LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

As The Lathe Turns

Tags
lathe review
244K views 1K replies 89 participants last post by  greasemonkeyredneck 
#1 ·
How a Good Day Turned Bad

In the responses to yesterday's blog, I told a friend of mine, Grizz, that I would turn him one of my bowls. I don't know why, as I'm still learning, but he hinted that he'd like one.
Also, some things Bearpie said in response to that blog kept sticking in my mind. The main thing is sharpen my lathe tools. I've been and am using the Paul Sellers method of sharpening these days for pretty much everything. It works great for all my tools, except those lathe tools. It puts a sharp edge on them, but they never seem to cut as good as they used to when I was simply hitting them on a bench grinder.
The thing is, my sharpening on the grinder was sort of a hit and miss thing as well. So I started thinking about it. I remembered seeing a video by Alex Harris, the teenage woodworker, about a jig he built for sharpening lathe tools. I looked it up and built this.
Wood Sewing machine Gas Machine Auto part

It was easy to build, and easy to use, just as Alex said it was. So I sharpened up a few of my tools, chucked up a piece of wood and tried it out. It made an amazing difference.
Then I went back to thinking about Grizz's bowl. I really didn't have anything large enough to get started though in the way of wood. So I walked outside to smoke a cigarette. While standing at the fence, I looked out across my neighbor's field, and remembered the pecan tree he'd cut down about a year ago. It was just laying there in pieces that he had cut up. So I walked on over and asked him for a piece. He said to take all of it I wanted, so I took the only piece at the time that I was capable of carrying back to my shop.
Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Tool Gas

After chopping some of the edges sticking out off with an axe, I mounted it on the lathe. There was still a tiny bit of wood sticking out hitting the tools rest bracket though. I really did not want to take this heavy piece of wood back down again.
Saw Tool Table Wood Hand tool

Then I thought about an electric chain saw my wife had bought me some time ago. I'd never even turned this thing on before.
Back story here:
I have a messed up back, as some of you know. The last time I put myself in the hospital with my back, was from trying to crank a gas powered chain saw. Before I made it home from the hospital, my wife had sold the chain saw and bought me this electric one.
I had scoffed at this little chain saw until today. It did a real good job though of trimming the offending wood off the pecan log that was on my lathe.
Now let me tell you, I have to thank Bearpie and Alex Harris. The advice, and the now sharper than ever lathe knives made a world of difference.
Wood Outdoor bench Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Bumper

Now, some of you may be asking yourself right about now, why in the world am I so determined to get this lathe thing going?
Even before I got into woodworking as much as I am now, I have always, for some reason, been in awe of seeing guys take logs, bark and all, spinning them on a lathe, and using only knives, turning that log into something useful. The thing I've wanted most for a long time was to happily turn a bowl while standing ankle deep in wood chips, while more fly over my shoulder. I know some people may find it weird, but this is something I have just wanted for so long.
Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Gas

So, if any of you can understand what I wanted, and why, then you ought to already know where the topic of this photo is heading. This was FUN!
This photo was taken before I even finished today. By the end of it all, I was turning a bowl, ankle deep in wood chips, and neck deep in heaven.
Wood Gas Automotive wheel system Auto part Machine

Wood Gas Machine Automotive wheel system Auto part

Up until this point, things were going just great for me.
As I got deeper into the bowl though, no matter how sharp the tools were, no matter how careful I was, edges would sometimes dig in on the inner sides, or in the other material I was trying to hog out, and things got dangerous, QUICK. This last photo was where I decided that enough was enough. I had to back up and figure out what I was doing wrong before I wound up getting seriously hurt.
So there I stood, as I sometimes do, thinking things over. As I was doing so, I started rolling my turning round and round on the lathe with my hands. I noticed something didn't feel right. Now, I'm no expert turner. I'm only a beginner, but I knew that there shouldn't be that much wobble up and down in this. The outside seems perfectly round, but the inside was off. I can't explain it, but it was just off. It was off center and off round. What was going on here?
The first thing I checked was that the turning was still firmly in the jaws of the chuck. It was. I couldn't figure that out anyway, because the outside still seemed fine.
Then I took the bowl out and spun the chuck itself at low speed, under the power of the motor. It looked like it had some wobble to it. So I pulled out my micrometer and set it up in a makeshift stand. Sure enough, the chuck was turning out of round.
So then I pulled the chuck off and checked the shaft on the lathe itself. Sure enough, the shaft was not turning true.
Blue Wood Motor vehicle Machine tool Gas

The first thing I thought about was bearings. So I tore the head of the lathe apart. I could not feel any play in the bearings though. So I started checking everything that could possibly be causing this.
Wood Gas Machine Auto part Metal

I couldn't believe it myself, but the offending part if the shaft itself. It is bent. I rolled the shaft by itself along the best know flat surface in my shop, the table saw. There is noticable wobble at the inner threaded section of the shaft. With this crude checking, I cannot tell if the bend is somewhere in the middle of the shaft, or just at the end. It appears the outboard side is running true, so I don't think it's the middle of the shaft. I don't know. What I do know is that, being a cheap chinese made machine that I bought used, I have no dilissions of finding a replacement shaft.
So, unless I can figure out a place to find parts for this machine, or win the lottery (and I don't play) so I can buy a new lathe, my bowl turning days are done for the time being. That just turned my day to crap, because I was thoroughly enjoying it.

So Grizz, how about something besides a bowl???
 

Attachments

See less See more
18
#1,192 ·
Higher End

As most of you know, I am hooked on turning pens. It is more than an enjoyment factor for me. It is the one thing I have found that bothers me the least when I am hurting in my back. Even on my worst days, I can set a stool at my lathe and still turn a pen or two. So it is the perfect hobby for someone with my health issues.
Since I started turning though, I look at the Penn State website on a regular basis and lust after the nicer pen kits. Now, I do not want anyone to think I am saying that a nice pen kit alone makes for a nice pen. I've seen some beautiful pens that others have made with the cheapest kits available. Then again, I have seen some ugly pens made with some extremely expensive kits.
All that being said, I still knew that if I ever got the opportunity, it would still be nice to turn some pens using nicer kits than the slim line kits I normally use. The pens I turned today are from some nicer kits. They aren't necessarily the most expensive in that Penn State catalogue, but nicer than I am used to. Yes, I will still be turning mostly the cheap slim lines. It is what my budget allows unless I can make a lot more sales than I have been. It sure was a treat to turn a little higher end than usual though.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Ball pen Wood

Wood Publication Metal Font Pattern

Wood Publication Office supplies Metal Font

This is the over and under shotgun kit.
I used ziricote for the upper barrel and lignum vitae for the lower barrel. This pen is massive in size. It's massive size though may fool you in the delicate touch you had better have while turning it. That upper barrel is so thin that I believe I could have written a secret message on the brass sleeve inside the wood. You could probably read it under a bright enough light. I normally rough my pen blanks out with a three eighths gouge and then finish it up with light touches with a quarter inch detail gouge or skew chisel. On this pen, the roughing gouge never got used. You just go straight for the detail tools.
Other than using a light touch at the lathe, the pen was not hard to make after I ruined three ziricote blanks trying to drill for the huge nine sixteenth sleeve on the upper barrel. After drilling, the blank would be left so thin that the vice on my drill press would distort, or in one case just crush, the remaining wood. The way I wound up doing it was to sneak up on it. First I used a piece of blank way longer than I needed so that the part I was drilling was left sitting above the pen vice. This kept the jaws from adding sidewards pressure. Then I drilled it in three steps, working up to the final hole size.
I think the extra effort was worth it. In my opinion it is a very nice pen.
Writing implement Wood Pen Ball pen Office supplies

Writing implement Wood Office supplies Musical instrument Writing instrument accessory

Musical instrument Wood Writing implement Office supplies Wind instrument

This one is the Olympian Elite kit.
I decided to use a wood I'd never turned before on this one. The wood is called tulip wood. I think I made a good choice. In my opinion it went well with the gold and black of the pen hardware. I may be a little biased though.
The wood on this one is quite thin as well. I had no issues though. I think think that was because I learned my lesson with these big barreled pen on the first pen I showed you above. This one is a real nice looking pen. My only complaint with this one is the plastic. While all the pens have some plastic parts here and there, all the parts in this one are completely plastic. They are nice looking and done tastefully. I just really don't care for that much of the stuff. Metal makes me feel much more comfortable. All this concerned me when it came time to press everything together. I could just see in the back of my mind plastic parts shattering and ending all the work I had put into it. Everything went together just fine though. So I guess I was worried for nothing.
.
That was all I got done today. I spent a lot of today hugging my wood burning stove in the shop. My joints don't like cold air. So on days like today, even with the shop at a comfortable temperature, I simply hurt less sitting as close to the heater as I can stand.
.
So until next time my friends, happy turning.
 

Attachments

#1,193 ·
Higher End

As most of you know, I am hooked on turning pens. It is more than an enjoyment factor for me. It is the one thing I have found that bothers me the least when I am hurting in my back. Even on my worst days, I can set a stool at my lathe and still turn a pen or two. So it is the perfect hobby for someone with my health issues.
Since I started turning though, I look at the Penn State website on a regular basis and lust after the nicer pen kits. Now, I do not want anyone to think I am saying that a nice pen kit alone makes for a nice pen. I've seen some beautiful pens that others have made with the cheapest kits available. Then again, I have seen some ugly pens made with some extremely expensive kits.
All that being said, I still knew that if I ever got the opportunity, it would still be nice to turn some pens using nicer kits than the slim line kits I normally use. The pens I turned today are from some nicer kits. They aren't necessarily the most expensive in that Penn State catalogue, but nicer than I am used to. Yes, I will still be turning mostly the cheap slim lines. It is what my budget allows unless I can make a lot more sales than I have been. It sure was a treat to turn a little higher end than usual though.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Ball pen Wood

Wood Publication Metal Font Pattern

Wood Publication Office supplies Metal Font

This is the over and under shotgun kit.
I used ziricote for the upper barrel and lignum vitae for the lower barrel. This pen is massive in size. It's massive size though may fool you in the delicate touch you had better have while turning it. That upper barrel is so thin that I believe I could have written a secret message on the brass sleeve inside the wood. You could probably read it under a bright enough light. I normally rough my pen blanks out with a three eighths gouge and then finish it up with light touches with a quarter inch detail gouge or skew chisel. On this pen, the roughing gouge never got used. You just go straight for the detail tools.
Other than using a light touch at the lathe, the pen was not hard to make after I ruined three ziricote blanks trying to drill for the huge nine sixteenth sleeve on the upper barrel. After drilling, the blank would be left so thin that the vice on my drill press would distort, or in one case just crush, the remaining wood. The way I wound up doing it was to sneak up on it. First I used a piece of blank way longer than I needed so that the part I was drilling was left sitting above the pen vice. This kept the jaws from adding sidewards pressure. Then I drilled it in three steps, working up to the final hole size.
I think the extra effort was worth it. In my opinion it is a very nice pen.
Writing implement Wood Pen Ball pen Office supplies

Writing implement Wood Office supplies Musical instrument Writing instrument accessory

Musical instrument Wood Writing implement Office supplies Wind instrument

This one is the Olympian Elite kit.
I decided to use a wood I'd never turned before on this one. The wood is called tulip wood. I think I made a good choice. In my opinion it went well with the gold and black of the pen hardware. I may be a little biased though.
The wood on this one is quite thin as well. I had no issues though. I think think that was because I learned my lesson with these big barreled pen on the first pen I showed you above. This one is a real nice looking pen. My only complaint with this one is the plastic. While all the pens have some plastic parts here and there, all the parts in this one are completely plastic. They are nice looking and done tastefully. I just really don't care for that much of the stuff. Metal makes me feel much more comfortable. All this concerned me when it came time to press everything together. I could just see in the back of my mind plastic parts shattering and ending all the work I had put into it. Everything went together just fine though. So I guess I was worried for nothing.
.
That was all I got done today. I spent a lot of today hugging my wood burning stove in the shop. My joints don't like cold air. So on days like today, even with the shop at a comfortable temperature, I simply hurt less sitting as close to the heater as I can stand.
.
So until next time my friends, happy turning.
Beautiful pens William. The kit parts do look a bit better than the slim lines.
 

Attachments

#1,208 ·
More Turning Adventures

If you remember the stylus flip pens I made several days ago, I needed to make a couple of more for a friend, and he likes the Celtic knots I have glued up in the past. So that was the plan. However, there is a lot of waiting when gluing up the Celtic knots. So I always try to stay busy on something else while waiting on glue to set.
Automotive tire Bicycle part Motor vehicle Rim Gas

I love my economy chuck from Penn State. I love it so much that I have it on good authority (since I'm the one who placed the order) that I'll be getting another one for Christmas. The reason I want another one is that, when doing bowls, it is a pain to have to remove the jaws to put on the flat jaws so I can remove the tenon and finish the bottom. I have been thinking for a while how nice it would be to have a second chuck to just spin on quickly.
Here is the link to the one I just ordered.
Helmet Wood Font Personal protective equipment Fashion accessory

Anyway, back to what I was working on in between gluing strips in for Celtic knots.
Here is my flat jaws. They do the job, but do have their limitations. The maximum diameter bowl that can be held with them is about eight inches. I knew there had to be a way to hold larger bowls. So I done some searching and found this. If you click on the link, you'll see it is an extension for the flat jaws that allows you to hold larger items.
It looks like a great idea. There was just one problem. I was just about to submit my order for the extensions when I noticed in the description that they are made of plastic. I'm not saying anything is wrong with the product. Personally though, seeing as how I love making my own stuff anyway, I just cannot bring myself to spend forty bucks on something like that made of plastic if I think I can make it myself. It is just plastic with some holes in it, right?
Wood Gas Engineering Machine tool Machine

Also, since I have decided to make it myself anyway, I thought about correcting another little issue I've always disliked about my jaws, and pretty much every other set of jaws I've seen on the market. With these straight, rather stiff, rubber mounting pins you have to have a pretty good grip on bowls if you don't want them to go flying. As a matter of fact, I have cracked two bowls that I can remember by having to tighten down on them too hard. There had to be a better way. So I made a trip to town to see what concoctions I could come up with.
Wood Helmet Circle Art Metal

So, here is the plastic jaw extensions I made. They are made of three eighths inch thick plexi-glass. I know, some of you are already thinking I am crazy. It is well balanced though and these will only be ran on the slowest speed setting. All you use these for is to finish off the bottom of bowls after you have done everything else.
If I have any issues with them down the road, I'll be sure to let you all know so you'll know not to go this route. Until then though, I don't foresee any problems with this setup.
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Machine tool

For the mounting pin solution, I found some rubber stopper plugs in the specialty drawers at Home Depot. I drilled quarter inch holes through the middle of them. Then I threaded bolts through them, then through the plastic plates, and hold them on with nuts on the back side.
I like these enough that I am going to buy more, and find out the thread size, so I can add the same thing to my regular jaws without the extensions. These are longer. They have an angle to them that can be adapted to accept any shaped bowl you decide to make. Also, while firm, they are soft enough (softer than the factory pins) that you can tighten the nuts if you need to make them bulge more to hold the bowl more firmly instead of putting the brute force of the chuck into play.
Wood Cuisine Dish Kitchen utensil Rectangle

I made my Celtic knot glue ups for two pen blanks while I was doing all this. Then I started drilling to make pens. This photo shows the biggest drawback to making such glue ups. You never know how well, or how bad, things will turn out. This one didn't even make it off the drill press before blowing out.
It's a good thing I don't give up that easily though. I had to glue up another one.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Hardwood Wood stain

I made one with ziricote and box elder.
Wood Writing implement Office supplies Wind instrument Pen

And another one with hedge apple and walnut.
Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Serveware

Next up.
Some of you may remember the spinning top kit that was in the Ms. Clause care package from a while back. I turned the top you see in the far left of the above photo out of rosewood. Well that started something.
Ever since I turned that turner, my kids have to look at it everyday. They get me to give it a spin on the table any chance they get. So this set my planning wheels into full spin.
My kids all want one of these tops. I told them they can't have one though. My excuse? I told them about how the hardware for this nifty little kit is plated with gold. Now why would you give a kid a top with gold plated hardware to play with? No. This is a man's toy. It is something you put on a desk at work as a conversation piece. That's what I tell them.
So here is where I am at. Each of my kids are going to get a spinning top for Christmas. What can make it better though? What about this? I turn them all, set them out in plain site, tell them they are "for sale", and then come over to wrap them on Christmas eve after they've gone to bed. I think they are going to love these, but also hate me a little for putting them through this.
Now for the details of the other three tops.
Wood Glass Flooring Rectangle Metal

Table Wood Flooring Hardwood Gas

This one is beech between two layers of purple heart.
Wood Jewellery Hardwood Flooring Fountain

Table Wood Finial Hardwood Wood stain

This one is beech between two layers of lace wood.
By the time I got to turning this one, I had given up on any resemblance of design and just started having fun with the turning; sort of making it up as I went along.
Wood Tints and shades Jewellery Hardwood Serveware

Table Amber Wood Flooring Finial

This last one is two strips of cherry with zebra wood between them, then blood wood on both sides of that.
I called this one rolling low. As I was making it up as I went, I didn't realize until I finished it and made a test spin just how low this one would look while spinning. I think I like this one the best.
Writing implement Musical instrument Wood Pen Writing instrument accessory

When I made the civil war pen a while back, everyone liked it. If you remember it, you'll remember that I used box elder burl on it. So on this one, with the same chrome plating on the hardware, I decided to use another piece of box elder that I had. This one isn't burl, but it had something else I liked about it.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Pen Material property

I had to show another shot of it to show you though.
This piece looks kind of plain looking at one side of the pen. As you roll it around though, a pretty pink hue presents itself on the other side of the wood.
Writing implement Office supplies Wood Pen Wood stain

That left me with only the gun metal hardware civil war pen. I was thinking about what wood would go well with it. I decided to use one of my personal favorites for it, oak burl.
.
Well that is several of my days I've shown you at once here. My regular readers just have to bare with me this time of year though. With Christmas fast approaching, I stay as busy as I can. Between trying to make things that will sell and making a few gift items for family and friends, I can never seem to catch my breath during the holidays. I will post when I can.
.
Until next time, happy turning!
 

Attachments

#1,209 ·
More Turning Adventures

If you remember the stylus flip pens I made several days ago, I needed to make a couple of more for a friend, and he likes the Celtic knots I have glued up in the past. So that was the plan. However, there is a lot of waiting when gluing up the Celtic knots. So I always try to stay busy on something else while waiting on glue to set.
Automotive tire Bicycle part Motor vehicle Rim Gas

I love my economy chuck from Penn State. I love it so much that I have it on good authority (since I'm the one who placed the order) that I'll be getting another one for Christmas. The reason I want another one is that, when doing bowls, it is a pain to have to remove the jaws to put on the flat jaws so I can remove the tenon and finish the bottom. I have been thinking for a while how nice it would be to have a second chuck to just spin on quickly.
Here is the link to the one I just ordered.
Helmet Wood Font Personal protective equipment Fashion accessory

Anyway, back to what I was working on in between gluing strips in for Celtic knots.
Here is my flat jaws. They do the job, but do have their limitations. The maximum diameter bowl that can be held with them is about eight inches. I knew there had to be a way to hold larger bowls. So I done some searching and found this. If you click on the link, you'll see it is an extension for the flat jaws that allows you to hold larger items.
It looks like a great idea. There was just one problem. I was just about to submit my order for the extensions when I noticed in the description that they are made of plastic. I'm not saying anything is wrong with the product. Personally though, seeing as how I love making my own stuff anyway, I just cannot bring myself to spend forty bucks on something like that made of plastic if I think I can make it myself. It is just plastic with some holes in it, right?
Wood Gas Engineering Machine tool Machine

Also, since I have decided to make it myself anyway, I thought about correcting another little issue I've always disliked about my jaws, and pretty much every other set of jaws I've seen on the market. With these straight, rather stiff, rubber mounting pins you have to have a pretty good grip on bowls if you don't want them to go flying. As a matter of fact, I have cracked two bowls that I can remember by having to tighten down on them too hard. There had to be a better way. So I made a trip to town to see what concoctions I could come up with.
Wood Helmet Circle Art Metal

So, here is the plastic jaw extensions I made. They are made of three eighths inch thick plexi-glass. I know, some of you are already thinking I am crazy. It is well balanced though and these will only be ran on the slowest speed setting. All you use these for is to finish off the bottom of bowls after you have done everything else.
If I have any issues with them down the road, I'll be sure to let you all know so you'll know not to go this route. Until then though, I don't foresee any problems with this setup.
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Machine tool

For the mounting pin solution, I found some rubber stopper plugs in the specialty drawers at Home Depot. I drilled quarter inch holes through the middle of them. Then I threaded bolts through them, then through the plastic plates, and hold them on with nuts on the back side.
I like these enough that I am going to buy more, and find out the thread size, so I can add the same thing to my regular jaws without the extensions. These are longer. They have an angle to them that can be adapted to accept any shaped bowl you decide to make. Also, while firm, they are soft enough (softer than the factory pins) that you can tighten the nuts if you need to make them bulge more to hold the bowl more firmly instead of putting the brute force of the chuck into play.
Wood Cuisine Dish Kitchen utensil Rectangle

I made my Celtic knot glue ups for two pen blanks while I was doing all this. Then I started drilling to make pens. This photo shows the biggest drawback to making such glue ups. You never know how well, or how bad, things will turn out. This one didn't even make it off the drill press before blowing out.
It's a good thing I don't give up that easily though. I had to glue up another one.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Hardwood Wood stain

I made one with ziricote and box elder.
Wood Writing implement Office supplies Wind instrument Pen

And another one with hedge apple and walnut.
Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Serveware

Next up.
Some of you may remember the spinning top kit that was in the Ms. Clause care package from a while back. I turned the top you see in the far left of the above photo out of rosewood. Well that started something.
Ever since I turned that turner, my kids have to look at it everyday. They get me to give it a spin on the table any chance they get. So this set my planning wheels into full spin.
My kids all want one of these tops. I told them they can't have one though. My excuse? I told them about how the hardware for this nifty little kit is plated with gold. Now why would you give a kid a top with gold plated hardware to play with? No. This is a man's toy. It is something you put on a desk at work as a conversation piece. That's what I tell them.
So here is where I am at. Each of my kids are going to get a spinning top for Christmas. What can make it better though? What about this? I turn them all, set them out in plain site, tell them they are "for sale", and then come over to wrap them on Christmas eve after they've gone to bed. I think they are going to love these, but also hate me a little for putting them through this.
Now for the details of the other three tops.
Wood Glass Flooring Rectangle Metal

Table Wood Flooring Hardwood Gas

This one is beech between two layers of purple heart.
Wood Jewellery Hardwood Flooring Fountain

Table Wood Finial Hardwood Wood stain

This one is beech between two layers of lace wood.
By the time I got to turning this one, I had given up on any resemblance of design and just started having fun with the turning; sort of making it up as I went along.
Wood Tints and shades Jewellery Hardwood Serveware

Table Amber Wood Flooring Finial

This last one is two strips of cherry with zebra wood between them, then blood wood on both sides of that.
I called this one rolling low. As I was making it up as I went, I didn't realize until I finished it and made a test spin just how low this one would look while spinning. I think I like this one the best.
Writing implement Musical instrument Wood Pen Writing instrument accessory

When I made the civil war pen a while back, everyone liked it. If you remember it, you'll remember that I used box elder burl on it. So on this one, with the same chrome plating on the hardware, I decided to use another piece of box elder that I had. This one isn't burl, but it had something else I liked about it.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Pen Material property

I had to show another shot of it to show you though.
This piece looks kind of plain looking at one side of the pen. As you roll it around though, a pretty pink hue presents itself on the other side of the wood.
Writing implement Office supplies Wood Pen Wood stain

That left me with only the gun metal hardware civil war pen. I was thinking about what wood would go well with it. I decided to use one of my personal favorites for it, oak burl.
.
Well that is several of my days I've shown you at once here. My regular readers just have to bare with me this time of year though. With Christmas fast approaching, I stay as busy as I can. Between trying to make things that will sell and making a few gift items for family and friends, I can never seem to catch my breath during the holidays. I will post when I can.
.
Until next time, happy turning!
William I love shop made tools. I really love the ones that work. Nice job.
The tops are , well, over the top.
Great gifts and I am sure they will be loved.
Well done my friend.
 

Attachments

#1,231 ·
Here And There

I hope every one of you had a great Christmas. It is now a new year and I am running here and there trying to catch up enough just so I can get back to actually making something.
Let's start by showing a couple of things that I was not able to get into my last blog entry before Christmas.
By the way, that last blog entry was so photo heavy that I wound up posting it only on my own blog, not here on Lumberjocks. It is here if anyone wants to see it.
Fluid Wood Liquid Natural material Gun accessory

This is an example of the new boxes I started making during the Christmas season. My old design, with the hinges and magnets, were costing me several dollars per box. That doesn't sound like a lot. If you sell enough pens though, and a lot of people want you to throw the box in with the price of a pen, that can eat into any potential profits pretty badly. These cost me little more than time. I always have some small blocks of wood around. It has a plexi-glass cover. I usually have cutoffs of plexi-glass around from other projects. Even if I have to buy a sheet though, it will still come out a lot cheaper than the previous boxes.
Wood Liquid Gas Gun accessory Hardwood

Office supplies Pen Wood Gun accessory Cylinder

You can see in these other photos how the clear lid slides out to allow the pen to be removed from the boxes.
Amber Body jewelry Wood Jewellery Font

These are chain pulls I made for a friend to be given out as Christmas gifts.
Starting at the top, they are in two piece sets of purple heart, blood wood, and sapelle.
Barware Wood Drinkware Finial Table

Wood Flooring Hardwood Artifact Pottery

These are bottle stoppers I made for the same friend to give out as gifts.
The top one is sapelle and the bottom one is rosewood.
Wood Tool Metal Font Spindle

Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Wood

I've seen several people make the wooden handled multi-bit screwdrivers. Some are made from kits and some are made from cheap hardware store screwdrivers. This one was made using the cheaper version.
I bought a three dollar screwdriver from Home Depot. I used an old chisel to break the plastic handle off of it. Then I turned a handle for it and glued the little metal piece in that holds the reversible bit holder.
The handle is made from eucalyptus.
.
That was all I got done leading up to Christmas. Since then, I have been playing catchup. For starters, with all the pens I made leading up to the holiday, and wrapping, and a number of other going ons, my shop was a mess. I took a couple of days just doing a major shop cleaning.
Then I had to get to the Christmas present dance after Christmas. For any of you out there who do not yet have kids, or your kids are still babies, I'll let you in on a little secret that you learn the hard way as a parent.
When buying presents for kids, there are some phrases written on boxes that you need to pay close attention to. Two of these phrases that are quite common on toys will take a lot of time away from your happy life.
BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED
SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
Allow me to explain.
.
Batteries not included can and will give you a headache. There is nothing like having your child unwrap that special present you bought, that you know they will love and you can't wait to see the joy in their eyes when they play with, only to realize that batteries are not included and you did not notice it. Then there is that crazy mad dash to the closest place to buy some batteries. The problem is that it is Christmas. There is nowhere open except convenience stores. Convenience store batteries are overpriced. Then there is the fact that, because they are overpriced, they have sat there on that shelf for a year and may or may not have enough juice left in them to actually run the toy. Add to all this the fact that even the convenience store batteries are getting scarce because of all the other caring fathers who also did not pay attention to the batteries not included printing on the toy package.
.
Some assembly required is the worst of the worst of the most aggravating worst though.
Some assembly required is actually translated exactly to:
"we have provided a poorly written manual to assist you a half a percent in putting together this overcomplicated piece of childhood toy and father torture device that will drive you absolutely insane and pull your hair out in frustration while we sit and laugh at the thought of how we, collectively holding the power to stop Christmas all over the world in one fell swoop of a poor design, have made life a living hell for millions of people all over the world assembling this piece of plastic that will be torn up within forty eight hours anyway"
Who writes these manuals? Who designs these things? These holes go this way. However, we have added some other holes on the other end that actually are there for no other reason but to confuse you because, if you use these holes, something else will not line up correctly in a later step. So flip a coin and we hope you the best of luck. You read english? Good. Then we'll intermix the english text with other text in chinese, french, german, spanish and russian to make it more interesting for you. We know you have nothing better to do on Christmas.
.
Seriously folks. Next year I think I am going to do something I done a few years ago and make all my kid's presents. It was easier and a lot more enjoyable.
Anyway, I survived the mad dash for batteries and the assembly from hell. Honestly, I only had one present to assembly this year, because I learned my lesson years ago, but who knew they could make a basketball goal so complicated to assemble?
With all the fun and festivities going on, I have just started trying to get back into the shop in the last few days. Before diving back into any projects though, I decided to take this time to do a couple of tasks that have been on my mind. Besides that, a couple of my boys who have been out of school for the holidays just love helping Dad. These side projects are easier for me to keep them busy helping on than my normal projects.
Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Gas Automotive tire

For some time there has been a shelf on my lathe stand that I put odd and end things on. The problem is that, when I installed it, I did not think about the fact that it would fill up quickly and often with shavings and chips from turning. Anytime I needed something from the shelf, I had to sift through fifty pounds of wood chips to find it, all the while making sure I didn't throw out the exact thing I was looking for while moving the chips.
So I boxed it in and put a door on the front so I can access things there easily, while keeping the chips and such out.
Wood Shelf Cabinetry Gas Engineering

When the door is closed and latched, it is completely enclosed so all the unwanted stuff stays out.
Wheel Wood Gas Engineering Rim

There has been several occasions that I needed a steady rest. I've seen many designs online, both for commercially available designs and shop built ones. I took what I've seen, gathered materials that I thought would work well, and started building.
This was the first design. I like the design I came up with. The problem is that, when I started, I had less aluminum channel that I thought I did. I had cut the plywood ring to a size that this, with the aluminum channel, did not allow it to be adjusted down to a size for really small diameter turnings, which is something I will be needing it for in the future.
Wood Floor Milling Gas Hardwood

The base for the ring I made out of two blocks of wood that are cut to run along the ways on the lathe bed and be clamped tight to hold in place.
Wood Natural material Wood stain Hardwood Plywood

This photo, with it off the lathe, makes it easier to see. I made a wooden handle to hold the nut that gets screwed onto a bolt that runs through it all so you can tighten it down, sandwiching the two blocks tightly on the lathe bed.
I thought about scrapping the first design until I could order some longer channel. I decided I would keep it though for larger things I may need it for. My thinking was that I may have a need on an odd weighted bowl or vessel one day. So I would keep that one and make another one for smaller turnings.
Automotive tire Wood Rim Gas Machine

So I made a smaller version for smaller turnings.
Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas Engineering

The aluminum channel easily transfers from one ring to the other, depending on what size steady rest you need. I also figured I only need the one handle since I won't be using but one at a time.
This will allow me to use the stead rest for turnings from an eight of an inch in diameter all the way up to twelve inches, the maximum my lather will turn anyway.
On both rings, the aluminum channel is held in place in slots cut into the rings. When you tighten the black knobs, it pulls the channels tight into these slots, holding them rigid in position. On the other end of the aluminum channel is skate board bearings.

I now have these completed and hung on the wall near the lathe for next time I have one of those pieces that wants to chatter and vibrate so bad that I can hardly turn it. I will let you all know when I use them, but I think they'll do just fine for taming those bad vibrations.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning!
 

Attachments

#1,232 ·
Here And There

I hope every one of you had a great Christmas. It is now a new year and I am running here and there trying to catch up enough just so I can get back to actually making something.
Let's start by showing a couple of things that I was not able to get into my last blog entry before Christmas.
By the way, that last blog entry was so photo heavy that I wound up posting it only on my own blog, not here on Lumberjocks. It is here if anyone wants to see it.
Fluid Wood Liquid Natural material Gun accessory

This is an example of the new boxes I started making during the Christmas season. My old design, with the hinges and magnets, were costing me several dollars per box. That doesn't sound like a lot. If you sell enough pens though, and a lot of people want you to throw the box in with the price of a pen, that can eat into any potential profits pretty badly. These cost me little more than time. I always have some small blocks of wood around. It has a plexi-glass cover. I usually have cutoffs of plexi-glass around from other projects. Even if I have to buy a sheet though, it will still come out a lot cheaper than the previous boxes.
Wood Liquid Gas Gun accessory Hardwood

Office supplies Pen Wood Gun accessory Cylinder

You can see in these other photos how the clear lid slides out to allow the pen to be removed from the boxes.
Amber Body jewelry Wood Jewellery Font

These are chain pulls I made for a friend to be given out as Christmas gifts.
Starting at the top, they are in two piece sets of purple heart, blood wood, and sapelle.
Barware Wood Drinkware Finial Table

Wood Flooring Hardwood Artifact Pottery

These are bottle stoppers I made for the same friend to give out as gifts.
The top one is sapelle and the bottom one is rosewood.
Wood Tool Metal Font Spindle

Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Wood

I've seen several people make the wooden handled multi-bit screwdrivers. Some are made from kits and some are made from cheap hardware store screwdrivers. This one was made using the cheaper version.
I bought a three dollar screwdriver from Home Depot. I used an old chisel to break the plastic handle off of it. Then I turned a handle for it and glued the little metal piece in that holds the reversible bit holder.
The handle is made from eucalyptus.
.
That was all I got done leading up to Christmas. Since then, I have been playing catchup. For starters, with all the pens I made leading up to the holiday, and wrapping, and a number of other going ons, my shop was a mess. I took a couple of days just doing a major shop cleaning.
Then I had to get to the Christmas present dance after Christmas. For any of you out there who do not yet have kids, or your kids are still babies, I'll let you in on a little secret that you learn the hard way as a parent.
When buying presents for kids, there are some phrases written on boxes that you need to pay close attention to. Two of these phrases that are quite common on toys will take a lot of time away from your happy life.
BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED
SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
Allow me to explain.
.
Batteries not included can and will give you a headache. There is nothing like having your child unwrap that special present you bought, that you know they will love and you can't wait to see the joy in their eyes when they play with, only to realize that batteries are not included and you did not notice it. Then there is that crazy mad dash to the closest place to buy some batteries. The problem is that it is Christmas. There is nowhere open except convenience stores. Convenience store batteries are overpriced. Then there is the fact that, because they are overpriced, they have sat there on that shelf for a year and may or may not have enough juice left in them to actually run the toy. Add to all this the fact that even the convenience store batteries are getting scarce because of all the other caring fathers who also did not pay attention to the batteries not included printing on the toy package.
.
Some assembly required is the worst of the worst of the most aggravating worst though.
Some assembly required is actually translated exactly to:
"we have provided a poorly written manual to assist you a half a percent in putting together this overcomplicated piece of childhood toy and father torture device that will drive you absolutely insane and pull your hair out in frustration while we sit and laugh at the thought of how we, collectively holding the power to stop Christmas all over the world in one fell swoop of a poor design, have made life a living hell for millions of people all over the world assembling this piece of plastic that will be torn up within forty eight hours anyway"
Who writes these manuals? Who designs these things? These holes go this way. However, we have added some other holes on the other end that actually are there for no other reason but to confuse you because, if you use these holes, something else will not line up correctly in a later step. So flip a coin and we hope you the best of luck. You read english? Good. Then we'll intermix the english text with other text in chinese, french, german, spanish and russian to make it more interesting for you. We know you have nothing better to do on Christmas.
.
Seriously folks. Next year I think I am going to do something I done a few years ago and make all my kid's presents. It was easier and a lot more enjoyable.
Anyway, I survived the mad dash for batteries and the assembly from hell. Honestly, I only had one present to assembly this year, because I learned my lesson years ago, but who knew they could make a basketball goal so complicated to assemble?
With all the fun and festivities going on, I have just started trying to get back into the shop in the last few days. Before diving back into any projects though, I decided to take this time to do a couple of tasks that have been on my mind. Besides that, a couple of my boys who have been out of school for the holidays just love helping Dad. These side projects are easier for me to keep them busy helping on than my normal projects.
Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Gas Automotive tire

For some time there has been a shelf on my lathe stand that I put odd and end things on. The problem is that, when I installed it, I did not think about the fact that it would fill up quickly and often with shavings and chips from turning. Anytime I needed something from the shelf, I had to sift through fifty pounds of wood chips to find it, all the while making sure I didn't throw out the exact thing I was looking for while moving the chips.
So I boxed it in and put a door on the front so I can access things there easily, while keeping the chips and such out.
Wood Shelf Cabinetry Gas Engineering

When the door is closed and latched, it is completely enclosed so all the unwanted stuff stays out.
Wheel Wood Gas Engineering Rim

There has been several occasions that I needed a steady rest. I've seen many designs online, both for commercially available designs and shop built ones. I took what I've seen, gathered materials that I thought would work well, and started building.
This was the first design. I like the design I came up with. The problem is that, when I started, I had less aluminum channel that I thought I did. I had cut the plywood ring to a size that this, with the aluminum channel, did not allow it to be adjusted down to a size for really small diameter turnings, which is something I will be needing it for in the future.
Wood Floor Milling Gas Hardwood

The base for the ring I made out of two blocks of wood that are cut to run along the ways on the lathe bed and be clamped tight to hold in place.
Wood Natural material Wood stain Hardwood Plywood

This photo, with it off the lathe, makes it easier to see. I made a wooden handle to hold the nut that gets screwed onto a bolt that runs through it all so you can tighten it down, sandwiching the two blocks tightly on the lathe bed.
I thought about scrapping the first design until I could order some longer channel. I decided I would keep it though for larger things I may need it for. My thinking was that I may have a need on an odd weighted bowl or vessel one day. So I would keep that one and make another one for smaller turnings.
Automotive tire Wood Rim Gas Machine

So I made a smaller version for smaller turnings.
Wood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas Engineering

The aluminum channel easily transfers from one ring to the other, depending on what size steady rest you need. I also figured I only need the one handle since I won't be using but one at a time.
This will allow me to use the stead rest for turnings from an eight of an inch in diameter all the way up to twelve inches, the maximum my lather will turn anyway.
On both rings, the aluminum channel is held in place in slots cut into the rings. When you tighten the black knobs, it pulls the channels tight into these slots, holding them rigid in position. On the other end of the aluminum channel is skate board bearings.

I now have these completed and hung on the wall near the lathe for next time I have one of those pieces that wants to chatter and vibrate so bad that I can hardly turn it. I will let you all know when I use them, but I think they'll do just fine for taming those bad vibrations.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning!
Always enjoy your "ramblings" my friend.

Some assembly required usually equals "your worst nightmare". We had my youngest and her latest beau over just before Christmas and after dinner I talked them into putting a "some assembly required" playhouse for my granddaughter together. It eventually got done and provided a full evening's entertainment for me as I never left my easy chair! They may never come back but it was fun for me and my wife (brought back a lot of memories putting crap together with Chinese instructions on Christmas eve!)
 

Attachments

#1,248 ·
Flying Pens

I received an email a couple of days ago reminding me that I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. So I decided that the first thing I had to place on the agenda today was to make a post or two showing that I have been active at something.
I've had a lot going on, both in wood working, and personally. Between all that, I have turned a few pens. The problem with that is that some of them have been flying out the door before I can get a chance to snap photos of them. So let me show you the ones I do have photos of.
Tool Metal Fashion accessory Titanium Wood

I had not planned on doing anything in deer antler after Christmas for a while. However, immediately after making that statement, several people started asking about when I'd be making more deer antler pens. Well, as I heard someone say once, sometimes we do the things we don't want to do, in order to be able to do the things we don't want to do. So, since some people are still wanting deer antler, I got busy turning deer antler.
These six bolt action pens are about half of what I turned. The rest seemed to just disappear off the table before I could make boxes for them, or snap photos.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Office instrument Bullet

I had two fifty caliber kits left and decided to do those in antler too. I had several short cutoffs of antler left that were perfect sized for these pens, but not much else. So the popularity of the antler created a means for not allowing those pieces to go to waste.
Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Tool

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Pen Stationery

If any of you remember the story behind the enormous over and shotgun pen I done a while back in deer antler, the one I was told couldn't be done? Well I done two more of them. I made these just to see if I could, or if that first one was just a lucky shot.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Writing instrument accessory

These are Compson click pens. They are actually two of a six piece starter package from Penn State. These are the only two I got photos of before they disappeared though. So I guess I need to order more of these when I can.
These two are done in zebra wood cut at a forty five degree angle, and walnut burl.
Brown Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory

Here are the last two of the credit card stylus pens I had left two make. These also seem to be popular pens. These are done in cherry burl and oak burl.
Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Office supplies Stationery Tints and shades

I made three more of the buffalo pencils. I liked the ones I've made of these before in burls, so I wanted to go with that. The fact that I love burl so much helped with that decision a tad as well I believe.
These are done in cherry burl, oak burl, and buckeye burl.

That's what I have to show you in pens. I had a few real nice ones that I wish I had taken photos of before they left. I guess I need to start keeping the camera closer so I can be sure to do that.
 

Attachments

#1,249 ·
Flying Pens

I received an email a couple of days ago reminding me that I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. So I decided that the first thing I had to place on the agenda today was to make a post or two showing that I have been active at something.
I've had a lot going on, both in wood working, and personally. Between all that, I have turned a few pens. The problem with that is that some of them have been flying out the door before I can get a chance to snap photos of them. So let me show you the ones I do have photos of.
Tool Metal Fashion accessory Titanium Wood

I had not planned on doing anything in deer antler after Christmas for a while. However, immediately after making that statement, several people started asking about when I'd be making more deer antler pens. Well, as I heard someone say once, sometimes we do the things we don't want to do, in order to be able to do the things we don't want to do. So, since some people are still wanting deer antler, I got busy turning deer antler.
These six bolt action pens are about half of what I turned. The rest seemed to just disappear off the table before I could make boxes for them, or snap photos.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Office instrument Bullet

I had two fifty caliber kits left and decided to do those in antler too. I had several short cutoffs of antler left that were perfect sized for these pens, but not much else. So the popularity of the antler created a means for not allowing those pieces to go to waste.
Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Tool

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Pen Stationery

If any of you remember the story behind the enormous over and shotgun pen I done a while back in deer antler, the one I was told couldn't be done? Well I done two more of them. I made these just to see if I could, or if that first one was just a lucky shot.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Writing instrument accessory

These are Compson click pens. They are actually two of a six piece starter package from Penn State. These are the only two I got photos of before they disappeared though. So I guess I need to order more of these when I can.
These two are done in zebra wood cut at a forty five degree angle, and walnut burl.
Brown Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory

Here are the last two of the credit card stylus pens I had left two make. These also seem to be popular pens. These are done in cherry burl and oak burl.
Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Office supplies Stationery Tints and shades

I made three more of the buffalo pencils. I liked the ones I've made of these before in burls, so I wanted to go with that. The fact that I love burl so much helped with that decision a tad as well I believe.
These are done in cherry burl, oak burl, and buckeye burl.

That's what I have to show you in pens. I had a few real nice ones that I wish I had taken photos of before they left. I guess I need to start keeping the camera closer so I can be sure to do that.
William, Another nice collection of pens. Glad to hear you are keeping busy and stuff is selling.

CtL
 

Attachments

#1,252 ·
Flying Pens

I received an email a couple of days ago reminding me that I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. So I decided that the first thing I had to place on the agenda today was to make a post or two showing that I have been active at something.
I've had a lot going on, both in wood working, and personally. Between all that, I have turned a few pens. The problem with that is that some of them have been flying out the door before I can get a chance to snap photos of them. So let me show you the ones I do have photos of.
Tool Metal Fashion accessory Titanium Wood

I had not planned on doing anything in deer antler after Christmas for a while. However, immediately after making that statement, several people started asking about when I'd be making more deer antler pens. Well, as I heard someone say once, sometimes we do the things we don't want to do, in order to be able to do the things we don't want to do. So, since some people are still wanting deer antler, I got busy turning deer antler.
These six bolt action pens are about half of what I turned. The rest seemed to just disappear off the table before I could make boxes for them, or snap photos.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Office instrument Bullet

I had two fifty caliber kits left and decided to do those in antler too. I had several short cutoffs of antler left that were perfect sized for these pens, but not much else. So the popularity of the antler created a means for not allowing those pieces to go to waste.
Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Tool

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Pen Stationery

If any of you remember the story behind the enormous over and shotgun pen I done a while back in deer antler, the one I was told couldn't be done? Well I done two more of them. I made these just to see if I could, or if that first one was just a lucky shot.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Writing instrument accessory

These are Compson click pens. They are actually two of a six piece starter package from Penn State. These are the only two I got photos of before they disappeared though. So I guess I need to order more of these when I can.
These two are done in zebra wood cut at a forty five degree angle, and walnut burl.
Brown Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory

Here are the last two of the credit card stylus pens I had left two make. These also seem to be popular pens. These are done in cherry burl and oak burl.
Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Office supplies Stationery Tints and shades

I made three more of the buffalo pencils. I liked the ones I've made of these before in burls, so I wanted to go with that. The fact that I love burl so much helped with that decision a tad as well I believe.
These are done in cherry burl, oak burl, and buckeye burl.

That's what I have to show you in pens. I had a few real nice ones that I wish I had taken photos of before they left. I guess I need to start keeping the camera closer so I can be sure to do that.
You're sounding like me.. lol Never enough time for it all. Stay busy. Work/Play at your own place. Your "gun-collection" of pens are always eye candy. OH, what are you using to finish these? They look fantastic. Thnx in advance.
 

Attachments

#1,260 ·
Tool Addiction

This post is supposed to be about lathe tools. I will start off a tiny bit sidetracked though, if for no other reason but to get the admission of my addiction out in the open beforehand.
Wood Gas Machine Metal Automotive design

I don't use them as much as I'd like to, but I do have a thing for hand planes. This is funny, since I used to poke fun at a few of my friends about their own hand plane addiction tendencies. These days, I cannot force myself to pass up a flea market booth or yard sale if my eyes a glimpse of rusty gold. I have a few, and am always looking for good deals, or simply one I don't already have. I do wish to point out though, I do not buy wall hangers. If I see a plane that is so far gone that it cannot be brought back to working order, or I can't get it cheap enough to make it valuable in parts, then I leave it where it lies.
I am a man who once said he hated hand planes. Now, although I mostly work on the lathe these days, some of you may remember from some time back that I do work on things not related to turning. All that being said, although I don't claim to be a strictly hand tool kind of guy, I do find a certain relaxation, an almost zen like appeal, to turning off the electron killers from time to time and simply listening to the whisping noise that a well tuned plane makes as it does its work on a piece of wood.
Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Block plane

Here is my latest acquisition. My son brought it too me this past Saturday. It is an old number eight, or so I am told. I have not had time yet to break it down to do any research on it or sharpen it. Just the way I received it though, it created a six foot long paper thin ribbon as wide as the blade on a scrap piece of cottonwood. I look forward to seeing what it can do once I get time to give it a little tender loving care.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Wood stain

Speaking of sharpening, I gave up on the stone racks I made to clamp in vices and finally just screwed them to the edge of one of my benches. This will eliminate the time it usually takes me to set everything up just so I can begin sharpening tools. I came to this decision one day while I thought about the time it was going to take me to set them up for sharpening my skew chisel for my lathe. Most lathe tools are sharpened on a grinder. There are a few though, like the skew, that I like to put a fine polished edge on.
The need for these will also be explained a little later in a tool review.
Wood Kitchen utensil Tool Hand tool Antique tool

Now back to the lathe.
Did I say I had a tool addiction? Nah! I did actually need some new tools for the lathe.
I consider myself still a beginner at the lathe, but I am always learning more. In that learning process, I have worn away quite a bit of material from my gouges while learning to properly sharpen them, and while finding that perfect bevel angle for my liking. It was getting to a point that I was choking the jig up mighty close to the handle while sharpening, so it was time for some replacements of my most used spindle gouges.
The first two tools to the left are replacements for my old Craftsman half inch and three eighths spindle gouges. I bought the Benjamin's Best gouges from Penn State. I sharpened them up and took them for a test drive. I am quite happy that they will perform fine for me. Time will tell, but I may even venture to say that they are better than my old Craftsmans.
If you need links, here is the half inch, and here is the three eighths.
.
The third tool is a quarter inch gouge from Hurricane tools. I have been thinking of getting a quarter inch gouge for some time My old Craftsman set came with the two gouges I mentioned earlier, and a three quarter inch. The thing is, the largest of the set mostly collects dust, while I often find myself wishing I had something smaller than the smallest of the set. So a quarter inch model was the obvious next step.
Since the quarter inch gouge at Penn State has been out of stock for some time, I decided to look elsewhere to find one. I ordered the Hurricane here from Amazon.
.
The fourth tool is a quarter inch bowl gouge. I have had the same issue discussed earlier with bowls, I wanted a smaller gouge. So I figured that, while I was ordering tools, I may as well let it get out of hand and go for the bowl gouge as well.
Again, the quarter inch bowl gouge at Penn State was out of stock, so I ordered the this Crown brand from Amazon.
The next three tools are Versa-Chisels, which I will discuss after the next photo.
Wood Tool Office supplies Paint brush Kitchen utensil

This is the three piece set of Versa-Chisels. They can be found here.
I hate to describe it as "many", but I have lost track of the times I have been asked about these, the Sorby Spindlemaster, or other similar tools. So I started doing some reading up on them. From what I read, I realized that the best opinions of these types tools were related to the Sorby brand.
I do not wish to talk bad about Sorby tools, because I have never as much as touched one of their tools. The simple fact of the matter is that I am on a tight budget and simply cannot afford their fine tools.
So I read a little deeper, trying top find out if there really was a difference between Sorby's brand and others like it. The big difference I read about was the out of the box condition of them. The Sorby brand, from what I read, comes from the box ready to be put to wood. It is sharpened and polished. To sharpen it, you only hit the top, flat edge on a diamond stone to represent a fresh cutting edge. As a matter of fact, it is suggested that you never touch the bevel on a Sorby Spindlemaster. If the bevel needs sharpened, such as if it was dropped, you are supposed to send it back to Sorby to be repaired. Other tools though, not so much.
Anyway, I went with the Penn State version called the Versa-Chisel. I bought the three piece set so I could get a good idea of the overall usefulness of the tool style.
Wood Tool Bicycle part Wood stain Hardwood

Out of the box, with the reading and understanding of this tool that I have done, it was my opinion that the finish on the Versa-Chisel is indeed unusable. To test this theory, I tried it right out of the box. It was a scraper. That is the best way I know to describe it. I just simply could not get it to perform the way I believed this tool was supposed to.
Next, and this explains the use of my sharpening stones I showed earlier, I decided I was going to need a similar angle (thirty degrees) and polishing, like the Spindlemaster.
In the above photo, the left Versa-Chisel is how it looks out of the box. The right one is one after I spent about an hour sharpening and polishing it.
Now I must stop here and tell you, I was told that it was impossible to polish these up to a usable state. So everything I say from this point forward may be completely wrong. If you believe that to be the case, please recognize this as my own opinion and stop reading now. While I am not saying my now doctored tools is as good or even comparable to the more expensive Sorby brand tool, I am saying that I believe some time working the edge has brought it to a point that I can honestly give my opinion of the usefulness of this style tool, and that is all I am really trying to do here.
Light Blue Wood Gas Spinning

So after spending several hours working the edge of the three Versa-Chisels, I put a piece of scrap wood between centers and went for a new test drive.
Here is where my opinion of this style tool gets kind of shady. Please let me explain.
This tool has been explained to me many times as a tool that magically gives some people the power to no longer have the need to learn to use an actual skew chisel. So let me start there and give you my opinion of a skew chisel.
The skew chisel, in my opinion and the opinion of just about every piece of literature I've ever read on the subject, is the hardest of the lathe tools to learn. The one and only trick to it is practice, practice, practice, and then when you think you have, practice some more. It is an essential tool at my lathe, but one that will only you will only learn the usefulness of when you learn to use it properly. Until you learn to use it properly, it will aggravate you. I like a challenge though. I went through a phase where I decided I did not need a skew. Then one day I made up my mind that a tool was not going to beat me, and set my mind to learning it. I suggest anyone who wants to turn much to do the same.
Now, back to the tool review.
The Versa-Chisel is advertised to perform as a chisel, a gouge, and a scraper, all in one tool. While it does do all of that, it does none of them (again, in my opinion) as well as an actual chisel, gouge or scraper. Yes, it is a good tool to have in your arsenal of options to do projects with. I do not ever though see it replacing my favorite gouge, scraper, or especially, my skew chisel.
If you are interested in this type tool, I absolutely think they are worth buying. It is an interesting concept. You could, if you wish, grab one tool and make whatever spindle turning you wish with that one tool. That is where it gets grey for me. While I think it is a great tool, I do not think it is as great or magical as I have been told. I still do not see myself ever doing anything with just this one tool. If I want rough and quick rounding, I'll get my gouge. If I want to gently scrap off a tiny amount of a surface, I'll grab my scraper. If I want a fine cut, I'll grab my freshly sharpened skew.
Now, about that idea of this replacing the skew for people who have trouble with the skew. I can see where that idea comes from. It does not seem to grab quite as badly or as quickly as a skew would if you roll it too much one way or the other. However, to get a good clean cut, I needed to execute my technique just as I would a skew. If anyone can get a clean cut with a Versa-Chisel, then I believe they are well on their way to knowing how to use a skew.
.
So, in reviewing my long winded rambling way of telling things, my review of the Versa-Chisels are mixed. It is a good tool to have. I would absolutely recommend it to some people, especially beginners who don't have a wide variety of tools or experience with those tools. Would I say it is a replacement for other tools and proper techniques? I don't think there is a such thing as replacement for proper tools and techniques.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning!!!
 

Attachments

#1,261 ·
Tool Addiction

This post is supposed to be about lathe tools. I will start off a tiny bit sidetracked though, if for no other reason but to get the admission of my addiction out in the open beforehand.
Wood Gas Machine Metal Automotive design

I don't use them as much as I'd like to, but I do have a thing for hand planes. This is funny, since I used to poke fun at a few of my friends about their own hand plane addiction tendencies. These days, I cannot force myself to pass up a flea market booth or yard sale if my eyes a glimpse of rusty gold. I have a few, and am always looking for good deals, or simply one I don't already have. I do wish to point out though, I do not buy wall hangers. If I see a plane that is so far gone that it cannot be brought back to working order, or I can't get it cheap enough to make it valuable in parts, then I leave it where it lies.
I am a man who once said he hated hand planes. Now, although I mostly work on the lathe these days, some of you may remember from some time back that I do work on things not related to turning. All that being said, although I don't claim to be a strictly hand tool kind of guy, I do find a certain relaxation, an almost zen like appeal, to turning off the electron killers from time to time and simply listening to the whisping noise that a well tuned plane makes as it does its work on a piece of wood.
Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Block plane

Here is my latest acquisition. My son brought it too me this past Saturday. It is an old number eight, or so I am told. I have not had time yet to break it down to do any research on it or sharpen it. Just the way I received it though, it created a six foot long paper thin ribbon as wide as the blade on a scrap piece of cottonwood. I look forward to seeing what it can do once I get time to give it a little tender loving care.
Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Wood stain

Speaking of sharpening, I gave up on the stone racks I made to clamp in vices and finally just screwed them to the edge of one of my benches. This will eliminate the time it usually takes me to set everything up just so I can begin sharpening tools. I came to this decision one day while I thought about the time it was going to take me to set them up for sharpening my skew chisel for my lathe. Most lathe tools are sharpened on a grinder. There are a few though, like the skew, that I like to put a fine polished edge on.
The need for these will also be explained a little later in a tool review.
Wood Kitchen utensil Tool Hand tool Antique tool

Now back to the lathe.
Did I say I had a tool addiction? Nah! I did actually need some new tools for the lathe.
I consider myself still a beginner at the lathe, but I am always learning more. In that learning process, I have worn away quite a bit of material from my gouges while learning to properly sharpen them, and while finding that perfect bevel angle for my liking. It was getting to a point that I was choking the jig up mighty close to the handle while sharpening, so it was time for some replacements of my most used spindle gouges.
The first two tools to the left are replacements for my old Craftsman half inch and three eighths spindle gouges. I bought the Benjamin's Best gouges from Penn State. I sharpened them up and took them for a test drive. I am quite happy that they will perform fine for me. Time will tell, but I may even venture to say that they are better than my old Craftsmans.
If you need links, here is the half inch, and here is the three eighths.
.
The third tool is a quarter inch gouge from Hurricane tools. I have been thinking of getting a quarter inch gouge for some time My old Craftsman set came with the two gouges I mentioned earlier, and a three quarter inch. The thing is, the largest of the set mostly collects dust, while I often find myself wishing I had something smaller than the smallest of the set. So a quarter inch model was the obvious next step.
Since the quarter inch gouge at Penn State has been out of stock for some time, I decided to look elsewhere to find one. I ordered the Hurricane here from Amazon.
.
The fourth tool is a quarter inch bowl gouge. I have had the same issue discussed earlier with bowls, I wanted a smaller gouge. So I figured that, while I was ordering tools, I may as well let it get out of hand and go for the bowl gouge as well.
Again, the quarter inch bowl gouge at Penn State was out of stock, so I ordered the this Crown brand from Amazon.
The next three tools are Versa-Chisels, which I will discuss after the next photo.
Wood Tool Office supplies Paint brush Kitchen utensil

This is the three piece set of Versa-Chisels. They can be found here.
I hate to describe it as "many", but I have lost track of the times I have been asked about these, the Sorby Spindlemaster, or other similar tools. So I started doing some reading up on them. From what I read, I realized that the best opinions of these types tools were related to the Sorby brand.
I do not wish to talk bad about Sorby tools, because I have never as much as touched one of their tools. The simple fact of the matter is that I am on a tight budget and simply cannot afford their fine tools.
So I read a little deeper, trying top find out if there really was a difference between Sorby's brand and others like it. The big difference I read about was the out of the box condition of them. The Sorby brand, from what I read, comes from the box ready to be put to wood. It is sharpened and polished. To sharpen it, you only hit the top, flat edge on a diamond stone to represent a fresh cutting edge. As a matter of fact, it is suggested that you never touch the bevel on a Sorby Spindlemaster. If the bevel needs sharpened, such as if it was dropped, you are supposed to send it back to Sorby to be repaired. Other tools though, not so much.
Anyway, I went with the Penn State version called the Versa-Chisel. I bought the three piece set so I could get a good idea of the overall usefulness of the tool style.
Wood Tool Bicycle part Wood stain Hardwood

Out of the box, with the reading and understanding of this tool that I have done, it was my opinion that the finish on the Versa-Chisel is indeed unusable. To test this theory, I tried it right out of the box. It was a scraper. That is the best way I know to describe it. I just simply could not get it to perform the way I believed this tool was supposed to.
Next, and this explains the use of my sharpening stones I showed earlier, I decided I was going to need a similar angle (thirty degrees) and polishing, like the Spindlemaster.
In the above photo, the left Versa-Chisel is how it looks out of the box. The right one is one after I spent about an hour sharpening and polishing it.
Now I must stop here and tell you, I was told that it was impossible to polish these up to a usable state. So everything I say from this point forward may be completely wrong. If you believe that to be the case, please recognize this as my own opinion and stop reading now. While I am not saying my now doctored tools is as good or even comparable to the more expensive Sorby brand tool, I am saying that I believe some time working the edge has brought it to a point that I can honestly give my opinion of the usefulness of this style tool, and that is all I am really trying to do here.
Light Blue Wood Gas Spinning

So after spending several hours working the edge of the three Versa-Chisels, I put a piece of scrap wood between centers and went for a new test drive.
Here is where my opinion of this style tool gets kind of shady. Please let me explain.
This tool has been explained to me many times as a tool that magically gives some people the power to no longer have the need to learn to use an actual skew chisel. So let me start there and give you my opinion of a skew chisel.
The skew chisel, in my opinion and the opinion of just about every piece of literature I've ever read on the subject, is the hardest of the lathe tools to learn. The one and only trick to it is practice, practice, practice, and then when you think you have, practice some more. It is an essential tool at my lathe, but one that will only you will only learn the usefulness of when you learn to use it properly. Until you learn to use it properly, it will aggravate you. I like a challenge though. I went through a phase where I decided I did not need a skew. Then one day I made up my mind that a tool was not going to beat me, and set my mind to learning it. I suggest anyone who wants to turn much to do the same.
Now, back to the tool review.
The Versa-Chisel is advertised to perform as a chisel, a gouge, and a scraper, all in one tool. While it does do all of that, it does none of them (again, in my opinion) as well as an actual chisel, gouge or scraper. Yes, it is a good tool to have in your arsenal of options to do projects with. I do not ever though see it replacing my favorite gouge, scraper, or especially, my skew chisel.
If you are interested in this type tool, I absolutely think they are worth buying. It is an interesting concept. You could, if you wish, grab one tool and make whatever spindle turning you wish with that one tool. That is where it gets grey for me. While I think it is a great tool, I do not think it is as great or magical as I have been told. I still do not see myself ever doing anything with just this one tool. If I want rough and quick rounding, I'll get my gouge. If I want to gently scrap off a tiny amount of a surface, I'll grab my scraper. If I want a fine cut, I'll grab my freshly sharpened skew.
Now, about that idea of this replacing the skew for people who have trouble with the skew. I can see where that idea comes from. It does not seem to grab quite as badly or as quickly as a skew would if you roll it too much one way or the other. However, to get a good clean cut, I needed to execute my technique just as I would a skew. If anyone can get a clean cut with a Versa-Chisel, then I believe they are well on their way to knowing how to use a skew.
.
So, in reviewing my long winded rambling way of telling things, my review of the Versa-Chisels are mixed. It is a good tool to have. I would absolutely recommend it to some people, especially beginners who don't have a wide variety of tools or experience with those tools. Would I say it is a replacement for other tools and proper techniques? I don't think there is a such thing as replacement for proper tools and techniques.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning!!!
That was a very interesting read.

I've been reading up on all things "turning", lathe tools, techniques and such.
This is in an attempt to edumacate myself, prior to actually firing up the lathe, let alone put tool to wood.
What I have found is that "personal preference" is a constant theme. Thanks for supplying your "personal opinion" regarding your "personal preferences". I do value your opinion, as you "tell it like it is"!!!

Your "ramblings" are always insightful! Please continue….
 

Attachments

#1,276 ·
Making Tools - Part 1

This post is about making tools. It will be several parts to it. With cold fronts moving through the area, I simply am not able to get out to the shop to do as much as I'd like.
Wood Hardwood Plastic Metal Wood stain

First, this is what I've been using to insert tubes into pens that I make. It is the nozzle that comes with certain tubes, such as automotive silicone. It has worked well, but I've been wanting something better. Mostly, I just wanted something with a handle to make it easier to hold.
I seen this tool in the Penn State catalogue. If you read my blog regularly though, you know I hate buying a tool, no matter what the cost, if I can make it myself.
Wood Metal Office supplies Household hardware Composite material

So I chucked a piece of half inch steel rod in my chuck on the lathe. Some time with a file, and I had a tool that seems to work well on all the tubes I had available on hand to check it on.
Then I used a piece of cocobola I had to make a nice handle for it.
Wood Tool Metal Composite material Nickel

Some of you may remember the Oland style tools I made a while back. Well, I have gotten a few questions in my email from time to time about them. There are several articles online that I've been directing people to. Well I was recently contacted by a far away friend who wants some of these tools but does not have a fully equipped shop in order to make them. This helps me out because I can help a friend and, since I did not take photos while making my set, can take lots of photos to be able to show people how I made mine.
So if you're interested in making some of these, follow along in the next few installments while I make a set for my friend.
Motor vehicle Hood Automotive tire Wood Bumper

First thing is to cut some steel rod to length. The length is a matter of preference. There are a couple of factors to consider. Take your favorite tool. Measure the length of the over all tool. Then measure the shaft length that sticks out of that tool. Now, through trial and error, or simply an educated guess, figure out how far into a handle you can drill a hole the proper size for your shafts. Add the shaft length to that depth, and you have your overall shaft length.
I'll need three shafts. My set is a four piece set. I have an idea though to turn the two forty five degree tools into one single tool. I will get to that in a later installment. If it works, great. If not, I'll have to cut the end off and make another one. For now though, I just need three shafts.
The shafts I cut are fourteen inches long. I may have to shorten these a bit later for my handle to make them so I know my friend will be happy. For now though, I'd rather have them long than short. I can remove some length later, but I won't be able to add any.
Let me stop right there and say this. Every step you see me do with making these tools are only the way that I do it. There are endless ways you could do the exact things I am going to do and still get the job done.
To cut the shafts to length, I simply clamp a five eighths thick cold rolled steel rod into a vise. Then I used a hacksaw and tape measure and went at it.
Wood Automotive exterior Wood stain Gas Bumper

I'm starting with the ninety degree tool, because it is easiest to drill the hole. It simple goes through the side.
The first thing I have to do is make a jig to hold the rod. It is simply a block of wood cut on the table saw to allow the rod to lie in. They make drill press vices that would make this jig unnecessary. My drill press vise stays set up to drill pen blanks though. It is quicker to me just to cut a temporary jig.
Liquid Bottle Fluid Drink Gas

The next thing I'll need is oil. Anytime you cut metal with a drill bit, you need oil. You can drill it without oil, but you'll burn up your bit quickly.
They actually make special cutting oils for drilling. I've used other oils though through the years. Anything that keeps the bit lubricated and cooled will work. My preference is Marvel Mystery Oil. Why? Because I've used it a lot in the past and it works.
I have an old small bottle that had 3-In-One oil in it that I keep refilling with the Marvel Oil.
Wood Floor Flooring Bumper Gas

The next thing I use is a center punch. I suggest always making a divit with a center punch when drilling through anything that is not flat, such as this rod. If you don't, there is a good chance your bit will "walk" when you start drilling. This can cause your bit to break.
When drilling, keep your hole filled with oil. Just back your bit out often and put a few drops down the hole. Drill slowly. Using this method, I usually wind up somehow breaking my smaller bits, like this quarter inch I'm using here, before I dull a bit.
Wood Natural material Insect Arthropod Membrane-winged insect

Easy does it and you get a quarter inch hole.
There's still more to do to this, and all the shafts I'll be drilling today. I'm just trying to get my quarter inch holes done today though. The more will come later. So I'll clean the oil off of it and set this shaft aside for now.
Wood Gas Bumper Auto part Machine

Next up is the forty five degree tool.
This one is a little harder to drill. It is harder simply because the hole is drill at forty five degrees. The bit will have a tendency to skate down the shaft before cutting. It has to go further through the metal to make the hole all the way through. Then it has to come through the other side. This sometimes causes issues as the bit is free on one side of the cutting area while still grabbing on the other side of it.
All these issues can be overcome though.
The first thing I do is clamp the shaft in the vise. I use an angle grinder to flatten a small area at a forty five degree angle. It doesn't have to be a lot of material removed, only enough to give the bit enough flat surface to start on so it doesn't skate down the shaft. Once it starts, the hole itself will keep it going the direction it needs to go.
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Automotive design

Then I have to get creative at the drill press in order to drill it.
Again, you can use a drill press vise for this operation if you have one. I just added forty five degree blocks under the temporary jig I made before. Then I use a C-clamp to hold the shaft to the jig so it doesn't try to slide downward as I'm drilling.
Wood Tool Bumper Gas Engineering


Always expect the unexpected.
Remember what I said earlier about the bit grabbing on one side and not the other as it exits the forty five degree hole? Well sometimes it may grab enough to snap the bit right off like this one did.
So I had to make a hardware store run for a new bit before continuing. I picked up three bits though. I keep extra bits around for common sizes such as this quarter inch. The one I snapped off just happened to be the last one I had on hand at the time.
.
Next up is the straight bit tool. I have been thinking about this one for several days now. The one I have is from another source. I did not make it. So I had to figure out a way to drill it. My drill press would drill it. I really did not wish though to remove my cabinet that is attached to my table that holds bits and such. It would simply be too much of a pain.
So I called a local machine shop. I figured it may just be easier for me to carry it somewhere and get them to drill a simple hole for me.
So I called them, explained what I wanted, and asked for a ball park figure on what it would cost me.
.
Forty to sixty dollars.
What!? To drill a one inch deep hole in a shaft?
Yes sir. We have to crank up a highly specialized machine to perform that operation.
Specialized machine? It's a hole.
Yes sir. It's a hole in the end of a shaft though. The only way we have to do that is a horizontal boring machine.
Ok. Well thank you anyway, but I can't afford that.
.
So I hung up the phone a little frustrated. What in the world is a horizontal boring machine? And what is so specialized about it that it costs that much to drill a hole?
So I went online to find out what this highly specialized machine called a horizontal boring machine was. Guess what I found?
It looked like a fancy metal lathe.
Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Gas Engineering

I don't have a horizontal boring machine, or even a not so fancy metal lathe. I do have a lathe though. I also have a drill chuck insert for my tail stock. Then I have a chuck to hold the shaft at the headstock end. I figured I could make a go of this.
The problem I ran into was that a five eighths rod will not go all the way through my headstock spindle. So I had to just chuck it into the chuck, leaving a lot overhanging the bed. This left so much unsupported weight out there that it was just too much wobble to be drilled successfully.
Wheel Motor vehicle Automotive tire Radial arm saw Wood

So do you remember the steady rests I made a while back?
What to do with too much unsupported shaft? Set the steady rest close to the chuck end. Then slide it outwards and support the rod.
Now we are cooking with grease.
Hand tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Automotive tire Tool

Everything was going nicely. About halfway through the one inch deep hole though, I started noticing a lot of smoke from my bit every time I'd retract it to clear the shavings. So I decided it was time to take a coffee break and allow my bit to cool completely before continuing.
Wood Gas Cylinder Metal Gun accessory

All went well from there and I got the hole bored, and without a horizontal boring machine.
.
I hope to run to town in the morning to pick up the set screws I forgot to get today. Then I will drill and tap holes for those.
So if you're interested, stay tuned. I will continue posting the progress as I get it done. This, I hope, will answer any questions anyone has. At the very least it will give me somewhere to direct people people when they do have questions.
 

Attachments

#1,277 ·
Making Tools - Part 1

This post is about making tools. It will be several parts to it. With cold fronts moving through the area, I simply am not able to get out to the shop to do as much as I'd like.
Wood Hardwood Plastic Metal Wood stain

First, this is what I've been using to insert tubes into pens that I make. It is the nozzle that comes with certain tubes, such as automotive silicone. It has worked well, but I've been wanting something better. Mostly, I just wanted something with a handle to make it easier to hold.
I seen this tool in the Penn State catalogue. If you read my blog regularly though, you know I hate buying a tool, no matter what the cost, if I can make it myself.
Wood Metal Office supplies Household hardware Composite material

So I chucked a piece of half inch steel rod in my chuck on the lathe. Some time with a file, and I had a tool that seems to work well on all the tubes I had available on hand to check it on.
Then I used a piece of cocobola I had to make a nice handle for it.
Wood Tool Metal Composite material Nickel

Some of you may remember the Oland style tools I made a while back. Well, I have gotten a few questions in my email from time to time about them. There are several articles online that I've been directing people to. Well I was recently contacted by a far away friend who wants some of these tools but does not have a fully equipped shop in order to make them. This helps me out because I can help a friend and, since I did not take photos while making my set, can take lots of photos to be able to show people how I made mine.
So if you're interested in making some of these, follow along in the next few installments while I make a set for my friend.
Motor vehicle Hood Automotive tire Wood Bumper

First thing is to cut some steel rod to length. The length is a matter of preference. There are a couple of factors to consider. Take your favorite tool. Measure the length of the over all tool. Then measure the shaft length that sticks out of that tool. Now, through trial and error, or simply an educated guess, figure out how far into a handle you can drill a hole the proper size for your shafts. Add the shaft length to that depth, and you have your overall shaft length.
I'll need three shafts. My set is a four piece set. I have an idea though to turn the two forty five degree tools into one single tool. I will get to that in a later installment. If it works, great. If not, I'll have to cut the end off and make another one. For now though, I just need three shafts.
The shafts I cut are fourteen inches long. I may have to shorten these a bit later for my handle to make them so I know my friend will be happy. For now though, I'd rather have them long than short. I can remove some length later, but I won't be able to add any.
Let me stop right there and say this. Every step you see me do with making these tools are only the way that I do it. There are endless ways you could do the exact things I am going to do and still get the job done.
To cut the shafts to length, I simply clamp a five eighths thick cold rolled steel rod into a vise. Then I used a hacksaw and tape measure and went at it.
Wood Automotive exterior Wood stain Gas Bumper

I'm starting with the ninety degree tool, because it is easiest to drill the hole. It simple goes through the side.
The first thing I have to do is make a jig to hold the rod. It is simply a block of wood cut on the table saw to allow the rod to lie in. They make drill press vices that would make this jig unnecessary. My drill press vise stays set up to drill pen blanks though. It is quicker to me just to cut a temporary jig.
Liquid Bottle Fluid Drink Gas

The next thing I'll need is oil. Anytime you cut metal with a drill bit, you need oil. You can drill it without oil, but you'll burn up your bit quickly.
They actually make special cutting oils for drilling. I've used other oils though through the years. Anything that keeps the bit lubricated and cooled will work. My preference is Marvel Mystery Oil. Why? Because I've used it a lot in the past and it works.
I have an old small bottle that had 3-In-One oil in it that I keep refilling with the Marvel Oil.
Wood Floor Flooring Bumper Gas

The next thing I use is a center punch. I suggest always making a divit with a center punch when drilling through anything that is not flat, such as this rod. If you don't, there is a good chance your bit will "walk" when you start drilling. This can cause your bit to break.
When drilling, keep your hole filled with oil. Just back your bit out often and put a few drops down the hole. Drill slowly. Using this method, I usually wind up somehow breaking my smaller bits, like this quarter inch I'm using here, before I dull a bit.
Wood Natural material Insect Arthropod Membrane-winged insect

Easy does it and you get a quarter inch hole.
There's still more to do to this, and all the shafts I'll be drilling today. I'm just trying to get my quarter inch holes done today though. The more will come later. So I'll clean the oil off of it and set this shaft aside for now.
Wood Gas Bumper Auto part Machine

Next up is the forty five degree tool.
This one is a little harder to drill. It is harder simply because the hole is drill at forty five degrees. The bit will have a tendency to skate down the shaft before cutting. It has to go further through the metal to make the hole all the way through. Then it has to come through the other side. This sometimes causes issues as the bit is free on one side of the cutting area while still grabbing on the other side of it.
All these issues can be overcome though.
The first thing I do is clamp the shaft in the vise. I use an angle grinder to flatten a small area at a forty five degree angle. It doesn't have to be a lot of material removed, only enough to give the bit enough flat surface to start on so it doesn't skate down the shaft. Once it starts, the hole itself will keep it going the direction it needs to go.
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Automotive design

Then I have to get creative at the drill press in order to drill it.
Again, you can use a drill press vise for this operation if you have one. I just added forty five degree blocks under the temporary jig I made before. Then I use a C-clamp to hold the shaft to the jig so it doesn't try to slide downward as I'm drilling.
Wood Tool Bumper Gas Engineering


Always expect the unexpected.
Remember what I said earlier about the bit grabbing on one side and not the other as it exits the forty five degree hole? Well sometimes it may grab enough to snap the bit right off like this one did.
So I had to make a hardware store run for a new bit before continuing. I picked up three bits though. I keep extra bits around for common sizes such as this quarter inch. The one I snapped off just happened to be the last one I had on hand at the time.
.
Next up is the straight bit tool. I have been thinking about this one for several days now. The one I have is from another source. I did not make it. So I had to figure out a way to drill it. My drill press would drill it. I really did not wish though to remove my cabinet that is attached to my table that holds bits and such. It would simply be too much of a pain.
So I called a local machine shop. I figured it may just be easier for me to carry it somewhere and get them to drill a simple hole for me.
So I called them, explained what I wanted, and asked for a ball park figure on what it would cost me.
.
Forty to sixty dollars.
What!? To drill a one inch deep hole in a shaft?
Yes sir. We have to crank up a highly specialized machine to perform that operation.
Specialized machine? It's a hole.
Yes sir. It's a hole in the end of a shaft though. The only way we have to do that is a horizontal boring machine.
Ok. Well thank you anyway, but I can't afford that.
.
So I hung up the phone a little frustrated. What in the world is a horizontal boring machine? And what is so specialized about it that it costs that much to drill a hole?
So I went online to find out what this highly specialized machine called a horizontal boring machine was. Guess what I found?
It looked like a fancy metal lathe.
Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Gas Engineering

I don't have a horizontal boring machine, or even a not so fancy metal lathe. I do have a lathe though. I also have a drill chuck insert for my tail stock. Then I have a chuck to hold the shaft at the headstock end. I figured I could make a go of this.
The problem I ran into was that a five eighths rod will not go all the way through my headstock spindle. So I had to just chuck it into the chuck, leaving a lot overhanging the bed. This left so much unsupported weight out there that it was just too much wobble to be drilled successfully.
Wheel Motor vehicle Automotive tire Radial arm saw Wood

So do you remember the steady rests I made a while back?
What to do with too much unsupported shaft? Set the steady rest close to the chuck end. Then slide it outwards and support the rod.
Now we are cooking with grease.
Hand tool Wood Metalworking hand tool Automotive tire Tool

Everything was going nicely. About halfway through the one inch deep hole though, I started noticing a lot of smoke from my bit every time I'd retract it to clear the shavings. So I decided it was time to take a coffee break and allow my bit to cool completely before continuing.
Wood Gas Cylinder Metal Gun accessory

All went well from there and I got the hole bored, and without a horizontal boring machine.
.
I hope to run to town in the morning to pick up the set screws I forgot to get today. Then I will drill and tap holes for those.
So if you're interested, stay tuned. I will continue posting the progress as I get it done. This, I hope, will answer any questions anyone has. At the very least it will give me somewhere to direct people people when they do have questions.
William the toolmaker. That looks great…
 

Attachments

#1,295 ·
Making Tools - Part 2

Today is a continuation of making the Oland tools. If you read yesterday's blog, I was ready to drill and tap holes for set screws today.
My first order of business though was going to be to run to town to pick up some set screws. I usually keep quarter inch set screws in the shop. It is an often used size and you never know when you'll need a spare. They strip out. They fall out and get lost. I find myself needing them often. I had somehow though allowed myself to get down to one, and I need three for this project.
Sky Property Building Vehicle Window

The thing is, I try not to drive in snow unless it's an emergency. I just didn't feel that set screws was enough of an emergency to require me to get out on the roads today. I could do everything else and pick up the set screws when the weather is better.
Wood Rectangle Gas Composite material Concrete

So, to the drill press. The size drill bit and tap will depend on the size set screw you plan to use. If in doubt, talk to someone at a good hardware store if you have one in town and they can usually set you up with a hand full of set screws, a drill bit, and a tap, for less than ten bucks.
Before drilling your hole, take the time to make absolutely sure that you put a center punch dimple exactly center of your hole that the bit will go into. Try to get it centered between where the hole exits both sides of the shaft as well. If you're a tad off on that though, it will still pinch the bit in the hole and hold it fast. Centering it over the hole though is important so the tap will go through without binding against one side of the hole or the other.
Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Gas

Here is my only set screw, until I can get to town, the tap to make the threads for the set screw, and an adjustable wrench to turn the tap with.
The reason I show this photo is to tell you that there is a tool made specifically for holding and turning taps. I had that tool once upon a time. It is somehow lost in my shop though like so many other things. If you are careful though, you can do the same job with an adjustable wrench.
Wood Tool Bottle Gas Font

I find the most important things about tapping threads in a hole are to make sure the tap goes in straight, keep the threads of the tap lubricated, and be sure to back out often to clean the metal off the threads.
Wood Nickel Metal Titanium Auto part

The straight tool is good for general hollowing of bowls and other vessels. I have also used it a few times, just to see how well it worked for it, on spindle turnings.
Wood Gas Tin Cylinder Nickel

The ninety degree tool is good at getting at the sidewalls of bowls and hollow vessels.
Wood Office supplies Gas Hardwood Tool

Now here I need to talk about the forty five degree tool. I made a change on this set of tools from the set that I have. I have two forty five degree tools. I have one like the one you see above, and one like you'll see in the next photo. I had an idea though.
I drilled and tapped the hole for the set screw all the way through on both sides of the bit hole. This allows you to use the tools as you see it above, with the bit at a forward forty five degree angle. This works great at sidewalls of bowls that are too small to use the ninety degree tool in without hitting the rim of the bowl or vessel. Also, it is ideal to cut into a sharp corner in bowls or turned boxes.
Wood Gas Cylinder Office supplies Metal

Or you can flip the tool over, put the bit in the other way and put the set screw in this side to give you a raked back forty five degree tool.
This tool is ideal for cutting upwards in a bowl or hollow vessel, especially if you're trying to put a lip on it with an undercut.
Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Household hardware

Next thing to do was to soften edges. If you notice in the photos before this one, there are sharp corners on the ends of the shafts. You can use a file, grinder, or many other options, but the edges around the business end of the tool need to be rounded off to a softer profile. If you leave the edges sharp, there is a chance of it touching wood while turning and creating a cutting action of it's own. With the softer edges, it will only rub the wood if it contacts it. It may create a burnishing effect, but that can be easily sanded out.
Bumper Bicycle part Rim Automotive exterior Wood

The next thing to do is to make bits. You can use any variety of materials to make bits. I've seen bits made from old cheap steel drill bits, nails, old files, bought cobalt and carbide shafts, and many other things. My bits of choice are made from high speed steel drill bits.
I like these Mibro brand aircraft quality drill bits. They are good steel that holds an edge a long time, and I can buy them locally for a reasonable price.
Wood Bicycle part Bicycle tire Bicycle fork Hardwood

You can make bits longer or shorter. Myself, there is eight inches of round shank on these long drill bits I mentioned before. So for around six bucks I get four two inch long bits.
I just clamp the drill bit in a vise, measure, and use a hack saw to cut off the bits.
Automotive tire Gas Auto part Machine Automotive wheel system

A grinder is the tool of choice to shape and sharpen these bits. Just like any high speed steel, the trick is to not let the bits get too hot to ruin the temper. The thing is, when shaping these small bits, they get hot fast. I hold them with a pair of locking pliers and keep a can of water right there. Touch the stone, dip, touch the stone, dip. Dip often and keep the bit cool.
You can follow other people's styles and see if you like them, or get some cheap bits and play around with different profiles to see what works for you. I grind all my bits on a forty five degree angle in different profiles.
Wood Font Wall Gas Tints and shades

This is what I'll be shipping with the tools to my friend.
I took the privilege of grinding the four bits from the drill bit to some of my favorite profiles. If my friend doesn't like these, or has other ideas, he can easily change them. With two inch long bits, there is plenty of usable steel to regrind on. When that is used up, just buy and cut up some more drill bits, or as I was talking about earlier, use your imagination.
From left to right is:
1. Simple forty five degree grind. You do nothing but just stick the round bit to the stone and go at it till you take away enough material for an edge. This one I find good for hollowing.
2. Flat straight bit. This one is sharpened similar to the first one, except you flatten the top first. This one is good at hollowing as well, but really shines at flattening the bottom of a bowl or vessel.
3. Similar to the second one, except it has a grind at an attack angle from both sides close to forty five degrees. This one is more of a general purpose bit, but I find it works great in that transition area between the bottom and the side wall of bowls or vessels.
4. This one is a swept back forty five. When placed in the ninety or the forty five tool, it easily brings a flat edge that can comfortable be drawn straight up the side of a bowl or vessel. With practice, you can use this tool to gently trim a bowl side until it is thinner than I'm comfortable doing with a regular bowl gouge.
5. This is the allen head wrench that fits the set screws that will be in the tools.
Table Wood Workbench Engineering Tool

All that's left is handles. After doing some measuring, I decided on sizes I thought my friend would find acceptable. I'm making handles eleven inches long. I need the hole for the shafts to be at or close to seven inches deep. Since the only five eighths bit I have in the whole shop that will get anywhere near that is a spade bit, that is what I'm using.
I like to clamp the bottom of the handle stock in a wooden vise to drill. This gives me something to hold to should the bit catch inside of the deep hole.
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Tool

Several problems present themselves drilling this deep of a hole.
My spade bit is only five inches long. With some of that length inside the chuck, this only allows about four inches of usable length. So I have to use an extension after I go as deep as the spade bit allows.
The next problem is the three and a half to four inch of quill travel on my drill press.
Wood Electrical wiring Engineering Gas Machine

To solve the quill travel problem, I have to get creative. I drill as deep as the quill allows. Then I back the bit out, raised the table until the bit is inside the hole a certain depth, then turn the motor on and go at it some more.
You can see in this photo that, by the time I get to my last pass with the drill press, the spade bit is already almost completely inside the hole before I even turn the drill press on.
The trick here is to take it slow. Also, lower the table, remove the handle blank, and dump the shavings out often. This helps prevent them from staying in the blind hole and causing the bit to eventually bind. That could cause a dangerous situation.
I know someone may already be looking at this and thinking there has to be a safer way. There probably is. I am working with what I have available though.
Wood Automotive tire Gas Electrical tape Adhesive tape

After the hole is drilled, all you do is put it on the lathe and turn your handle of choice.
I decided to not take a huge about of time on handles. This decision is mainly because I don't know if my friend is even going to like these handles enough to keep them. I know that I commonly put new handles on tools when I get them to make them more to my liking.
So for the handles, I done them quickly. I just turned them, made a few burn lines (something I do on all handles I turn) and put a coat of Johnson's Paste Wax on them.
The handle you see is a handle style I like. I do not use ferrules. I know that some say they are necessary, and there must be a reason for them, since most manufactured tools have them. However, I've never had a problem yet with my handles with no ferrules.
Wood Tool Hand tool Hardwood Screwdriver

After making the handle, the shaft has to be inserted into it.
This is the way I attach the handle. The shaft has to be driven in with a rubber mallet. I purposely make the holes a tight fit. Most of the tools I have myself don't even have glue or epoxy in them. Either way, the shaft has to be driven in. Keep this in mind if you do it like this and use a fast setting glue.
To drive the shaft in, I put the butt of the handle on the floor, stand the shaft up in the hole, and drive it with a rubber mallet until I hear that solid lick, telling me that the shaft has bottomed out in the hole.
These handles do not have glue of any kind in them. I wanted to leave them so that if my friend does wish to make his own handles, he can easily use a chisel to break the break the handles off of the shafts and use his own handles.
If he does like them, he is also welcome to keep them on. I've only had one handle without glue ever to come loose. However, if these do come loose at any time in the future, it is easy to put some glue or epoxy in and drive the shafts back in.
Wood Tool Metal Titanium Kitchen utensil

So here are the three Oland tools that I plan on shipping out to my friend early next month.
Brown Wood Natural material Tints and shades Pattern

UH OH!
I noticed as I was moving the tools after the last photo that something was definitely wrong with one of them. The shaft just did not seem to look right. Upon closer inspection, I found this.
Did I turn it too thin? Did I get my hole drilled crooked somehow?
Since the handle was trash anyway, there was only one way to find out.
Hand tool Table Wood Tool Burin

Somehow the hole was not drilled straight. This created a scenario where it became turned too thin on one side of the handle. This in turn made the handle crack when I drove the shaft in.
So, I will have to turn another handle before I can ship them.
.
I won't bore you all with me turning one more handle. I think this two part blog showed the process of making these tools pretty well. I will be happy to answer any other questions anyone may have though.
 

Attachments

#1,296 ·
Making Tools - Part 2

Today is a continuation of making the Oland tools. If you read yesterday's blog, I was ready to drill and tap holes for set screws today.
My first order of business though was going to be to run to town to pick up some set screws. I usually keep quarter inch set screws in the shop. It is an often used size and you never know when you'll need a spare. They strip out. They fall out and get lost. I find myself needing them often. I had somehow though allowed myself to get down to one, and I need three for this project.
Sky Property Building Vehicle Window

The thing is, I try not to drive in snow unless it's an emergency. I just didn't feel that set screws was enough of an emergency to require me to get out on the roads today. I could do everything else and pick up the set screws when the weather is better.
Wood Rectangle Gas Composite material Concrete

So, to the drill press. The size drill bit and tap will depend on the size set screw you plan to use. If in doubt, talk to someone at a good hardware store if you have one in town and they can usually set you up with a hand full of set screws, a drill bit, and a tap, for less than ten bucks.
Before drilling your hole, take the time to make absolutely sure that you put a center punch dimple exactly center of your hole that the bit will go into. Try to get it centered between where the hole exits both sides of the shaft as well. If you're a tad off on that though, it will still pinch the bit in the hole and hold it fast. Centering it over the hole though is important so the tap will go through without binding against one side of the hole or the other.
Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Gas

Here is my only set screw, until I can get to town, the tap to make the threads for the set screw, and an adjustable wrench to turn the tap with.
The reason I show this photo is to tell you that there is a tool made specifically for holding and turning taps. I had that tool once upon a time. It is somehow lost in my shop though like so many other things. If you are careful though, you can do the same job with an adjustable wrench.
Wood Tool Bottle Gas Font

I find the most important things about tapping threads in a hole are to make sure the tap goes in straight, keep the threads of the tap lubricated, and be sure to back out often to clean the metal off the threads.
Wood Nickel Metal Titanium Auto part

The straight tool is good for general hollowing of bowls and other vessels. I have also used it a few times, just to see how well it worked for it, on spindle turnings.
Wood Gas Tin Cylinder Nickel

The ninety degree tool is good at getting at the sidewalls of bowls and hollow vessels.
Wood Office supplies Gas Hardwood Tool

Now here I need to talk about the forty five degree tool. I made a change on this set of tools from the set that I have. I have two forty five degree tools. I have one like the one you see above, and one like you'll see in the next photo. I had an idea though.
I drilled and tapped the hole for the set screw all the way through on both sides of the bit hole. This allows you to use the tools as you see it above, with the bit at a forward forty five degree angle. This works great at sidewalls of bowls that are too small to use the ninety degree tool in without hitting the rim of the bowl or vessel. Also, it is ideal to cut into a sharp corner in bowls or turned boxes.
Wood Gas Cylinder Office supplies Metal

Or you can flip the tool over, put the bit in the other way and put the set screw in this side to give you a raked back forty five degree tool.
This tool is ideal for cutting upwards in a bowl or hollow vessel, especially if you're trying to put a lip on it with an undercut.
Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Household hardware

Next thing to do was to soften edges. If you notice in the photos before this one, there are sharp corners on the ends of the shafts. You can use a file, grinder, or many other options, but the edges around the business end of the tool need to be rounded off to a softer profile. If you leave the edges sharp, there is a chance of it touching wood while turning and creating a cutting action of it's own. With the softer edges, it will only rub the wood if it contacts it. It may create a burnishing effect, but that can be easily sanded out.
Bumper Bicycle part Rim Automotive exterior Wood

The next thing to do is to make bits. You can use any variety of materials to make bits. I've seen bits made from old cheap steel drill bits, nails, old files, bought cobalt and carbide shafts, and many other things. My bits of choice are made from high speed steel drill bits.
I like these Mibro brand aircraft quality drill bits. They are good steel that holds an edge a long time, and I can buy them locally for a reasonable price.
Wood Bicycle part Bicycle tire Bicycle fork Hardwood

You can make bits longer or shorter. Myself, there is eight inches of round shank on these long drill bits I mentioned before. So for around six bucks I get four two inch long bits.
I just clamp the drill bit in a vise, measure, and use a hack saw to cut off the bits.
Automotive tire Gas Auto part Machine Automotive wheel system

A grinder is the tool of choice to shape and sharpen these bits. Just like any high speed steel, the trick is to not let the bits get too hot to ruin the temper. The thing is, when shaping these small bits, they get hot fast. I hold them with a pair of locking pliers and keep a can of water right there. Touch the stone, dip, touch the stone, dip. Dip often and keep the bit cool.
You can follow other people's styles and see if you like them, or get some cheap bits and play around with different profiles to see what works for you. I grind all my bits on a forty five degree angle in different profiles.
Wood Font Wall Gas Tints and shades

This is what I'll be shipping with the tools to my friend.
I took the privilege of grinding the four bits from the drill bit to some of my favorite profiles. If my friend doesn't like these, or has other ideas, he can easily change them. With two inch long bits, there is plenty of usable steel to regrind on. When that is used up, just buy and cut up some more drill bits, or as I was talking about earlier, use your imagination.
From left to right is:
1. Simple forty five degree grind. You do nothing but just stick the round bit to the stone and go at it till you take away enough material for an edge. This one I find good for hollowing.
2. Flat straight bit. This one is sharpened similar to the first one, except you flatten the top first. This one is good at hollowing as well, but really shines at flattening the bottom of a bowl or vessel.
3. Similar to the second one, except it has a grind at an attack angle from both sides close to forty five degrees. This one is more of a general purpose bit, but I find it works great in that transition area between the bottom and the side wall of bowls or vessels.
4. This one is a swept back forty five. When placed in the ninety or the forty five tool, it easily brings a flat edge that can comfortable be drawn straight up the side of a bowl or vessel. With practice, you can use this tool to gently trim a bowl side until it is thinner than I'm comfortable doing with a regular bowl gouge.
5. This is the allen head wrench that fits the set screws that will be in the tools.
Table Wood Workbench Engineering Tool

All that's left is handles. After doing some measuring, I decided on sizes I thought my friend would find acceptable. I'm making handles eleven inches long. I need the hole for the shafts to be at or close to seven inches deep. Since the only five eighths bit I have in the whole shop that will get anywhere near that is a spade bit, that is what I'm using.
I like to clamp the bottom of the handle stock in a wooden vise to drill. This gives me something to hold to should the bit catch inside of the deep hole.
Wood Gas Engineering Machine Tool

Several problems present themselves drilling this deep of a hole.
My spade bit is only five inches long. With some of that length inside the chuck, this only allows about four inches of usable length. So I have to use an extension after I go as deep as the spade bit allows.
The next problem is the three and a half to four inch of quill travel on my drill press.
Wood Electrical wiring Engineering Gas Machine

To solve the quill travel problem, I have to get creative. I drill as deep as the quill allows. Then I back the bit out, raised the table until the bit is inside the hole a certain depth, then turn the motor on and go at it some more.
You can see in this photo that, by the time I get to my last pass with the drill press, the spade bit is already almost completely inside the hole before I even turn the drill press on.
The trick here is to take it slow. Also, lower the table, remove the handle blank, and dump the shavings out often. This helps prevent them from staying in the blind hole and causing the bit to eventually bind. That could cause a dangerous situation.
I know someone may already be looking at this and thinking there has to be a safer way. There probably is. I am working with what I have available though.
Wood Automotive tire Gas Electrical tape Adhesive tape

After the hole is drilled, all you do is put it on the lathe and turn your handle of choice.
I decided to not take a huge about of time on handles. This decision is mainly because I don't know if my friend is even going to like these handles enough to keep them. I know that I commonly put new handles on tools when I get them to make them more to my liking.
So for the handles, I done them quickly. I just turned them, made a few burn lines (something I do on all handles I turn) and put a coat of Johnson's Paste Wax on them.
The handle you see is a handle style I like. I do not use ferrules. I know that some say they are necessary, and there must be a reason for them, since most manufactured tools have them. However, I've never had a problem yet with my handles with no ferrules.
Wood Tool Hand tool Hardwood Screwdriver

After making the handle, the shaft has to be inserted into it.
This is the way I attach the handle. The shaft has to be driven in with a rubber mallet. I purposely make the holes a tight fit. Most of the tools I have myself don't even have glue or epoxy in them. Either way, the shaft has to be driven in. Keep this in mind if you do it like this and use a fast setting glue.
To drive the shaft in, I put the butt of the handle on the floor, stand the shaft up in the hole, and drive it with a rubber mallet until I hear that solid lick, telling me that the shaft has bottomed out in the hole.
These handles do not have glue of any kind in them. I wanted to leave them so that if my friend does wish to make his own handles, he can easily use a chisel to break the break the handles off of the shafts and use his own handles.
If he does like them, he is also welcome to keep them on. I've only had one handle without glue ever to come loose. However, if these do come loose at any time in the future, it is easy to put some glue or epoxy in and drive the shafts back in.
Wood Tool Metal Titanium Kitchen utensil

So here are the three Oland tools that I plan on shipping out to my friend early next month.
Brown Wood Natural material Tints and shades Pattern

UH OH!
I noticed as I was moving the tools after the last photo that something was definitely wrong with one of them. The shaft just did not seem to look right. Upon closer inspection, I found this.
Did I turn it too thin? Did I get my hole drilled crooked somehow?
Since the handle was trash anyway, there was only one way to find out.
Hand tool Table Wood Tool Burin

Somehow the hole was not drilled straight. This created a scenario where it became turned too thin on one side of the handle. This in turn made the handle crack when I drove the shaft in.
So, I will have to turn another handle before I can ship them.
.
I won't bore you all with me turning one more handle. I think this two part blog showed the process of making these tools pretty well. I will be happy to answer any other questions anyone may have though.
These last two posts have been very interesting. I hope I need some tools like this someday (and remember to make my own…)
 

Attachments

#1,311 ·
Suggestions

I often make the comment that I will try to turn anything once. That statement sometimes brings me suggestions on things to try. Some are obvious good suggestions, and some may make some scratch their heads. Sometimes I like to explore some of these suggestions further though. You never know what may or may not be possible if you don't try.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Stationery Writing instrument accessory

Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood Stationery

Recently, while looking at one of the deer antler pens I have made, a friend made the comment, "wouldn't it be neat if you could make a flashlight with deer antler on it".
As soon as the comment was made, I remembered seeing these kits in the Penn State catalogue.
Pen Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Stationery

So I ordered two kits. It was a puzzle cutting and drilling the antler so it would be big enough without blowouts to get the job done, but I think they turned out alright.
Food Ingredient Coffee filter Recipe Cuisine

Some of you may remember some of the pens I've made with defects in the wood. I filled the voids with saw dust and a good soaking of CA glue.
Well a friend suggested a similar technique, but using a completely different ingredient for the solid part of the mixture, coffee grounds.
Now I love coffee. So, ever since this idea was first suggested to me, I decided that next time I had a small blowout that caused such a void, that I would try the coffee ground idea. The problem is, since then, I have not had such a blowout.
Wood Tints and shades Rectangle Fashion accessory Auto part

So I decided to not wait any longer. Instead, I used one of the ugliest pieces of cherry burl I had. I did not have to wait for a blowout on this piece. It already looked like it had been a huge blowout before doing anything.
Food Ingredient Recipe Cuisine Beef

So I started filling those voids with thin layers of coffee grounds, slowly building it up till it was thick as the wood.
Food Ingredient Recipe Baked goods Staple food

By the time I was ready to turn it, I must say, it was even uglier than it was before I started gluing in the coffee grounds.
Wood Gas Tool Paint Writing implement

After turning, sanding, and finishing though, it didn't look too bad. I don't exactly know what words to use for it though besides, interesting.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Wood

So, since the cherry burl and coffee ground pen was successful, I started rummaging around the kitchen to see what else I could fill voids with to turn. By this time, it was starting to seem more like a weird science experiment.
I came up with several possibilities. One that stuck in my mind though was grits. I hate grits, mostly because I eat so many of them growing up. They might make an interesting medium for this though. By this time I had stopped asking why, and going with, why not!
Now, some of you from the north may not know what grits are. No, I am not trying to make fun of anyone. My Dad is from the north though, and from him, I know some of you may have to google grits now. In my own personal opinion, you are not missing much, some people, like my kids, love them though.
Wood Rectangle Tints and shades Metal Fashion accessory

I started with a piece of oak burl. Oak burl is my favorite of them all. I'm running low on it though, and this may just very well give me the option of using all those little pieces that aren't good for much because they are in such bad shape.
As a matter of fact, this one didn't even make it off the drill press before it broke completely in two. I figured it was time to go for broke. So I finished drilling the piece, which was now two pieces, and glued a piece on each end of the pen tube. Then I started slowly filling the missing area with grits until I got it built up enough to turn.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Stationery

So here is what an oak burl and grits pen looks like. Actually, I like the way this one turned out better than the coffee.
I will definitely have to think more and listen to suggestions in the future about what else I can fill holes with to turn. These pens only reinforce the idea that I will try to turn anything at least one, twice if the failure doesn't hurt too bad.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning!
 

Attachments

#1,312 ·
Suggestions

I often make the comment that I will try to turn anything once. That statement sometimes brings me suggestions on things to try. Some are obvious good suggestions, and some may make some scratch their heads. Sometimes I like to explore some of these suggestions further though. You never know what may or may not be possible if you don't try.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Stationery Writing instrument accessory

Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood Stationery

Recently, while looking at one of the deer antler pens I have made, a friend made the comment, "wouldn't it be neat if you could make a flashlight with deer antler on it".
As soon as the comment was made, I remembered seeing these kits in the Penn State catalogue.
Pen Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Stationery

So I ordered two kits. It was a puzzle cutting and drilling the antler so it would be big enough without blowouts to get the job done, but I think they turned out alright.
Food Ingredient Coffee filter Recipe Cuisine

Some of you may remember some of the pens I've made with defects in the wood. I filled the voids with saw dust and a good soaking of CA glue.
Well a friend suggested a similar technique, but using a completely different ingredient for the solid part of the mixture, coffee grounds.
Now I love coffee. So, ever since this idea was first suggested to me, I decided that next time I had a small blowout that caused such a void, that I would try the coffee ground idea. The problem is, since then, I have not had such a blowout.
Wood Tints and shades Rectangle Fashion accessory Auto part

So I decided to not wait any longer. Instead, I used one of the ugliest pieces of cherry burl I had. I did not have to wait for a blowout on this piece. It already looked like it had been a huge blowout before doing anything.
Food Ingredient Recipe Cuisine Beef

So I started filling those voids with thin layers of coffee grounds, slowly building it up till it was thick as the wood.
Food Ingredient Recipe Baked goods Staple food

By the time I was ready to turn it, I must say, it was even uglier than it was before I started gluing in the coffee grounds.
Wood Gas Tool Paint Writing implement

After turning, sanding, and finishing though, it didn't look too bad. I don't exactly know what words to use for it though besides, interesting.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Wood

So, since the cherry burl and coffee ground pen was successful, I started rummaging around the kitchen to see what else I could fill voids with to turn. By this time, it was starting to seem more like a weird science experiment.
I came up with several possibilities. One that stuck in my mind though was grits. I hate grits, mostly because I eat so many of them growing up. They might make an interesting medium for this though. By this time I had stopped asking why, and going with, why not!
Now, some of you from the north may not know what grits are. No, I am not trying to make fun of anyone. My Dad is from the north though, and from him, I know some of you may have to google grits now. In my own personal opinion, you are not missing much, some people, like my kids, love them though.
Wood Rectangle Tints and shades Metal Fashion accessory

I started with a piece of oak burl. Oak burl is my favorite of them all. I'm running low on it though, and this may just very well give me the option of using all those little pieces that aren't good for much because they are in such bad shape.
As a matter of fact, this one didn't even make it off the drill press before it broke completely in two. I figured it was time to go for broke. So I finished drilling the piece, which was now two pieces, and glued a piece on each end of the pen tube. Then I started slowly filling the missing area with grits until I got it built up enough to turn.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Stationery

So here is what an oak burl and grits pen looks like. Actually, I like the way this one turned out better than the coffee.
I will definitely have to think more and listen to suggestions in the future about what else I can fill holes with to turn. These pens only reinforce the idea that I will try to turn anything at least one, twice if the failure doesn't hurt too bad.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning!
The coffee pen is REALLY amazing! I like it a lot.
 

Attachments

#1,342 ·
Pens

I've been back to doing a lot of pens at once lately. This will be the first of two posts just showing a lot of what I've been up to.
I am going to separate the ones in this post according to style.
.

Tec-Pens
Office supplies Writing implement Ball pen Stationery Wood

This is a bolt action tec-pen. I've been wanting to do some of these. I've had several people who loved the bolt action click mechanism in the regular bolt action pens. However, due to their jobs and such, they did not want to have a pen with a bullet for a tip or a rifle clip. So these pens have the same mechanism, but without the otherwise unwanted accessories.
This one is done in blood wood.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Ball pen Stationery

This bolt action tec-pen is done in black palm.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

This one is box elder burl.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Tool Stationery

The last one is done in hedge apple.
I purposely picked a piece of wood though with a void so I could fill it with coffee grounds. I find myself doing that more and more lately. I love the inlaid look of different materials and experimenting with it all.

.

Executive Pens
Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Metal Stationery

These pens are called executive pens. I seen them in the catalogue and thought they were nice looking pens. So I ordered a starter set of six pens.
This first one is done in something called canxon ************************* burl.
Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Musical instrument Wood

Spalted pecan.
I love working with burls and other woods with unusual characteristics that set them apart. This spalted pecan starts out with almost the consistency of a sponge. You have to keep soaking it in glue as you turn it down to keep it from tearing apart. It makes a nice pen in my opinion though.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Tool

This one is spalted maple.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Writing instrument accessory Stationery

Walnut burl.
Pen Office supplies Writing implement Office instrument Writing instrument accessory

Box elder burl.
The void on this one is inlaid with black pepper.
Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Pen Wood

Buckeye burl.
The void is inlaid with grits.

.

Celtic Pen
Office supplies Wood Musical instrument Writing implement Font

These pens I've been wanting to do for some time. Every time I wish to order them though, they have been out of stock. They were finally available.
This first one is hedge apple with a Celtic cross inlaid with walnut.
It left my shop so quick that I wasn't able to even show it to the one person I had in mind when I made it. So I would have to make another one just like it.
Writing implement Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory Metal

This is a different pen, just the same material.
Office supplies Writing implement Font Metal Wood

I like the look of the Celtic cross on these pens, but didn't think the yellow went well with the pewter finish, so I went with different materials on this one.
This is walnut with box elder inlay.
Wood Pen Writing implement Office supplies Font

The last one I decided to do in live oak burl.
The crack void is inlaid with salt.
I have never met a burl I didn't like, but I must admit that oak burl has by far been may favorite to date.
Too bad I am down to my last few pieces of it. I will have to try to find more of this wonderful material one day.

.
That's it for this post.
I will be typing up the second part of this after dinner.
 

Attachments

#1,343 ·
Pens

I've been back to doing a lot of pens at once lately. This will be the first of two posts just showing a lot of what I've been up to.
I am going to separate the ones in this post according to style.
.

Tec-Pens
Office supplies Writing implement Ball pen Stationery Wood

This is a bolt action tec-pen. I've been wanting to do some of these. I've had several people who loved the bolt action click mechanism in the regular bolt action pens. However, due to their jobs and such, they did not want to have a pen with a bullet for a tip or a rifle clip. So these pens have the same mechanism, but without the otherwise unwanted accessories.
This one is done in blood wood.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Ball pen Stationery

This bolt action tec-pen is done in black palm.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

This one is box elder burl.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Tool Stationery

The last one is done in hedge apple.
I purposely picked a piece of wood though with a void so I could fill it with coffee grounds. I find myself doing that more and more lately. I love the inlaid look of different materials and experimenting with it all.

.

Executive Pens
Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Metal Stationery

These pens are called executive pens. I seen them in the catalogue and thought they were nice looking pens. So I ordered a starter set of six pens.
This first one is done in something called canxon ************************* burl.
Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Musical instrument Wood

Spalted pecan.
I love working with burls and other woods with unusual characteristics that set them apart. This spalted pecan starts out with almost the consistency of a sponge. You have to keep soaking it in glue as you turn it down to keep it from tearing apart. It makes a nice pen in my opinion though.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Tool

This one is spalted maple.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Writing instrument accessory Stationery

Walnut burl.
Pen Office supplies Writing implement Office instrument Writing instrument accessory

Box elder burl.
The void on this one is inlaid with black pepper.
Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Pen Wood

Buckeye burl.
The void is inlaid with grits.

.

Celtic Pen
Office supplies Wood Musical instrument Writing implement Font

These pens I've been wanting to do for some time. Every time I wish to order them though, they have been out of stock. They were finally available.
This first one is hedge apple with a Celtic cross inlaid with walnut.
It left my shop so quick that I wasn't able to even show it to the one person I had in mind when I made it. So I would have to make another one just like it.
Writing implement Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory Metal

This is a different pen, just the same material.
Office supplies Writing implement Font Metal Wood

I like the look of the Celtic cross on these pens, but didn't think the yellow went well with the pewter finish, so I went with different materials on this one.
This is walnut with box elder inlay.
Wood Pen Writing implement Office supplies Font

The last one I decided to do in live oak burl.
The crack void is inlaid with salt.
I have never met a burl I didn't like, but I must admit that oak burl has by far been may favorite to date.
Too bad I am down to my last few pieces of it. I will have to try to find more of this wonderful material one day.

.
That's it for this post.
I will be typing up the second part of this after dinner.
Beautiful.
I like the Celtic knots.
I have filled voids in some of my work with shavings from key machines.
It's usually a mix of brass and aluminum.
 

Attachments

#1,364 ·
More Pens

Brown Wood Office supplies Gun accessory Metal

Wood Metal Natural material Musical instrument Jewellery


I have been wanting for such a long while to do some truly higher end pens, made with some higher quality kits. I have neglected doing so purely for financial reasons. These kits are not cheap, and there is no guarantee I'll be able to sell them for enough to make it feasible to even be making them. I wanted to so badly though. So I've been getting a little here and a little there, working up to making just such presentation as I hope to show you today.
So let's get started.

.
The Tycoon
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Writing instrument accessory

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Stationery

Metal Gun accessory Fashion accessory Bronze Dagger

For each of my pens, I'd like to first quote what the site that sells the kits says about each pen style.
.
"The Tycoon is simply a great looking pen. This kit features ultra smooth and durable threading, a regal design and striking facets on the rollerball nib. Plus the 24kt gold plating offers a bright pure gold plating that will give your pen a rich and luxurious look. Our 24kt gold uses a "premium rack plating" process and is covered with an epoxy coating for extreme durability. We guarantee it's beauty and durability with a lifetime guarantee."
.
This Tycoon pen is made of cherry burl with coffee grounds inlaid into the voids.
I find myself more and more wishing to take the worst of the ugly pieces of woods and make them interesting, if not beautiful. This pen is a perfect example of that.
For each half of the pen I used two pieces of end scraps off a block of cherry burl. I carefully glued them to each end of the pen tubes and allowed them to dry. Next I turned the blanks down to about an eighth of an inch over final size. Then I started taking a tiny bit of coffee grounds at a time and gluing them into the space between the two pieces until I built the coffee grounds up above the point where it was turned to. Then I allowed that to cure completely and finished turning, sanding, and finishing the pen.
All the pens in this post are finished with ten coats of boiled linseed oil and cyanoacrylate glue, buffed up to twelve thousand grit micro mesh, buffed with plastic polish, and then given two coats of Johnson's Paste Wax.
Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory Metal Writing implement

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Wood Natural material

Metal Blade Fashion accessory Dagger Wood

This Tycoon pen is made of live oak burl with the voids filled with grits.
I love burls in general. I have yet to find one I don't like the look of. Oak burl has to be my favorite though. It was when my supply of it got low enough that I had to start using pieces with voids in them though that I realized the beauty that adding contrast to the material could do to it. I was originally afraid it would take away from the interesting and twisting grain of the oak burl. Instead though, it only added to the intricity of it.

.
The Apollo Infinity
Natural material Office supplies Writing implement Musical instrument Metal

Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Metal Fashion accessory

Metal Dagger Artifact Fashion accessory Shear

"Introducing the elegant Apollo Infinity™ Gold Titanium Gel Rollerball Pen Kit - the next generation of pen from the Apollo Elite™ group. This pen features the "infinity" band - a revolutionary 3-D band style exclusive to the Apollo Infinity™. The pen keeps the same elegant rounded profile of the original Apollo Elite™. Includes smooth writing Black Gel ink. The Gold Titanium (TN) plating looks just like gold and is absolutely permanent. It will even outlast our guaranteed standard gold finishes. All TN kits are stamped with a "TN" indicated on the pen clip to authenticate it's Titanium status."
.
This Apollo Infinity pen is made of oak burl with coffee grounds for the inlay.
I couldn't help myself. After seeing how the last oak burl and coffee pen turned out, I had to create the look again for the Apollo pen.
Musical instrument Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Natural material Musical instrument

Office supplies Metal Titanium Fashion accessory Writing implement

This Apollo Infinity pen is made with box elder burl. The void is inlaid with salt.

.
The Majestic
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Writing instrument accessory Tints and shades

Metal Titanium Fashion accessory Tool Nickel

"The magnificent Rollerball Pen Kit will inspire your creative talents and will delight your recipient a hand made pen that will exceed even the most discriminating collector's expectations. The Majestic Pen includes many remarkable features including: A rhodium-plated clip that includes a sparkling Swarovski clear crystal; All exposed accent rings, bands and caps include elegant custom hand-carved 3 dimensional designs; Components are cast, polished then plated with extremely durable Black Titanium plating; Its regal profile is accented with brilliant rhodium-plating on all components and has a flawless fit and finish; The rollerball assembly includes a rhodium-plated pen nib with a premium Schmidt steel cartridge refill with a ceramic point; The finished project is complimented with superb balance, superior writing characteristics and an overall stylish, polished & elegant appearance."
.
This Majestic pen is made with walnut burl.
I only had enough walnut burl to do one more pen. Since this was my favorite design of all the premium pen kits I'd ordered, I decided to use that burl to make the Majestic.

.
The Broadwell Art Deco
Musical instrument Office supplies Wood Writing implement Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Metal Stationery

Wood Tool Metal Art Writing implement

"Penn State Industries is proud to team up again with accomplished pen designer David Broadwell to bring you this exquisitely original Art Deco Rhodium & 22kt Gold Fountain Pen Kit. Art Deco was an opulent and lavish art form that spanned the 1920's and 1930's. The art form influenced architecture, industrial design, interior design, fashion, and film of the period."
The Art Deco Pen features:
All components are cast, polished and plated with a durable Rhodium & 22kt Gold plating.
Includes spires and star bursts that characterize the Art Deco period.
Pen clip features unique Art Deco design and a radiant Swarovski Crystal.
Easily posts with threads on the end cap.
The cap is 3-D cast with intricate Art Deco detail.
The Pen Band is cast and gold plated with Art Deco detail.
Medium Schmidt™ gold and Iridium nib plus an ink pump and ink cartridge.
.
This Art Deco pen is made with cherry burl and coffee grounds.
I removed the pen kit from the packaging and was studying on what I would like to use for the wood. It just happened that I laid the parts out to get a better feel for them and they were right beside the pen I'd done earlier with cherry burl and coffee ground. I realized that, although I'd done it earlier, it would also look great on this pen.

.
The Broadwell Nouveau Sceptre
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Brown Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Jewellery Metal Fashion accessory

This is another kit designed for Penn State by David Broadwell, and features:
All exposed accent rings, bands and caps include elegant custom casted three dimensional Art Nouveau designs.
Components are cast, polished and plated with a durable 2 micron 22kt gold plate and Rhodium.
The Rollerball and Ball Point styles include a Schmidt rhodium plated pen nib with a steel cartridge with a ceramic point.
.
This Nouveau Sceptre is made of zebra wood.
Sometimes I am unsure what to make a pen out of until I open the package and look to get a "feel" for what will look good on it. Some pens just scream "I need some flare!" So it was with the Nouveau Sceptre. So I searched through my blanks. I thought about using burl and filling in voids for much the same kind of look I'd given most of my pens lately. This pen though, to me, demanded not to be presented with patched in beauty, but a hard wood that had flowing lines, much like the design elements of the hardware. So I thought about the diagonal cut zebra wood.

.

All of the pen kits used to make these and more can be found here at Penn State industries.

.

That's it my friends.
I may never find a buyer for these pens. If they sit in my showcase forever though, it was worth it, because I sure had a good time making them.
So until next time,
HAPPY TURNING!!!
 

Attachments

#1,365 ·
More Pens

Brown Wood Office supplies Gun accessory Metal

Wood Metal Natural material Musical instrument Jewellery


I have been wanting for such a long while to do some truly higher end pens, made with some higher quality kits. I have neglected doing so purely for financial reasons. These kits are not cheap, and there is no guarantee I'll be able to sell them for enough to make it feasible to even be making them. I wanted to so badly though. So I've been getting a little here and a little there, working up to making just such presentation as I hope to show you today.
So let's get started.

.
The Tycoon
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Writing instrument accessory

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Stationery

Metal Gun accessory Fashion accessory Bronze Dagger

For each of my pens, I'd like to first quote what the site that sells the kits says about each pen style.
.
"The Tycoon is simply a great looking pen. This kit features ultra smooth and durable threading, a regal design and striking facets on the rollerball nib. Plus the 24kt gold plating offers a bright pure gold plating that will give your pen a rich and luxurious look. Our 24kt gold uses a "premium rack plating" process and is covered with an epoxy coating for extreme durability. We guarantee it's beauty and durability with a lifetime guarantee."
.
This Tycoon pen is made of cherry burl with coffee grounds inlaid into the voids.
I find myself more and more wishing to take the worst of the ugly pieces of woods and make them interesting, if not beautiful. This pen is a perfect example of that.
For each half of the pen I used two pieces of end scraps off a block of cherry burl. I carefully glued them to each end of the pen tubes and allowed them to dry. Next I turned the blanks down to about an eighth of an inch over final size. Then I started taking a tiny bit of coffee grounds at a time and gluing them into the space between the two pieces until I built the coffee grounds up above the point where it was turned to. Then I allowed that to cure completely and finished turning, sanding, and finishing the pen.
All the pens in this post are finished with ten coats of boiled linseed oil and cyanoacrylate glue, buffed up to twelve thousand grit micro mesh, buffed with plastic polish, and then given two coats of Johnson's Paste Wax.
Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory Metal Writing implement

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Wood Natural material

Metal Blade Fashion accessory Dagger Wood

This Tycoon pen is made of live oak burl with the voids filled with grits.
I love burls in general. I have yet to find one I don't like the look of. Oak burl has to be my favorite though. It was when my supply of it got low enough that I had to start using pieces with voids in them though that I realized the beauty that adding contrast to the material could do to it. I was originally afraid it would take away from the interesting and twisting grain of the oak burl. Instead though, it only added to the intricity of it.

.
The Apollo Infinity
Natural material Office supplies Writing implement Musical instrument Metal

Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Metal Fashion accessory

Metal Dagger Artifact Fashion accessory Shear

"Introducing the elegant Apollo Infinity™ Gold Titanium Gel Rollerball Pen Kit - the next generation of pen from the Apollo Elite™ group. This pen features the "infinity" band - a revolutionary 3-D band style exclusive to the Apollo Infinity™. The pen keeps the same elegant rounded profile of the original Apollo Elite™. Includes smooth writing Black Gel ink. The Gold Titanium (TN) plating looks just like gold and is absolutely permanent. It will even outlast our guaranteed standard gold finishes. All TN kits are stamped with a "TN" indicated on the pen clip to authenticate it's Titanium status."
.
This Apollo Infinity pen is made of oak burl with coffee grounds for the inlay.
I couldn't help myself. After seeing how the last oak burl and coffee pen turned out, I had to create the look again for the Apollo pen.
Musical instrument Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Natural material Musical instrument

Office supplies Metal Titanium Fashion accessory Writing implement

This Apollo Infinity pen is made with box elder burl. The void is inlaid with salt.

.
The Majestic
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Writing instrument accessory Tints and shades

Metal Titanium Fashion accessory Tool Nickel

"The magnificent Rollerball Pen Kit will inspire your creative talents and will delight your recipient a hand made pen that will exceed even the most discriminating collector's expectations. The Majestic Pen includes many remarkable features including: A rhodium-plated clip that includes a sparkling Swarovski clear crystal; All exposed accent rings, bands and caps include elegant custom hand-carved 3 dimensional designs; Components are cast, polished then plated with extremely durable Black Titanium plating; Its regal profile is accented with brilliant rhodium-plating on all components and has a flawless fit and finish; The rollerball assembly includes a rhodium-plated pen nib with a premium Schmidt steel cartridge refill with a ceramic point; The finished project is complimented with superb balance, superior writing characteristics and an overall stylish, polished & elegant appearance."
.
This Majestic pen is made with walnut burl.
I only had enough walnut burl to do one more pen. Since this was my favorite design of all the premium pen kits I'd ordered, I decided to use that burl to make the Majestic.

.
The Broadwell Art Deco
Musical instrument Office supplies Wood Writing implement Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Metal Stationery

Wood Tool Metal Art Writing implement

"Penn State Industries is proud to team up again with accomplished pen designer David Broadwell to bring you this exquisitely original Art Deco Rhodium & 22kt Gold Fountain Pen Kit. Art Deco was an opulent and lavish art form that spanned the 1920's and 1930's. The art form influenced architecture, industrial design, interior design, fashion, and film of the period."
The Art Deco Pen features:
All components are cast, polished and plated with a durable Rhodium & 22kt Gold plating.
Includes spires and star bursts that characterize the Art Deco period.
Pen clip features unique Art Deco design and a radiant Swarovski Crystal.
Easily posts with threads on the end cap.
The cap is 3-D cast with intricate Art Deco detail.
The Pen Band is cast and gold plated with Art Deco detail.
Medium Schmidt™ gold and Iridium nib plus an ink pump and ink cartridge.
.
This Art Deco pen is made with cherry burl and coffee grounds.
I removed the pen kit from the packaging and was studying on what I would like to use for the wood. It just happened that I laid the parts out to get a better feel for them and they were right beside the pen I'd done earlier with cherry burl and coffee ground. I realized that, although I'd done it earlier, it would also look great on this pen.

.
The Broadwell Nouveau Sceptre
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Brown Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Jewellery Metal Fashion accessory

This is another kit designed for Penn State by David Broadwell, and features:
All exposed accent rings, bands and caps include elegant custom casted three dimensional Art Nouveau designs.
Components are cast, polished and plated with a durable 2 micron 22kt gold plate and Rhodium.
The Rollerball and Ball Point styles include a Schmidt rhodium plated pen nib with a steel cartridge with a ceramic point.
.
This Nouveau Sceptre is made of zebra wood.
Sometimes I am unsure what to make a pen out of until I open the package and look to get a "feel" for what will look good on it. Some pens just scream "I need some flare!" So it was with the Nouveau Sceptre. So I searched through my blanks. I thought about using burl and filling in voids for much the same kind of look I'd given most of my pens lately. This pen though, to me, demanded not to be presented with patched in beauty, but a hard wood that had flowing lines, much like the design elements of the hardware. So I thought about the diagonal cut zebra wood.

.

All of the pen kits used to make these and more can be found here at Penn State industries.

.

That's it my friends.
I may never find a buyer for these pens. If they sit in my showcase forever though, it was worth it, because I sure had a good time making them.
So until next time,
HAPPY TURNING!!!
These are all great looking pens! You seem to have pen making down pat!
 

Attachments

#1,384 ·
Sanding And Sharpening

Anyone who reads my blog posts know I enjoy making my own tools and accessories whenever possible. This sometimes puts me at odds with some people. I get emails from time to time telling me to try this brand of this, or this brand of that, and that I'll see how much better it is than what I made. I will be the first to admit that sometimes the people who tell me this are absolutely correct. Other times, well, not so much.
When I get a chance to do so though, I do try to give some of these suggestions a chance. It all comes down to if and when I can get the items at a reasonable cost and if that cost is worth it to me to take a chance on it.
That will be the subject of the first part of my blog.
Wood Office ruler Wood stain Hardwood Natural material

Here is the sander I made a while back beside the Robert Sorby Sandmaster that I recently caught on sale.
This is one of those times that the suggestion made to me was correct, well, mostly.
The sander I made does do the job it was intended to do. There is nothing at all wrong with it. However, I also have to give the Sorby brand Sandmaster due credit. It does the same job, but it seems to do it faster and smoother.
Tableware Natural material Wood Serveware Dishware

Here is the first bowl, made of rose wood, that I sanded with the Robert Sorby Sandmaster.
The sale that was going on when I bought the Sorby tool has now passed. They do have them on Amazon last time I checked though if you'd like to search for them there. Also, the Sandmaster is available from several other well known suppliers.
Sewing machine feet Sewing machine Sewing machine needle Wood Household appliance accessory

Next up is the lathe tool sharpening jig.
This is the Complete 4pc Precision Sharpening System from Penn State Industries. You can find it here if you are interested.
I do like this system. I do not regret buying it. is easier to set up than my shop made system. However, besides being a little more convenient, I do not see the difference at all between the grind quality off this jig compared to my shop made one. I mention this because I got three different emails telling me that this jig would create a more repeatable, and "better" grind. I have to completely disagree with that statement. I can grind two tools, one on the Penn State version, and one on my shop made version, and you cannot tell the difference in them.
All that being said, I do recommend this system to anyone who can afford it. You do get a lot for the $129.95 price tag compared to similar systems. For me personally, the better flat rest, compared to the crappy ones I've been using that came with my grinder, made it worth the price of admission.
.
Since I was improving sharpening devices in the shop, I decided to finally get around to remaking my oil stone holder.
Table Wood Bumper Rectangle Hood

This is my old holder. It is something I had thrown together in less than an hour. It served it's purpose, but I had grown tired of it. It is hard to tell from the photo, but the stones are in their plastic containers that they come in. These containers allow the stones to move a bit and gets aggravating when trying to sharpen some tools. It was time to upgrade it.
I wanted something that held the stones more firmly. However, I still needed to be able to cover the stones to keep saw dust out of them.
Table Wood Automotive design Computer desk Motor vehicle

This is my roll around cart with all my sanders and such. I wanted the sharpening station on this cart. However, I needed it to be movable so that those rare occasions when I'm running out of room on my work bench and piling things up here on the cart it can be moved.
So I sat down and thought about how I wanted to do all this. It was one of those rare occasions that I actually drew up a plan on paper before beginning. Maybe I ought to do this more instead of just making it up as I go along.
Bicycle Wood Bumper Table Audio equipment

Here is what I came up with.
It is a simple box that sits on the sanding bench. The latch in the from keeps the lid secure in the front. The plywood is attached to the front board and slides into slots in the side boards and the back.
Wood Bumper Flooring Hardwood Automotive exterior

When I need to move it, the whole thing just pulls up and can be sat aside. There is four dowels glued into the bottom of the sharpening station that set into corresponding holes in the bench top.
Table Wood Naval architecture Automotive exterior Engineering

This is what it looks like with the top removed.
Table Wood Bottle Automotive exterior Hood

I like this much better than my older design. I saved the plastic containers in case I need them in the future. Under the cover, the two diamond plates on the right end still retain their plastic covers. I use only water on them and I didn't want oil from the stones to get on them since oil and water doesn't mix well. Also, I seldom use the diamond plates. I like my oil stones better. The only time the diamond plates get used is when I have a badly damage or new tool that I need to change the bevel on quickly. After they leave the diamond plates, they get actually sharpened on the oil stones.
 

Attachments

#1,385 ·
Sanding And Sharpening

Anyone who reads my blog posts know I enjoy making my own tools and accessories whenever possible. This sometimes puts me at odds with some people. I get emails from time to time telling me to try this brand of this, or this brand of that, and that I'll see how much better it is than what I made. I will be the first to admit that sometimes the people who tell me this are absolutely correct. Other times, well, not so much.
When I get a chance to do so though, I do try to give some of these suggestions a chance. It all comes down to if and when I can get the items at a reasonable cost and if that cost is worth it to me to take a chance on it.
That will be the subject of the first part of my blog.
Wood Office ruler Wood stain Hardwood Natural material

Here is the sander I made a while back beside the Robert Sorby Sandmaster that I recently caught on sale.
This is one of those times that the suggestion made to me was correct, well, mostly.
The sander I made does do the job it was intended to do. There is nothing at all wrong with it. However, I also have to give the Sorby brand Sandmaster due credit. It does the same job, but it seems to do it faster and smoother.
Tableware Natural material Wood Serveware Dishware

Here is the first bowl, made of rose wood, that I sanded with the Robert Sorby Sandmaster.
The sale that was going on when I bought the Sorby tool has now passed. They do have them on Amazon last time I checked though if you'd like to search for them there. Also, the Sandmaster is available from several other well known suppliers.
Sewing machine feet Sewing machine Sewing machine needle Wood Household appliance accessory

Next up is the lathe tool sharpening jig.
This is the Complete 4pc Precision Sharpening System from Penn State Industries. You can find it here if you are interested.
I do like this system. I do not regret buying it. is easier to set up than my shop made system. However, besides being a little more convenient, I do not see the difference at all between the grind quality off this jig compared to my shop made one. I mention this because I got three different emails telling me that this jig would create a more repeatable, and "better" grind. I have to completely disagree with that statement. I can grind two tools, one on the Penn State version, and one on my shop made version, and you cannot tell the difference in them.
All that being said, I do recommend this system to anyone who can afford it. You do get a lot for the $129.95 price tag compared to similar systems. For me personally, the better flat rest, compared to the crappy ones I've been using that came with my grinder, made it worth the price of admission.
.
Since I was improving sharpening devices in the shop, I decided to finally get around to remaking my oil stone holder.
Table Wood Bumper Rectangle Hood

This is my old holder. It is something I had thrown together in less than an hour. It served it's purpose, but I had grown tired of it. It is hard to tell from the photo, but the stones are in their plastic containers that they come in. These containers allow the stones to move a bit and gets aggravating when trying to sharpen some tools. It was time to upgrade it.
I wanted something that held the stones more firmly. However, I still needed to be able to cover the stones to keep saw dust out of them.
Table Wood Automotive design Computer desk Motor vehicle

This is my roll around cart with all my sanders and such. I wanted the sharpening station on this cart. However, I needed it to be movable so that those rare occasions when I'm running out of room on my work bench and piling things up here on the cart it can be moved.
So I sat down and thought about how I wanted to do all this. It was one of those rare occasions that I actually drew up a plan on paper before beginning. Maybe I ought to do this more instead of just making it up as I go along.
Bicycle Wood Bumper Table Audio equipment

Here is what I came up with.
It is a simple box that sits on the sanding bench. The latch in the from keeps the lid secure in the front. The plywood is attached to the front board and slides into slots in the side boards and the back.
Wood Bumper Flooring Hardwood Automotive exterior

When I need to move it, the whole thing just pulls up and can be sat aside. There is four dowels glued into the bottom of the sharpening station that set into corresponding holes in the bench top.
Table Wood Naval architecture Automotive exterior Engineering

This is what it looks like with the top removed.
Table Wood Bottle Automotive exterior Hood

I like this much better than my older design. I saved the plastic containers in case I need them in the future. Under the cover, the two diamond plates on the right end still retain their plastic covers. I use only water on them and I didn't want oil from the stones to get on them since oil and water doesn't mix well. Also, I seldom use the diamond plates. I like my oil stones better. The only time the diamond plates get used is when I have a badly damage or new tool that I need to change the bevel on quickly. After they leave the diamond plates, they get actually sharpened on the oil stones.
Good info William…...I need to look into the bowl sanders…..let me know if you have any relevant links…..thanks man…..
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top