Sigh...crummy first day turning.

[Justin Peters]

So, after finally getting the legs for our Lathe (we waited for over a month...long story), we went out and bought a drill press. It was delivered last night. We had gotten a whole bunch of pen kits a while back, so I was ready to go (I thought).

I cut a blank down to size for a Cigar Pen, and proceeded to split the first blank when I drilled it out...I guess I didn't clear the chips out well enough from the bit...but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't use the blank. Unfortunately, when I went to drill out the other half of the pen blank, I didn't have the blank lined up well enough with the bit, and I blew out the side of the bit. I probably should not have started out with a kit that requires such close tolerances. (The cigar pen kits being so wide and all).

So, I decided to try a different pen...this time a slimline. I again cut the blank down to size, and I drilled the blanks out. The brass tube was a little looser than I thought it would be, but I glued it in place anyways, using some CA. I don't have any accellerator on hand, so I figured I would just let it sit for a little while. After about five minutes, I tried to use the barrel trimmer on it, and the brass tube came loose from the wood, and glued itself to the trimmer. In the process of trying to get the brass separated from the trimmer, I completely buggered up the brass tube...it's unuseable now.

I really didn't want to have to go spend the money on a drilling vice, but I think I am going to have to. Hopefully it will prevent me from ruining any more blanks, and hopefully it will permit closer tolerances for the brass tubes. The wood blanks seem to be OK still from the second kit, so I will get some Epoxy and try that with some new tubes...hopefully it will work better.

I was all excited to finally turn something, and I still haven't gotten to use the new lathe!

[Chip Sutherland]

I've not even tried pen turning for many of the reasons you just described. Think of how much you have already learned your first day. When I muster the will to do pen turning, I'll probably spend $100 on the devices just so I can blame them for my lack of skill. So you are a model of patience in my eyes...

[Stuart Johnson]

Justin, Some days are just that way. It sounds like you might have been trying to rush each step. My Dad would have said, 'slow down. You're turning pens not killing snakes'. I don't think a pen vise is a required item. Hold the blanks with a screw clamp when drill and a pair of pliars when squaring. Center it as close as you can and then take your time drilling. It might help to cut your blanks over sized. Just because the instructions say to start off with a 5/8 or 3/4 square blank there is nothing to stop you from using a 1" blank.

Are you sure you are using the correct sized drill bit? I think the cigar pen uses a larger bit than the slim line. CA won't fill a gap.

Don't let the lathe sit there unused. If nothing else cut a few spindles from a 2x4 and do some practice stuff. Just go have some fun with it.

[Carole Valentine]

I've had days like that! You just got your drill press...have you checked it for run out? If it is not running true, the bit will make a larger hole than it's supposed to and will sometimes even seem to have a will of it's own! LOL Also, don't back the bit out any more often than you have to to clear shavings. That will enlarge the hole if you're are not extremely careful. I don't use accelerator. I feel like it weakens the bond. Did you sand the brass tube to rough it up before putting on the glue?

[John Hart]

Yeah...I have to agree with Stuart...It wouldn't hurt to get some lathe and tool time in on some scraps so you can get a feel for things. The epoxy is a great idea. I've had much better results than from CA on tube-gluing. Lastly, I would like to recommend what was recommended to me....Do Slimlines first and do them straight and boring until you get a good feel for what you're trying to accomplish. You are about to discover the next big disappointment...The wood being a different size than your pen parts after you're done turning. The slimlines are inexpensive and useful for the inevitable learning curve.

I also agree with Stuart's Dad....Just drill a little at a time and back out...don't make that final plunge, just because you're close. The drilling is too critical to rush through it.

Disclaimer: I submit this advice despite the fact that I really don't know anything!

[John Hart]

...Also, don't back the bit out any more often than you have to to clear shavings....

I see we disagree Carole!!!

Listen to Carole, Justin. She's better than me!!!!

[Jim Becker]

If the blanks are securely clamped while drilling, there should be no enlargement of the hole from clearing...and that means "clamping the clamp" to the DP table!!

Justin, I also agree with the others...before you start doing real projects like pens...which have a cost to them...get some 'stick time' on the lathe. And if you can get an experienced turner to show you some of the rope, so much the better. This is one tool that everyone can benefit from "seeing it done".

[Justin Peters]

So, after getting frustrated earlier and deciding I should probably leave the garage, I went out to do some errands (including buying the vice). Came home, and Jill (LOML) was on her way home. Once she got home, she was anxious to put some woodchips on the floor too. I told her I was having a bad luck day...she still wanted to go see what we could do.

So, she marked up her blank, cut it to size, and used our new drilling vice to make sure it was straight. (And did a darned nice job, if I might say so). Went to glue up the blank, and I'll be darned if the brass tube wasn't still ridiculously loose. I immediately thought what Carole said...that my drill press had runout problems...especially since some reviews of my drill press had complaints about this (it's a Jet 17MF.) I went to get some CA for my wife off of the shelf, and I happened to glance at the package for the drill bit...I USED THE DARNED 8MM BIT INSTEAD OF THE 7MM!!! Talk about wanting to kick myself!!! Obviously that would not have solved the problem with me blowout on the first blank, but the second attempt on my slimline would have come out a lot better!!! Oh well. I will save the blanks and hopefully they will work for an 8MM pencil or something later on.

For those talking about stick time...Jill and I took a pen making class a while back at our local wood/tool shop. That was the first class we took. After that, we took a three part class consisting of spindle work, bowls and lidded boxes. While that in no way shape or form makes us competent, we do feel confident enough to make some pens...except for when a certain dumba$$ does stuff like use the wrong drill bit.

I do have some other projects in mind though. For those of you who live in the north Houston area, I could use some ideas for lumberyards that have nice wood...Jill and I are both somewhat new to the area.

Also, our families are from south Florida. They are in the process of cleaning up from Wilma, and one of them mentioned a fallen Gumbo Limbo tree...anyone ever turned some of this? They offered to save some for us.

[Tom Mullane]

Justin, I am predominently a pen maker.... of course I do other turning as well and am well known locally for my "started as a bowl, ended up a funnel" series of turnings ......
This is my advise...
1. Get to know your tools real well... and make sure you can sharpen them properly... my favorite tool for pen making is a skew... longer learning curve, but IMHO makes pen making easier...
2. Make sure your drilling vise is secured to the table of the drill press and clear the chips often... not clearing chips can cause heat that might crack some woods and can cause oversize holes...
3. DO NOT use CA for gluing tubes... I only use epoxy.. if doing one-offs I use 5 minute.. if doing a production run I use long setting epoxy... Epoxy will fill the gaps on a slightly oversize hole better than CA and is no where as brittle as CA when cured...
4. Learn a couple of different finishing techniques.. on my high end pens ($85+) I use lacquer or Enduro... on my lower price pens usually a CA finish or lacquer based friction polish..... shellac based friction polishes do not last and will dull quickly...
5. Stay away from cheap kit platings if you intend to give away or sell your pens.... they will start to wear and brass after a while..
6. AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT... keep it fun... this is not rocket science... it is supposed to be fun....
Here are pics of a couple of my pieces...

[Kurt Forbes]

Oversized blanks are good if you cut your own.
I do use a CA glue for the tubes but I only like the gel type CA. I have always cleared my bit when drilling quite a few times and it is often a good idea to have something on the bottom to prevent blowout on the bottom as the drill bit comes out the back side.
Slimlines are great for learning they are cheap and still look great do some straight boreing ones the finish makes a huge difference here so you have to get good at it to make them look good
I good clamp of some sort to hold the blanks is a must when drilling.
Precut blanks are fun but I really like harvesting my own from darn near any sort of wood I can find and seeing what I can make with it.

[Justin Peters]

First off, I apologize for the size of the pictures. I am using my wife's computer since mine died, and I am not fluent in Macintosh. (I don't know where to find a resizing tool).

Anyways, I am somewhat better now. I returned from my latest trip, and jumped back into my garage determined to make something without messing it up too bad. Here are the results...

I made a slimline pen/pencil set using PSI's Black TN set and some Olivewood...I really like the combination, I think the contrast is nice. I did keep it somewhat simple, which is fine. It's actually the look I was going for.

After turning the blanks down, I sanded them to 400, then ran the whole Micromesh set. That alone produced a glass-like result that I was very satisfied with...but I figured the wood needed some sort of finish on it to protect it, so I used some Mylands friction polish. I am going to have to look for other options, as I actually think this dulled the results from the sanding a little bit (as Tom said). It is, however, all I have for now, so it's what I will be using for at least a little while.

The Olivewood was a dream to turn. Very easy to work with. I also turned a bottle stopper out of birdseye maple. It came out OK, but I was unable to get a decent picture of it, so I don't have anything to post yet.

Tom, I really like the finish you used on the top pen...actually...I like everything about that top pen...I like the wood, the pen itself, the shape, the finish...stunning. Care to go into some detail on how you got such a stunning finish (help a newbie out?!) Or is it a..uh..proprietary secret?

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/justin...ns.jpg&.src=bc

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/justin...s2.jpg&.src=bc

[John Hart]

Hmmm. yer links didn't work for me Justin

[Justin Peters]

Hmmm. yer links didn't work for me Justin

GRRRR...I can't figure out how to get the links to work...SBC does not make it very user-friendly to save files to one of their servers and have the links work. I tried posting it twice in the earlier thread, and both times, the link worked initially for me, but when I came back to the computer later (after it had been in sleep mode) the links would not open.

So...for those of you that care to view, go to
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/justin_peters@sbcglobal.net

Click on the folder (I think it's called my documents), and there are two pictures of pens in there.

[John Hart]

Those look nice Justin! Good finish...your turnings mate well with the pen pieces. nice clean elegant look. I like the olive wood too. It's got good character.

[Chris Barton]

Hi Justin,

I couldn't see your pens but, I am sure they are nice. When I first started turning pens I made some pretty rediculous mistakes but, that's all part of learning. Just keep at it and you will do fine. I would also suggest considering polyurethane glue for the blank to tube gule-up. You can do them the day before and the urethane is a great gap filler and is super strong.