, Banded Malachite and Turquiose with Gold Web are all easy to turn without special tools. Degree of turning difficulty is indicated with each blank -- I would stay clear of those that are harder to turn unless he uses a carbide insert tool for pen turning (and has extra inserts!).

Speaking of insert tools, the Woodchuck PenPro carbide insert tool with extra inserts is also a nice gift:
http://www.woodchuck-tools.com/Tools.htm
More time for turning and less time sharpening. I prefer the R4 inserts.

[Ron Schmitt]

Check out
WWW.EXOTICBLANKS.COM (http://www.EXOTICBLANKS.COM)
They have a HUGE selection of great blanks you will not find anywhere else.

[Mike Minto]

haha, 'ignoramus'...i like that word. i'll have to work it into conversation more often ;).

[Robert Snowden]

Get him singed up on IAP. penturer's.org world's of good info on penturning.