Ok, REALLY my first pens this time!

[Patrick Taylor]

We need a gift for my son's teachers (by Friday.. I might add) and I figured this is a good excuse to grab a full set of penmaking tools. I took my daughter to woodcraft and we loaded up.

The top one is redheart, and the bottom is olivewood. The readheart is finished with CA, Liberon polish, and Liberon stick wax. The olivewood is finished with CA and a different brand of woodurning polish (I can't remember the name right now). The olivewood one was first, and took about 90 minutes because I was reading the book (http://www.amazon.com/Pens-Wood-Lathe-Step-Step/dp/0887409393/ref=sr_1_1/105-7161043-4406848?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181716389&sr=8-1). The second took about 40 minutes, and I only lost one blank to the CA drying too fast.

These were so much fun! My wife is keeping the redheart and I want the olivewood, so I still have to make 3 more before friday! :)

http://www.beadsandcoves.com/uploaded_images/DSC08396-701408.jpg

[Phillip H Smith]

Patrick...

Nice job! Beautiful pens....and you've learned the TRUTH about pen making. That is: It's fun...but you make 'em and they dissappear! It's good that you snagged one for yourself right up front.

Two quick questions: How did you apply the CA glue? (I tried it and it got too sticky too fast.) How did you photograph the pens? (Lighting, etc. My attempt, as you saw from yesterday, wasn't all that good.) Your efforts on both finishing and photography show the quality of your work...keep going!

[Doug M Jones]

Very nice pens. I tried the CA finish and mucked it up badly. I've read up on the process and want to give it another try this weekend.

My wife has a thing for the acrylic pens and always wants to have the newest color. Being a man's man... I let her have whatever she wants and she puts them in her purse. We were out this weekend and she asked to borrow a pen to write a check. I asked her where all the pens I made were and she had given them to people at work that admired them. I figure she has given away about $100 in materials. She even had a couple orders for certain colors. I "reminded" her that the materials weren't free and maybe we should sell them, at least to cover the costs of materials. What are you gonna do?

Again, very pretty work,

[Benjamin Dahl]

Patrick, those are very nice. I think you will find yourself making more and trying other kits. the process does speed up as you have noticed and they are definitely a go to gift that will impress the teachers.
Ben

[Tony De Masi]

Very nice work Patrick.


Tony

[Jim Shaver, Oakville Ont]

Nicely done Patrick!

[Patrick Taylor]

Two quick questions: How did you apply the CA glue? (I tried it and it got too sticky too fast.) How did you photograph the pens? (Lighting, etc. My attempt, as you saw from yesterday, wasn't all that good.) Your efforts on both finishing and photography show the quality of your work...keep going!

Thanks everybody.

Doug: What I didn't mention is that I screwed up the CA too, and had to resand 3 times! :o

Phil,

For help with the CA, I watched the video that Shane recommended here:
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=601075#post601075
I pretty much followed the directions but not very strictly. I didn't have any BLO, so I used another polish instead. I just alternated CA and polish and for the last coat I put them together on the cloth. I DID try friction to cure the CA once, but I won't again. Either the fumes will knock you out or the paper towel will stick to the pen (hence the resanding I mentioned). Instead, I applied the medium CA with the paper towel and then just waited a few seconds for it to set. then I did the polish and repeated. Looking close up, my finish technique still needs a bit of work, so I'll be tweaking things again next time. BTW, for the red one I used the Liberon kit and it looks remarkably the SAME as the other method. Time will tell about durability though. (experience anyone?)

For the photography, I'm using a replica of Jamie Donaldson's phrugal photo studio: http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57168 with pretty much the exact same setup that he has. One tip that's not in the article is that you can get foamcore board pretty cheap at office supply stores to use for the walls. On the camera, I have the exposure set to +1.7 which gives that nice glow. I set the white balance using the backdrop, and have the aperture set to 8.0 for best depth of field. Browsing SMC will yield lots of good photo tips. Although I'm jealous of Shane Whitlock's fancy expensive lighting (his pictures look AWESOME), this was under $50 all together and has done pretty well. At this point I may be maxing out my camera, and I'm not ready to drop $$$ on a SLR.

Hope that helps!

[Mark Cothren]

Nice pens, Patrick. I've yet to turn one myself... guess I need to get with the program.

[Joseph Peacock]

NICE WOORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D ;) :cool:

[Jeffrey Fusaro]

well done, patrick!

[Tom Sherman]

Very nice pens Patrick, you'll love that olive wood I have one that my wife turned for me two years ago it will darken with age and has never lost its sheen.