Pen Turning Jig

[Don Abele]

I would really like to make some pens for the Freedom Pen project, but I am not a turner and do not have the money to invest in the equipment right now. I just received my latest Woodworkers Supply catalog and saw this in there. It's a jig for turning pens on a router table . The cost is very affordable and it seems this would be a VERY fast way to make square things round.

Anyone ever used this, heard of someone using it? Is it worth it? If it is, other than the blanks and pen kits themselves, is there anything else I would need (I've heard of using the drill press for a pen press).

Be well,

Doc

[Mark Hulette]

What's Up, Doc? (sorry :D )

I've seen those before but am not familiar enough with them to make a real judgement call. Some questions that come to mind off the top of my head:

Which pen kits will those bushings fit?
How do you sand them?
How do you finish the kits to get a durable finish w/o a lathe?


Neat idea if those concerns could be met.

[Jim Shaver, Oakville Ont]

Hi,

I have no idea, but that looks dangerous to me....

Take care,
Jim

[Tony Falotico]

I agree with Jim, it doesn't look very safe to me.

[Keith Outten]

Don,

I've heard that some people have turned pens and other small projects on their drill press. I'm not sure if this is a viable technique or not, maybe other members could shed some light on the subject. Possibly there is some kind of inexpensive kit for this purpose.

Using the router table jig it seems that you would have to constantly be moving your fence to increase the cut. It would seem to me that you would have to be very careful and not move the fence too far on each pass and it might be difficult to make that final cut to get the OD sized properly for the pen kit you are using. Obviously I haven't used the router system and I have the same reservations others have stated.

[Mike Leonard]

Doc,

PSI has a Drill Press Lathe set up. Don't know how effective it is but it looks safer and easier to use than this.

[Skip Brant]

I have made 6 pens (the Wall Street from Woodcraft) using just my belt sander and drill press. Here is the link on how to do this -

http://members.fortunecity.com/alices_workshop/pens.html

It is very easy to do. I have made them out of Kingwood, Bubinga, Curly Maple and Big Leaf Maple burl. I have heard the woodturners talk about some of the more difficult woods "blowing out" but I did not have any problems with the burl. One thing to be carefull of is since you are sanding the blank to size be careful not to sand the bushing (which I did) as it will change the final dimensions. I now sand it down (using a stationary belt sander) close to the final dimension and then finish the sanding very carefully in the drill press. You can also apply finishes to the final product while in the drill press. The only issue I see is that some pens require different shapes and some require a tenon be formed for a center band.

I must say that for a straight bodied pen this process could not be easier and I don't see any down side. I do like the Wall Street pen from Woodcraft as it uses genuine Cross mechanism and the mechanism carries the same lifetime warranty as any other Cross pen.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Don

If you want to make pens for the FPP then contact your local woodturning club:

Tidewater Turners of Virginia
Serving: Tidewater Area
Meeting Date: 4th Tuesday
Chapter Web Site: http://tidewaterturners.com
Contact:
Jerry Whitehurst
1176 Horn Point Rd
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
757-426-2238
chipsrflyin@aol.com

Talk to Jerry and see if he has a recomendation. Sugest that you might be interested in turning some pens with an experinced pen turner for the FPP.

If you don't want to invest in equipment and pen kits then you can hand craft pens using polymer clay and Bic pens. It is cheap and easy to make beautiful hand crafted pens:

how-to-make Polymer Clay Pens (http://www.diynet.com/diy/cr_clay/article/0,2025,DIY_13750_2274059,00.html)

Examples of what PC pens can look like:

http://kainapointdesigns.theshoppe.com/images/NewPensMain.jpg

http://www.drizzle.com/~kshufelt/work/graphics/pens/met_pens.jpg

There are a lot of ways to make beautiful hand crafted pens. They don't HAVE to be turned on a lathe. They don't HAVE to be made from a kit. If you want to participate in the FPP by making pens and you don't or can't turn wood then think outside the box.

Thanks