My first commissioned turning.......

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have turned maybe 70 pens in the nearly 3 years I've been turning. Most of the pens I've turned were simple slimlines but recently I turned a few Euros and most recently some Filagree Americans I got from Arizona Silhoette.

I sent one of the Filagree Americans to my youngest son's wife in Houston. She called "Dad.....I got the pen....I love it....so do a lot of other people. I have a dear friend who would like you to turn a couple of pens so she could give them as Christmas presents." Now this is the same DIL who along with my youngest son is sending Sharon and I to NZ for 12 days at Christmas to celebrate our 40th anniversary. I will not tell her "No". I couldn't before they gave us this trip but now I won't!

Her friend selected a Cigar Pen and an Elegant Sierra. The woods she chose is Tiger Pradauk and Sweet Gum respectively.

Any gotchas for either of these pens or woods?

Thanks!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nope. Both are pretty straight forward. If they are your first I would follow the instructions closely. The Sierra is a nice pen that I love turning. That is my best selling pen and now they have a click pen also. I have to make ten of those for my son as he has them sold already after they saw his.

[David Walser]

Ken,

Congratulations. It must be gratifying to know someone liked your work so much they went out of their way to request it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ken - congrats on your commissioned pens! I would imagine that things are going to start getting a little hurried as your trip approaches! Looking forward to seeing the finished pens real soon!

[Brian Brown]

Ken,

I don't know if Tiger Pradauk is the same as Padauk, because Padauk has so many spellings and pronunciations, but if it is, it turns and finishes real nice, but the dust is horrible. It is rust red, and sticks to everything. Make sure the clothes you wear are disposable. If you wash them with anything else, the orange color will transfer. It is also impossible to get it out of the shop. Wheel the lathe outside. Beautiful oily wood, but Nasty dust.

[michael gallagher]

Congratulations on your first order, and I hope many more will come! And to think, your "customer" lives probably 3 miles fom my house, but she had to call someone in Idaho.....just kidding. A bunch of pens for a holiday trip is a deal I would do everyday.

On the Sierras, don't make too much of a bulge between the bushings, but also don't go straight from bushing to bushing.

I like turning the cigar pens, but the PITA factor is the bushings - you hae four of them, and they are all just slightly different in size and the two blanks are different sizes. Prior to turning, I lay out the instruction sheet for assembly to make sure I am matching things up correctly. After I finish turning the pen, and prior to taking everything off of the lathe, I pull out a Sharpie and number the bushings so I will remember the order the next time vs. putzing around with the calipers trying to see which one is bigger than the other.

Hope that helps, and congratulations again. Make sure you post pictures of the finished products!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Michael,

Actually.....my DIL works at Methodist Hospital in downtown Houston and the friend is a co-worker so she might be a little bit farther away than 3 miles. The kids house was heavily damaged by Ike and they have an apartment not too far from there also.

Thanks for the advice on the pens!

[Mike Ramsey]

Michael,

Actually.....my DIL works at Methodist Hospital in downtown Houston and the friend is a co-worker so she might be a little bit farther away than 3 miles. The kids house was heavily damaged by Ike and they have an apartment not too far from there also.

Thanks for the advice on the pens!

Ken.
Small world, I just finished 2 pens for my wifes Dr at Methodist hosp in Houston....

[Mark Hix]

It's very easy to mix up the bushings. Take your time and lay them out correctly. Once you mix them up, there is no turning back. Be careful on squaring the ends; euros, slims, sierras are all forgiving if you get agressive when squaring the blanks. If the lower blank is trimmed too much, the pen will not retract all the way. There is a fix but it is a pain because the pen will have to be disassembled to do.

I think that they look better with a slight curve, just barely enough to notice.

I have turned a few pens from Padouk and like the way it finishes. I use a CA/BLO finish on it.

Congratulations and post some photos!