First four pens

[Rob Price]

Okay, the cigar burl pen is a re-post, but since then I've done 3 more. Left to right:
Mesquite with the Hart Pen kit from Woodcraft (the center band didn't show up too well). Flipped the barrels on the mandrel first go around (the picture on the instructions is different from the text- go figure)

Stabilized white oak burl (I sent some off to River Ridge to see what it would be like) with Satin Pearl Euro pen- this one is for my wife who didn't want the clip on it. I ended up finishing it with General Finishes WTF. The wood was shiny from the resins, but too many small voids in the burl- so I ended up finishing it with General Finishes WTF. I finished it tonight, and it's the first one I've made without a screwup.

White Oak Burl Cigar pen (1st pen)

Carbon Fiber. Okay, I know it's not wood, but I really like it.

I also had to get a new mandrel, the first one I bought was not running true, the Woodcraft I bought it from in Bham was great and sent me a new one, this one is much better- and the fit of my blanks to the hardware is much better as well. Also my DIY pen press. Gave me a chance to practice turning knobs.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yb471MYhhYM/Txt5hw2tzPI/AAAAAAAABjw/Wabia-y5Axk/s640/IMG_1602.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6Vml6n9uQcw/Txt5tXvTD1I/AAAAAAAABkA/zIn2eFOdwWQ/s640/IMG_1073.jpg

Thanks for looking.

[Billy Tallant]

Nice looking bunch of pens... I like your pen press. Very functional... Keep the pics coming....

[Lori Kleinberg]

Very nice looking pens.

[John Terefenko]

All very well done. The carbon fiber is always one classy material and when put with the right kit such as you have they are outstanding pens.

You will get to learn if you haven't already from the mistakes you made that a good set of digital calipers will be your friend forever when it comes to pen making. These kits get more and more sloppy when matching to bushings. Remember the bushings are just a guide. Measure the components at all times and make yourself a little diagram. Good luck and thanks for showing.

[Doug W Swanson]

Nice work on the pens, Rob. I haven't turned any of the carbon fiber blanks yet but yours sure looks nice. The other pens look great, too!

I also like the pen press. Simple but effective!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice... very nice! I haven't turned any pens yet... so really have no idea of what goes into it but I sure like what you created here! Looking forward to seeing what you turn next!

[Bill Hensley]

Hey Rob - thanks for posting a picture of your pen press. Hadn't seen that type and it looks ideal. I'll copy it.

BTW, nice job on the pens, they look great.

You didn't give up on the CA finish did you?

[Rob Price]

two out of the three wooden pens are CA- but I keep getting white flecks in the finish with CA glue. If you look at the top of the mesquite pen it has a bunch of little white flecks. I don't know if it's from something in the wood, or something I'm doing wrong. I had been spinning the blank slowly to help the CA dry- I don't know if it's picking up dust. Maybe it's from the paper towel I've been using (I'm switching to nitrile gloves) or something else. Either way, I decided to go with the WTF after I started getting the white flecks again. I sanded down to the wood and went with WTF- no more white flecks. I'll try to get some more pics of the european pen, each side of the pen is completely unique. Really cool wood. It's from a larger piece I have prepped into two 3"x3"x7" blanks for pepper mills. Hopefully they will turn out well.

On the pen press- the 'cup' on the end of the threaded rod I accidentally drilled all the way through without thinking about it. I used a coupling nut to attach it to the rod. Originally I cored out a 1" recess to hold those plastic bushings on the press for parts that need a recess, but didn't think about there not being anything in the middle- so I've put a 1" fender washer with a 1" felt pad over it to protect the finish of the pens. Works pretty well I think.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Nice looking pens Rob. I too suffered through the CA process trying every secret "voodoo" on the net til I hit Eric Anderson's website. Bought his DVD (not too $$), finishes have now been PERFECT every time. I don't know him, nor have any affiliation; just really works. He's also got a bunch of freebie tips on his site that make your process easier.

[Jim Burr]

Beautiful Rob!! I have a CF blank for a cigar grabbed from a swap. I have never been fond of Euro's the ring always gets caught on my shirt. Your CA maybe getting white spots from to much accelerator or applied to close to the wood. 2' away and just a couple spritzes is usually enough. Make sure it's fresh too! Go sell those and buy more pen!

[James Combs]

Nice they look as good if not better then anything I have made. I really like the cigar style ones.

[Rob Price]

Thanks for the comments. It's been more of a learning curve than I expected. I don't plan on selling any, I don't think my workmanship is there yet (these aren't the up close shots) but it's fun learning. I do plan on making pens as gifts for friends and family, though. The oak burl was given to me by a friend last year, I originally was going to make a bandsaw box out of it, but didn't have the right box idea- then I got the lathe. It makes beautiful pens, I've got about 5 more full sized blanks and a couple of half blanks that should make some nice wall st style pens. The rest will be a salt and peppermill set when I get the time to try that. I'm working on a set of legs for an end table currently. The pens provide distraction though.

Thanks for the help and encouragement.