| Blog series by FrankoManini | updated 1167 days ago | 4 parts | 4699 reads | 5 comments total |
Part 1: Preparing the blank
Turning pens is a lot of fun, and a great way to practice lathe skills while making something beautiful. This step by step will cover the essential elements of selecting the style and material for the pen, preparing the blank, and mounting it on th lathe. I don’t turn many pens. Usually when I do, it’s for a specific reason or an special someone, so I don’t batch them out like a lot of guys do. Not that there is anything wrong with that, because if you’re trying ...
Part 2: Turning the blanks
The last entry in this series closed with the blanks setting overnight for the epoxy to cure. After this is complete, the ends of the blanks need to be squared to the same axis as the brass ferrules. This is achieved using a drill that is sized to the inside diameter of the ferrules, which is topped with a 4 winged cutter head. The drill is square to the cutter head, and the ferrule aligns the bit to the axis. Don’t overdo the drilling here. You can inadvertently erode the ID of th...
Part 3: Sanding and Polishing
Last we left our intrepid turner, he had completed the major shaping operations. The skew leaves a decent finish, and one can generally move to a relatively fine abrasive such as P240 grit as shown here. From Red Acetate Pen To ensure a near perfect surface, it’s critically important to move through the grits of abrasive without missing any grits. Be certain that all the scratches from the previous grit have been removed before moving on, and wipe the pen after each grit to remove...
Part 4: Assembly
We are nearing the end of our journey, but we’re not home yet. Assembly of the blank, while not difficult, has at least one critical step. Here are the parts laid out for assembly: From Red Acetate Pen A pen press can help oreint the parts so they press together squarely, ensuring all interfaces are seamless. Here, the point is pressed into the lower blank. From Red Acetate Pen The most important step of the whole process happens here. The transmission advances the ball of t...
