My very first two pens.

[Kevin Blunt]

Hello,
I have just turned my first two pens ever and wanted to share them with you.
The dark one is Cocobolo and the lighter coloured one I am not sure. It came with the kit that I bought from Busy Bee.
I have a few questions about products that I should be buying and where to buy them from at the best prices.
1) What are the best finishes to use for high gloss, semi gloss and satin that can be applied while the blanks are turning on the lathe?
2) Where is the most reasonable place to order pen supplies from? William Wood Write? Lee Valley? Wood Chuckers? When I go to the websites it all seems a little overwhelming to me with so many different options I just don't know where to begin.
3) Could you provide any input into what wood the lighter coloured pen is?
I welcome your thoughts and criticisms. I personally like the cocbolo pen better and I think the lighter pen is a little to fat. My wife agrees.
Thanks for looking
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii184/arenaranger/IMG_3532.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii184/arenaranger/IMG_3535.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii184/arenaranger/IMG_3536.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii184/arenaranger/IMG_3538.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii184/arenaranger/IMG_3542.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii184/arenaranger/IMG_3543.jpg
Kevin

[Bill Bolen]

Nice first effort. The lighter wood "might" be Locust? The fat pen or "wasp waist" is usually present on the first few pens one does! For a finish I have decided to stick with CA glue. Used many times and there are many methods avaliable on the web too. Vendors...that is often a personal preference after buysing from a few sites. Both Woodcraft and Rockler offer a lot for the new turner but there sure are a bunch out there. The CA finish I mentioned can be very shinney, satin or even near flat depending on how you apply and how much. Try the IAP site too. Those folks are expert on all things pen...Bill...

[Kevin Blunt]

CA glue for a finish?

Please explain a little further if you wouldn't mind.

Thanks for the comments.

Kevin

[Fred Omer]

Kevin: Congratulations on the completion of your first two pens, looks like your getting the hang of it quickly. As for pen kit suppliers, there are many, but I would suggest looking at the IAP website as William mentioned and joining that group, it is free for membership and has a wealth of information on it. You can find it by going to www.penturners.org and they have a library search for looking up such subjects as the ca glue finish. I just switched to the ca glue finish last year after making pens for nearly 3 years using friction polish and I will probably never go back. There are many ways to apply it and many factors that can affect its application such as humidity and such, but like trying anything new, practice first on a few cheaper wood blanks so that you get the hang of it and go from there. When you go to the IAP website look in the library for a method used by a member called grub32. His method is the one I am using now and it seems to work the best for me where you dribble the ca directly onto the blank, with the lathe at a slow speed of course, wipe it down and back with a folded paper towel, then spray the blank with a quick 2 second burst of ca accelerant and repeat the process several times before sanding it down with micro mesh sandpaper. One important thing to remember is to apply a small amount of was to keep the bushings from sticking to the blanks from the ca glue. I hope this helps and keep us informed of your progress. Good Luck.

[Bill Bolen]

CA glue is often used as a finish for pens. You can get a deep high gloss finish that stands up well to use also. There are a ton of ways to do it. Look on the IAP site in thier library section for a good how to or utube has several vid's also...Bill...

[David E Keller]

+1 on the IAP website. Lots of info there.

As for vendors, there are many on IAP and some great deals to be had. There are several members from Canada who could help you find Canadian vendors(save on shipping). Lots of good US sources as well, but the shipping would likely be higher.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good looking pens for your first. +1 for IAP

[Rick Gibson]

If you want a Canadian source William Woodrite http://www.penblanks.ca/ has good prices and service. They also sponsor another penturning forum
http://penturnersparadise.ca/forum/index.php lots of good info there as well.