Pens 4 thru 10... Trying some curves

[Ernie Nyvall]

Well, I finished up my beginner's packet of slim-line pens. It's not real noticeable, but I found out with these that my live center is wobbling just a hair. Gotta get another one. From the left is photinia, South American cherry burl, jarrah, jarrah with black dye and sanded off, spalted elm (all the spalting was turned away so I dyed it red, sanded, then black and sanded), and two more spalted elm. Anyway, I am trying some different forms and trying to get the hang of the skew chisel. At least they are good practice for that, and it is kinda fun starting off the sanding with a 220 grit paper. Of course critiques are welcome. Thanks for looking.

Ernie

[Michael Stafford]

Looking pretty good there Ernie! Keep up the good work.....

[Keith Burns]

Ernie, I must say it looks like you've got this pen turning down pat. They look great. Keep it up!

"Some days it's not worth the effort to chew through the restraints."

[Bill Stevener]

Hi Ernie,

Nice looking pens. I like the one you dyed red and black, kinda looks like snake wood. ( the one in the center):confused:

Looks like you have the skew working ok.

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Two things I like about them Ernie.

1st the coloring experimentation.

2nd, the finish. I know that there are those that believe the finish must shine like glass, or plastic, but most of my customers and I myself prefer a finish, that while it has a sheen to it, doesn't overshadow the wood. I can't tell how many times people pick up a pen, a bowl, or a box and say they like "the FEEL" of the wood.

Bruce

[Ernie Nyvall]

I myself prefer a finish, that while it has a sheen to it, doesn't overshadow the wood.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce. I know what you mean. Although I've seen some beautiful stuff on this forum that really shines, and have seen people snatch it up at home shows, I myself have never been able to do that. I remember my high school teacher climbed the walls because all I would put on my first piece of walnut furniture was a Watco oil and then wax. After that it's been either oil and wax or a satin lacquer. The pens are actually my first experiment with something as shiny as a semi-gloss.

Ernie

[Ernie Nyvall]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

Bill, that pen was an accident. After turning almost all the spalting out, I decided to put some red dye on it to see if the black would show through, but I had forgotten that I had mixed the red with Minwax wood hardener for a different experiment. I sanded that splotchy stuff off and the pen was pink, so I put the black dye on it which soaked in other pores and made the pink more red. Thanks again.

Ernie

[Jim Ketron]

Nice Pens Ernie!

Great Job!

[Kurt Aebi]

Ernie,

Them "R" Nice!

Good Job, nice lines and a nice finish! Try experimenting with finishes, I use probably about 3 or 4 different finishes on my pens. I have yet to perfect a real high gloss, but I'm with Bruce on this one - a lot of people don't want the "Glass" look, but a few do - so I will keep trying.

Good looking pens - it's a real good way to utilize otherwise "scrap" wood - ain't it!

[Matthew Poeller]

Ernie,

First off, nice pens. I like them very much.

Second, I had the same problem that you had when I first started turning pens. Everything seemed as though away from the motor near the tailstock everything got out of whack. I thought it was my live center. I spent $50 on a new set and low and behold they did the same thing.

Well I found out two things that can cause the illusion of your live center wobbling.
1. Overtightening of the nut on the end of the mandrel that holds the blanks. I found that over tightening this can cause the shaft to kink. (Something I should have known since I am a design engineer for centrifugal compressors and we have this problem all time on our bigger machines). This can happen with rough turnging too. The impact of the wood on the tool can cause that nut to over tighten. I suggest that after rough turning you check the nut to make sure that it is not too tight.
2. Overtightening your tailstock. This will put too much pressure on the mandrel and actually cause it to bow. Tighten the tailstock with the lathe it running just until the point were it is running at the same speed as the lathe.

[Mark Patoka]

I agree with Matthew in not overtightening the tailstock. I had the same problem initially and was getting a slight bow in the mandrel. Once I backed off the tailstock a hair, everything worked out perfectly.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Thanks guys and yes Kurt I'll be keeping smaller pieces of scrap now too.

Mattthew and Mark, thanks for the advise. I did run into that on my first pen and backed off, but because my live center point was long and came to a fine point, it bottomed out in the mandrel hole before touching the sides of the hole. I probably bent it, because when I moved he tail stock up to the spur center and gave the live center a spin, it made little circles around the spur. I found a Delta live center yesterday for 20 bucks that has a shorter and fatter point.It fits the mandrel just right and runs real smooth.

Thanks again,

Ernie