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As The Lathe Turns

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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???
 

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18
#767 ·
Not My Best Day

If you read my last blog entry, I had left one set of pen blanks curing with the tubes glued in, and another full length blank clamped up in a bench vice. I was anxious this morning to see how they would turn out.
Let's start with the rubbery black pipe blanks.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Pen Ball pen

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

I did in fact get a pen turned out of this material. I must say it was a challenge. Almost nothing I tried worked on this stuff. It is softer than the corian and peeled off rather easily. It peels off so much, in fact, that I had to stop the lathe often to tear the streamers of black rubbery material from around the mandrel shaft.
I experimented as I went along because I did not want to get down to the final pen size and run into surprises. I learned right off that you cannot sand this material. Sanding, even with the finest of grits, leaves more scratches than it takes away. Sanding around it with the lathe running and then the length, like I would do for most material, simply leaves a crosshatch pattern. It does nothing to smooth it.
Next, I tried something a friend (Randy) suggested. I removed the blanks from the lathe and popped them in the freezer for a while. The thought is that the cold will harden the blanks and make them more workable. This presented a new problem. The tubes are metal based. Metal contracts when it is cold. The freezing of the blanks also shrunk the tubes enough that I could not get them on the mandrel shaft.
Next, I tried different turning tool. Since I was not going to be able to sand this stuff, I needed as fine a finish as I could get straight from the cutting of the tools.
The gouge left a terrible finish. The scraper simply dug in the softer than wood material. Eventually, I settled on the fact that I was going to have no choice but to turn this entirely with a skew chisel. While this is great practice with a skew, it also proved that I also need a lot more practice to get better than I am now.
Anyway, with the pen complete, I liked working with this material. It presented a challenge, and I like challenges. The finish is no where near as smooth as I would normally like, but I think that, and knowing what it was originally, adds to the originality of this pen.
I will revisit this material at a later date. Also, the same friend who gave me this has some other pipe, grey I believe, that I will have to get some of to try.
Wood Office supplies Office instrument Tool Hardwood

Wood Tableware Hardwood Natural material Metal

Next came the walnut and box elder blank I left clamped in the vice yesterday. I turned it, and it was shaping up to be one of the nicest pens I'd done in a while. I absolutely love the look of these finished blanks.
Then I started pressing everything together.
Now let me tell you something about me. I can stop a project at a good stopping point. If for any reason though I ever stop a project in the middle of an important step, something usually goes wrong when I return to it. Therefore, I hate, with a passion, having to stop on anything if I am not at a good common sense stopping point.
So anyway, with that explained, I was just starting to press the parts together when I got a phone call. My son's truck was broke down on the side of the highway. Ordinarily, that would mean I would finish pressing the parts together and then go help him. However, with a hundred degree heat index, and my son having his pregnant wife who is eight months pregnant with my grandchild in the truck with him, I had to go that very instant.
It turned out that he had a blown tire. His spare was flat. I drove him around to find a replacement tire while my wife carried his pregnant wife back to our place. With the truck back in commission, I returned to the pen.
Do you remember what I said about something usually going wrong if I stop on something the way I had to do? The advance mechanism somehow got cocked while being pressed. By the time I realized it, it had bent. I tried straightening it. It made it worse. I tried pulling it back out and using a different one, since it wasn't deep. It broke flush with the pen blanks. I used pliers to remove the nib (I had a replacement) and tried tapping the mechanism out using a punch. The blank slipped in the soft jaws and completely ruined it.
So my beautiful pen was ruined.
What to do?
Brown Textile Sleeve Natural material Bag

Well I glued up another one to try again, of course.
Wood Natural material Tool Hardwood Artifact

I also left another blank clamped up. This is just another one of my weird ideas. We'll have to see how both of these turn out next time.
Hopefully, next time will prove to be a better day than today.
 

Attachments

#768 ·
Not My Best Day

If you read my last blog entry, I had left one set of pen blanks curing with the tubes glued in, and another full length blank clamped up in a bench vice. I was anxious this morning to see how they would turn out.
Let's start with the rubbery black pipe blanks.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Pen Ball pen

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

I did in fact get a pen turned out of this material. I must say it was a challenge. Almost nothing I tried worked on this stuff. It is softer than the corian and peeled off rather easily. It peels off so much, in fact, that I had to stop the lathe often to tear the streamers of black rubbery material from around the mandrel shaft.
I experimented as I went along because I did not want to get down to the final pen size and run into surprises. I learned right off that you cannot sand this material. Sanding, even with the finest of grits, leaves more scratches than it takes away. Sanding around it with the lathe running and then the length, like I would do for most material, simply leaves a crosshatch pattern. It does nothing to smooth it.
Next, I tried something a friend (Randy) suggested. I removed the blanks from the lathe and popped them in the freezer for a while. The thought is that the cold will harden the blanks and make them more workable. This presented a new problem. The tubes are metal based. Metal contracts when it is cold. The freezing of the blanks also shrunk the tubes enough that I could not get them on the mandrel shaft.
Next, I tried different turning tool. Since I was not going to be able to sand this stuff, I needed as fine a finish as I could get straight from the cutting of the tools.
The gouge left a terrible finish. The scraper simply dug in the softer than wood material. Eventually, I settled on the fact that I was going to have no choice but to turn this entirely with a skew chisel. While this is great practice with a skew, it also proved that I also need a lot more practice to get better than I am now.
Anyway, with the pen complete, I liked working with this material. It presented a challenge, and I like challenges. The finish is no where near as smooth as I would normally like, but I think that, and knowing what it was originally, adds to the originality of this pen.
I will revisit this material at a later date. Also, the same friend who gave me this has some other pipe, grey I believe, that I will have to get some of to try.
Wood Office supplies Office instrument Tool Hardwood

Wood Tableware Hardwood Natural material Metal

Next came the walnut and box elder blank I left clamped in the vice yesterday. I turned it, and it was shaping up to be one of the nicest pens I'd done in a while. I absolutely love the look of these finished blanks.
Then I started pressing everything together.
Now let me tell you something about me. I can stop a project at a good stopping point. If for any reason though I ever stop a project in the middle of an important step, something usually goes wrong when I return to it. Therefore, I hate, with a passion, having to stop on anything if I am not at a good common sense stopping point.
So anyway, with that explained, I was just starting to press the parts together when I got a phone call. My son's truck was broke down on the side of the highway. Ordinarily, that would mean I would finish pressing the parts together and then go help him. However, with a hundred degree heat index, and my son having his pregnant wife who is eight months pregnant with my grandchild in the truck with him, I had to go that very instant.
It turned out that he had a blown tire. His spare was flat. I drove him around to find a replacement tire while my wife carried his pregnant wife back to our place. With the truck back in commission, I returned to the pen.
Do you remember what I said about something usually going wrong if I stop on something the way I had to do? The advance mechanism somehow got cocked while being pressed. By the time I realized it, it had bent. I tried straightening it. It made it worse. I tried pulling it back out and using a different one, since it wasn't deep. It broke flush with the pen blanks. I used pliers to remove the nib (I had a replacement) and tried tapping the mechanism out using a punch. The blank slipped in the soft jaws and completely ruined it.
So my beautiful pen was ruined.
What to do?
Brown Textile Sleeve Natural material Bag

Well I glued up another one to try again, of course.
Wood Natural material Tool Hardwood Artifact

I also left another blank clamped up. This is just another one of my weird ideas. We'll have to see how both of these turn out next time.
Hopefully, next time will prove to be a better day than today.
This feels like Deja Vu, all over again….

Perseverance, one of the many words to describe your character!!!
(I'm trying hard to only think of the good words!) ;^)

Bummer on the freezing trial, but ya done "got 'er done"….
It's a shame that the walnut and box elder blank turned out to only be a "practice run"….
I really liked the way that was looking! Here's to round two!!!
 

Attachments

#770 ·
Not My Best Day

If you read my last blog entry, I had left one set of pen blanks curing with the tubes glued in, and another full length blank clamped up in a bench vice. I was anxious this morning to see how they would turn out.
Let's start with the rubbery black pipe blanks.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Pen Ball pen

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

I did in fact get a pen turned out of this material. I must say it was a challenge. Almost nothing I tried worked on this stuff. It is softer than the corian and peeled off rather easily. It peels off so much, in fact, that I had to stop the lathe often to tear the streamers of black rubbery material from around the mandrel shaft.
I experimented as I went along because I did not want to get down to the final pen size and run into surprises. I learned right off that you cannot sand this material. Sanding, even with the finest of grits, leaves more scratches than it takes away. Sanding around it with the lathe running and then the length, like I would do for most material, simply leaves a crosshatch pattern. It does nothing to smooth it.
Next, I tried something a friend (Randy) suggested. I removed the blanks from the lathe and popped them in the freezer for a while. The thought is that the cold will harden the blanks and make them more workable. This presented a new problem. The tubes are metal based. Metal contracts when it is cold. The freezing of the blanks also shrunk the tubes enough that I could not get them on the mandrel shaft.
Next, I tried different turning tool. Since I was not going to be able to sand this stuff, I needed as fine a finish as I could get straight from the cutting of the tools.
The gouge left a terrible finish. The scraper simply dug in the softer than wood material. Eventually, I settled on the fact that I was going to have no choice but to turn this entirely with a skew chisel. While this is great practice with a skew, it also proved that I also need a lot more practice to get better than I am now.
Anyway, with the pen complete, I liked working with this material. It presented a challenge, and I like challenges. The finish is no where near as smooth as I would normally like, but I think that, and knowing what it was originally, adds to the originality of this pen.
I will revisit this material at a later date. Also, the same friend who gave me this has some other pipe, grey I believe, that I will have to get some of to try.
Wood Office supplies Office instrument Tool Hardwood

Wood Tableware Hardwood Natural material Metal

Next came the walnut and box elder blank I left clamped in the vice yesterday. I turned it, and it was shaping up to be one of the nicest pens I'd done in a while. I absolutely love the look of these finished blanks.
Then I started pressing everything together.
Now let me tell you something about me. I can stop a project at a good stopping point. If for any reason though I ever stop a project in the middle of an important step, something usually goes wrong when I return to it. Therefore, I hate, with a passion, having to stop on anything if I am not at a good common sense stopping point.
So anyway, with that explained, I was just starting to press the parts together when I got a phone call. My son's truck was broke down on the side of the highway. Ordinarily, that would mean I would finish pressing the parts together and then go help him. However, with a hundred degree heat index, and my son having his pregnant wife who is eight months pregnant with my grandchild in the truck with him, I had to go that very instant.
It turned out that he had a blown tire. His spare was flat. I drove him around to find a replacement tire while my wife carried his pregnant wife back to our place. With the truck back in commission, I returned to the pen.
Do you remember what I said about something usually going wrong if I stop on something the way I had to do? The advance mechanism somehow got cocked while being pressed. By the time I realized it, it had bent. I tried straightening it. It made it worse. I tried pulling it back out and using a different one, since it wasn't deep. It broke flush with the pen blanks. I used pliers to remove the nib (I had a replacement) and tried tapping the mechanism out using a punch. The blank slipped in the soft jaws and completely ruined it.
So my beautiful pen was ruined.
What to do?
Brown Textile Sleeve Natural material Bag

Well I glued up another one to try again, of course.
Wood Natural material Tool Hardwood Artifact

I also left another blank clamped up. This is just another one of my weird ideas. We'll have to see how both of these turn out next time.
Hopefully, next time will prove to be a better day than today.
 

Attachments

#771 ·
Not My Best Day

If you read my last blog entry, I had left one set of pen blanks curing with the tubes glued in, and another full length blank clamped up in a bench vice. I was anxious this morning to see how they would turn out.
Let's start with the rubbery black pipe blanks.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Pen Ball pen

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

I did in fact get a pen turned out of this material. I must say it was a challenge. Almost nothing I tried worked on this stuff. It is softer than the corian and peeled off rather easily. It peels off so much, in fact, that I had to stop the lathe often to tear the streamers of black rubbery material from around the mandrel shaft.
I experimented as I went along because I did not want to get down to the final pen size and run into surprises. I learned right off that you cannot sand this material. Sanding, even with the finest of grits, leaves more scratches than it takes away. Sanding around it with the lathe running and then the length, like I would do for most material, simply leaves a crosshatch pattern. It does nothing to smooth it.
Next, I tried something a friend (Randy) suggested. I removed the blanks from the lathe and popped them in the freezer for a while. The thought is that the cold will harden the blanks and make them more workable. This presented a new problem. The tubes are metal based. Metal contracts when it is cold. The freezing of the blanks also shrunk the tubes enough that I could not get them on the mandrel shaft.
Next, I tried different turning tool. Since I was not going to be able to sand this stuff, I needed as fine a finish as I could get straight from the cutting of the tools.
The gouge left a terrible finish. The scraper simply dug in the softer than wood material. Eventually, I settled on the fact that I was going to have no choice but to turn this entirely with a skew chisel. While this is great practice with a skew, it also proved that I also need a lot more practice to get better than I am now.
Anyway, with the pen complete, I liked working with this material. It presented a challenge, and I like challenges. The finish is no where near as smooth as I would normally like, but I think that, and knowing what it was originally, adds to the originality of this pen.
I will revisit this material at a later date. Also, the same friend who gave me this has some other pipe, grey I believe, that I will have to get some of to try.
Wood Office supplies Office instrument Tool Hardwood

Wood Tableware Hardwood Natural material Metal

Next came the walnut and box elder blank I left clamped in the vice yesterday. I turned it, and it was shaping up to be one of the nicest pens I'd done in a while. I absolutely love the look of these finished blanks.
Then I started pressing everything together.
Now let me tell you something about me. I can stop a project at a good stopping point. If for any reason though I ever stop a project in the middle of an important step, something usually goes wrong when I return to it. Therefore, I hate, with a passion, having to stop on anything if I am not at a good common sense stopping point.
So anyway, with that explained, I was just starting to press the parts together when I got a phone call. My son's truck was broke down on the side of the highway. Ordinarily, that would mean I would finish pressing the parts together and then go help him. However, with a hundred degree heat index, and my son having his pregnant wife who is eight months pregnant with my grandchild in the truck with him, I had to go that very instant.
It turned out that he had a blown tire. His spare was flat. I drove him around to find a replacement tire while my wife carried his pregnant wife back to our place. With the truck back in commission, I returned to the pen.
Do you remember what I said about something usually going wrong if I stop on something the way I had to do? The advance mechanism somehow got cocked while being pressed. By the time I realized it, it had bent. I tried straightening it. It made it worse. I tried pulling it back out and using a different one, since it wasn't deep. It broke flush with the pen blanks. I used pliers to remove the nib (I had a replacement) and tried tapping the mechanism out using a punch. The blank slipped in the soft jaws and completely ruined it.
So my beautiful pen was ruined.
What to do?
Brown Textile Sleeve Natural material Bag

Well I glued up another one to try again, of course.
Wood Natural material Tool Hardwood Artifact

I also left another blank clamped up. This is just another one of my weird ideas. We'll have to see how both of these turn out next time.
Hopefully, next time will prove to be a better day than today.
I gotta say that the black rubber turned out a lot better than I thought.

Dad to the rescue! Makes you feel needed doesn't it?
 

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#778 ·
Walnut And Box Elder

Today's is not a very long post. The title pretty much explains it all. I have somehow gotten on a walnut and box elder habit. I don't know why besides I like it. In my opinion, it is a beautiful combination of woods for some of my experimentation.
I've always loved walnut. However, before a friend of mine in Alabama (Grizz) sent me a few walnut pen blanks, I'd never had the chance to work with it as much as I have lately. The box elder came from a friend who lives in Indiana (Marty). The two woods together create a very nice contrast.
For my first pen today, some of my friends expressed like for the wavy patterned pen I attempted yesterday. So I tried it first.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Natural material Musical instrument

Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Ball pen Office instrument

It did not turn out exactly like the one I tried yesterday. No two pens are ever exactly alike. When you glue in strips like in this pen, you never know exactly how they'll turn out until you turn it. I still think it is a nice pen though. I think I'll play with this style some more in the future.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Pen Ball pen

Writing implement Pen Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Next, if you seen the other blank I had clamped up in the vice when I finished yesterday, was a piece of walnut with two strips of elder running across each other at a steep end to end angle.

.

Now, after I drilled for and glued in the tubes in these blanks, I needed something to do while waiting for that to dry. So I took some more walnut and box elder and just started messing around. I did not plan on anything with this next pen. I simply started slicing it on the band saw. Then I glued in a strip and let it sit while I turned the first pen. Anytime I had a break, like while waiting on a coat of CA glue to dry for example, I'd slice and glue in another strip. I just wanted to see how it would turn out.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Ball pen Metal

Office supplies Musical instrument Wood Writing implement Writing instrument accessory

I think interesting is the best way I could describe how it turned out.
 

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#779 ·
Walnut And Box Elder

Today's is not a very long post. The title pretty much explains it all. I have somehow gotten on a walnut and box elder habit. I don't know why besides I like it. In my opinion, it is a beautiful combination of woods for some of my experimentation.
I've always loved walnut. However, before a friend of mine in Alabama (Grizz) sent me a few walnut pen blanks, I'd never had the chance to work with it as much as I have lately. The box elder came from a friend who lives in Indiana (Marty). The two woods together create a very nice contrast.
For my first pen today, some of my friends expressed like for the wavy patterned pen I attempted yesterday. So I tried it first.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Natural material Musical instrument

Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Ball pen Office instrument

It did not turn out exactly like the one I tried yesterday. No two pens are ever exactly alike. When you glue in strips like in this pen, you never know exactly how they'll turn out until you turn it. I still think it is a nice pen though. I think I'll play with this style some more in the future.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Pen Ball pen

Writing implement Pen Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Next, if you seen the other blank I had clamped up in the vice when I finished yesterday, was a piece of walnut with two strips of elder running across each other at a steep end to end angle.

.

Now, after I drilled for and glued in the tubes in these blanks, I needed something to do while waiting for that to dry. So I took some more walnut and box elder and just started messing around. I did not plan on anything with this next pen. I simply started slicing it on the band saw. Then I glued in a strip and let it sit while I turned the first pen. Anytime I had a break, like while waiting on a coat of CA glue to dry for example, I'd slice and glue in another strip. I just wanted to see how it would turn out.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Ball pen Metal

Office supplies Musical instrument Wood Writing implement Writing instrument accessory

I think interesting is the best way I could describe how it turned out.
well weather you knew what you were creating or not, these turned out great william, no other words to say , very nice, i like all of them…im starting on a desk for myself, so i will enjoy using pens when needed…
 

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#794 ·
A Doctor's Pen

I am going tomorrow morning to see a friend who is a doctor. All this week I've had ideas rambling around in my head for a pen design for me to take to him. I had these ideas of this wild design on a pen.
Then I went into the shop today to actually make the blank, and a thought entered my head as I was getting together material. This man is a doctor. If I make some wild looking pen, he may appreciate it, but it'll more than likely wind up in a desk drawer. A doctor is not going to carry around a pen that is going to catch every one's attention the moment he pulls it out of his pocket. I think a doctor would prefer a more simple, yet elegant pen.
Writing implement Office supplies Ball pen Wood Pen

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Musical instrument

Office supplies Wood Pen Writing implement Stationery

It is the same walnut and box elder theme I've been working with lately. Instead of all kinds of crazy glued up pieces though, I decided on two simple rings glued in at a thirty degree angle. After completing it, I think this is much more fitting for a doctor than some of my crazier ideas.
.
I enjoy making all pens. However, after doing a simple pen, I like to go back to wild.
The last pen I posted yesterday, with the randomly glued in slices of box elder, seemed to get a good response from all who seen it. I wanted to do that again, but try a different material.
Wood Natural material Office supplies Metal Fashion accessory

Wood Natural material Metal Office supplies Fashion accessory

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Natural material Metal

I used purple heart and box elder.
I added one more slice than I used on the pen from yesterday. Also, I varied the thickness of those slices.
I plan on making more pens in this style in the future. I realize there are so many variables to this design that change according to number of slices, thickness of those slices, angles of the slices, and also you could use more than just the two color contrast that I've done so far. The possibilities are endless.
 

Attachments

#795 ·
A Doctor's Pen

I am going tomorrow morning to see a friend who is a doctor. All this week I've had ideas rambling around in my head for a pen design for me to take to him. I had these ideas of this wild design on a pen.
Then I went into the shop today to actually make the blank, and a thought entered my head as I was getting together material. This man is a doctor. If I make some wild looking pen, he may appreciate it, but it'll more than likely wind up in a desk drawer. A doctor is not going to carry around a pen that is going to catch every one's attention the moment he pulls it out of his pocket. I think a doctor would prefer a more simple, yet elegant pen.
Writing implement Office supplies Ball pen Wood Pen

Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Musical instrument

Office supplies Wood Pen Writing implement Stationery

It is the same walnut and box elder theme I've been working with lately. Instead of all kinds of crazy glued up pieces though, I decided on two simple rings glued in at a thirty degree angle. After completing it, I think this is much more fitting for a doctor than some of my crazier ideas.
.
I enjoy making all pens. However, after doing a simple pen, I like to go back to wild.
The last pen I posted yesterday, with the randomly glued in slices of box elder, seemed to get a good response from all who seen it. I wanted to do that again, but try a different material.
Wood Natural material Office supplies Metal Fashion accessory

Wood Natural material Metal Office supplies Fashion accessory

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Natural material Metal

I used purple heart and box elder.
I added one more slice than I used on the pen from yesterday. Also, I varied the thickness of those slices.
I plan on making more pens in this style in the future. I realize there are so many variables to this design that change according to number of slices, thickness of those slices, angles of the slices, and also you could use more than just the two color contrast that I've done so far. The possibilities are endless.
Nice pen William, but that's a bit risky givin' a pen to a man that can write you a bill…..
 

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#810 ·
Hooked On Pens

I had a rough week last week and pretty much done nothing wood work related. For a couple of days now though I have been trying to get a project started. I kept getting sidetracked though. Then I would think about pen blank ideas.
Anyway, I actually started the larger project. It doesn't make a difference what the project was. It doesn't warrant talking about for the purpose of what my over all problem is. As I was trying to start it though, everything went wrong. I blame it on several factor, the main one being that my mind just was not on it.
Then I came to a conclusion. This project, I was wanting to do it just to put some time in on a larger project. The particular choice of project though I have done before and have photos to show of it. If someone wants to buy one and put up a deposit, then I'd make it. Otherwise, why am I worrying myself with it? If I have no payment pending project to do, why not just get busy with what my mind was on anyway?
Pens.
I think I have a problem. I am hooked on pens, and wood turning in general. I have got to get a larger lathe somehow so I can turn larger things more often.
For now though, on with the pens.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Font Pen

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Wood Stationery

Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Office instrument

The first on, I decided to revisit a favorite. I was able to obtain a couple more pieces of the sideways grain zebra wood.

The zebra wood pen was something I done in between waiting on glue ups to dry. Mostly what I worked on today was some ideas I had for pen blanks.
Any of you who read my blog regularly may remember a time when I was making wild shaped pens with large bulges and other shapes. Lately I have been sticking to this one style of pen. It is a simple design with no center ring. I like it and it is pretty much what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future unless I'm working with something that I cannot get long enough blanks from, like antler, for example.
I tried those weird shapes because I had not found what my "style" would be. I like simple lines. I think the bulges take away from the overall beauty of the woods I am trying to showcase. Instead, I have figured out I would rather glue up blanks to accent and show off different patterns and looks using different species of woods. After all, it is the material used that sets them apart from any other pen that can be bought for pennies at the store.
So what were these blanks that had been on my mind?
Rectangle Natural material Material property Wood Tints and shades

Starting at the left:
The one still in the vice is a variation on the wave style I've done before. I've done a couple of them now, but they have been dark woods with light accent strips. For this one, I went the other way with yellow heart for the main wood. For the accent strip, I started with walnut. Then I figured I'd make it more interesting. Instead of one strip, why not sandwich a strip of box elder between two strips of walnut?
Next is purple heart and box elder. If this turns out on the lathe without issue, this one is going to make me jump for joy. I think I finally have glued up a celtic knot without messing up any of the strips. As far as I can tell, it is perfect. The only way to tell for certain though is, of course, turn it round.
Next, walnut and box elder. I made some pens lately with the long elliptical rings in it. I got the idea from the first pen I described though to sandwich three strips for the center accents.
The last pen I really don't know what to say. I'm not sure this one isn't going to simply blow apart when I put the drill bit near it. It is red heart, box elder, and ziricote. It was just one of those wild ideas I had at the last minute and threw it together. If it makes it far enough into the pen making process, we will see how it turns out. Some of my best ideas come from spur of the moment glue ups. Who knows?
I wanted all these to cure overnight. So hopefully we will see tomorrow how they turn out. I just wanted to post this evening to show you all these few ideas that I'm working on.
 

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#811 ·
Hooked On Pens

I had a rough week last week and pretty much done nothing wood work related. For a couple of days now though I have been trying to get a project started. I kept getting sidetracked though. Then I would think about pen blank ideas.
Anyway, I actually started the larger project. It doesn't make a difference what the project was. It doesn't warrant talking about for the purpose of what my over all problem is. As I was trying to start it though, everything went wrong. I blame it on several factor, the main one being that my mind just was not on it.
Then I came to a conclusion. This project, I was wanting to do it just to put some time in on a larger project. The particular choice of project though I have done before and have photos to show of it. If someone wants to buy one and put up a deposit, then I'd make it. Otherwise, why am I worrying myself with it? If I have no payment pending project to do, why not just get busy with what my mind was on anyway?
Pens.
I think I have a problem. I am hooked on pens, and wood turning in general. I have got to get a larger lathe somehow so I can turn larger things more often.
For now though, on with the pens.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Font Pen

Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Writing implement Wood Stationery

Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Pen Office instrument

The first on, I decided to revisit a favorite. I was able to obtain a couple more pieces of the sideways grain zebra wood.

The zebra wood pen was something I done in between waiting on glue ups to dry. Mostly what I worked on today was some ideas I had for pen blanks.
Any of you who read my blog regularly may remember a time when I was making wild shaped pens with large bulges and other shapes. Lately I have been sticking to this one style of pen. It is a simple design with no center ring. I like it and it is pretty much what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future unless I'm working with something that I cannot get long enough blanks from, like antler, for example.
I tried those weird shapes because I had not found what my "style" would be. I like simple lines. I think the bulges take away from the overall beauty of the woods I am trying to showcase. Instead, I have figured out I would rather glue up blanks to accent and show off different patterns and looks using different species of woods. After all, it is the material used that sets them apart from any other pen that can be bought for pennies at the store.
So what were these blanks that had been on my mind?
Rectangle Natural material Material property Wood Tints and shades

Starting at the left:
The one still in the vice is a variation on the wave style I've done before. I've done a couple of them now, but they have been dark woods with light accent strips. For this one, I went the other way with yellow heart for the main wood. For the accent strip, I started with walnut. Then I figured I'd make it more interesting. Instead of one strip, why not sandwich a strip of box elder between two strips of walnut?
Next is purple heart and box elder. If this turns out on the lathe without issue, this one is going to make me jump for joy. I think I finally have glued up a celtic knot without messing up any of the strips. As far as I can tell, it is perfect. The only way to tell for certain though is, of course, turn it round.
Next, walnut and box elder. I made some pens lately with the long elliptical rings in it. I got the idea from the first pen I described though to sandwich three strips for the center accents.
The last pen I really don't know what to say. I'm not sure this one isn't going to simply blow apart when I put the drill bit near it. It is red heart, box elder, and ziricote. It was just one of those wild ideas I had at the last minute and threw it together. If it makes it far enough into the pen making process, we will see how it turns out. Some of my best ideas come from spur of the moment glue ups. Who knows?
I wanted all these to cure overnight. So hopefully we will see tomorrow how they turn out. I just wanted to post this evening to show you all these few ideas that I'm working on.
You are doin a mighty fine job at those pens. You've got it goin on William. Know that you have many, many talents. I'm sure I can speak for many and say, keep on keepin on. Also, my "words-o-wisdom", "Work/Play safe. Keep makin dust"
 

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#833 ·
The Results Are In

Rectangle Natural material Material property Wood Tints and shades

Several people expressed interest in how the blanks I glued up yesterday would turn out. Well, I had a very productive day today and turned all four of them.
So, let's start just like we listed them yesterday, starting from the left and moving right.
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Office supplies Wood Writing implement Metal Gun accessory

Office supplies Wood Metal Fashion accessory Writing implement

This one is yellow heart with a center strip made of walnut and box elder.
I was extremely happy with this one. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much for my first time ever working with yellow heart. The blank, before turning, looked very plain. After turning it and smoothing it out in preparation for finish though, it gives off an unexpected brilliant glow.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Stationery

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Stationery Metal

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Varnish Stationery

This was my latest attempt at the celtic cross. It is done with box elder in purple heart. It was a success, sort of.
As far as technique goes, it is perfect as I have seen. The only thing I don't like is the angle I used. This was done on a twenty two and a half degree angle. While it is done correctly, a steeper angle would open it up more and make it look much better in my opinion.
I am just thrilled over the top though that I finally glued one up correctly. I think I learned enough that I will be able to do the steeper angle without as many issues as I've had in the past.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Natural material

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Writing instrument accessory Musical instrument

Musical instrument Writing implement Office supplies Wood Natural material

Here is the long elliptical one in walnut and box elder.
This one was a failure. I turned it correctly and done everything as I should have, only to find out after pressing the pen together that the advance mechanism is malfunctioning. It will not advance. Instead of scrapping the pen completely, I pressed the advance mechanism out further so the pen point simply stays out, ready to write. I will use it as a shop pen.
I will be checking the advance mechanisms from now on before pressing them in.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Ball pen Wood

Office supplies Writing implement Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

Last but not least.
This one is red heart, box elder, and ziricote. If you remember, I was worried about this one blowing apart if it came near a cutting tool. I simply was not happy with the glue up. It wasn't as tight as I would have liked. This morning though, I filled several gaps in it with glue and gave it a shot. In my humble opinion, this terrible glue up turned out to be one of the nicest pens I've done in a while.
 

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#834 ·
The Results Are In

Rectangle Natural material Material property Wood Tints and shades

Several people expressed interest in how the blanks I glued up yesterday would turn out. Well, I had a very productive day today and turned all four of them.
So, let's start just like we listed them yesterday, starting from the left and moving right.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood Office instrument

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Metal Gun accessory

Office supplies Wood Metal Fashion accessory Writing implement

This one is yellow heart with a center strip made of walnut and box elder.
I was extremely happy with this one. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much for my first time ever working with yellow heart. The blank, before turning, looked very plain. After turning it and smoothing it out in preparation for finish though, it gives off an unexpected brilliant glow.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Stationery

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Stationery Metal

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Varnish Stationery

This was my latest attempt at the celtic cross. It is done with box elder in purple heart. It was a success, sort of.
As far as technique goes, it is perfect as I have seen. The only thing I don't like is the angle I used. This was done on a twenty two and a half degree angle. While it is done correctly, a steeper angle would open it up more and make it look much better in my opinion.
I am just thrilled over the top though that I finally glued one up correctly. I think I learned enough that I will be able to do the steeper angle without as many issues as I've had in the past.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Natural material

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Writing instrument accessory Musical instrument

Musical instrument Writing implement Office supplies Wood Natural material

Here is the long elliptical one in walnut and box elder.
This one was a failure. I turned it correctly and done everything as I should have, only to find out after pressing the pen together that the advance mechanism is malfunctioning. It will not advance. Instead of scrapping the pen completely, I pressed the advance mechanism out further so the pen point simply stays out, ready to write. I will use it as a shop pen.
I will be checking the advance mechanisms from now on before pressing them in.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Ball pen Wood

Office supplies Writing implement Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Pen Ball pen Writing instrument accessory

Last but not least.
This one is red heart, box elder, and ziricote. If you remember, I was worried about this one blowing apart if it came near a cutting tool. I simply was not happy with the glue up. It wasn't as tight as I would have liked. This morning though, I filled several gaps in it with glue and gave it a shot. In my humble opinion, this terrible glue up turned out to be one of the nicest pens I've done in a while.
bravo william, you done good man, each one is wonderful, are you happy with the results…and did you see i wrote you and told you my pen arrived yesterday, its beautiful, you didnt mention that you read that, just want to make sure you know it got here safely…thank you again…
 

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#856 ·
A Personal Challenge

I've had a couple of pretty decent days. When that happens, I usually mess it up by over doing things and making myself hurt worse than ever. Well, so it goes. That's exactly what I have done. As I sit here in pain though, I am sort of proud of myself. I sort of made myself a personal challenge, and I succeeded.
Product Wood Rectangle Natural material Wood stain

It started with yesterday. I wanted to see how many blanks I could prepare in one day. That was not all of the challenge though. I did not want to simply throw together two simple pieces of wood. I wanted to make interesting blanks. Then, whatever blanks I was able to make in one day, I wanted to see if I could turn them all in one more day.
In my mind, I was thinking I would aim for five blanks. Well, without putting much though into it, while waiting for some glue ups to set so I could add more, like on the celtic cross designs, I started playing around with pieces in my scrap bucket and glued up two extra blanks. That made for seven blanks total. That is when I realized I had actually put myself in a predicament if I was planning on doing them all in one day. I still wanted to go through with trying anyway. 
So, today I went to the shop to see if I was up to the challenge. I'll start left to right in the above photo of pen blanks and tell you about each one. Let's see how far I got.
Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Wood Stationery

Writing implement Office supplies Wood Tints and shades Pencil

Office supplies Writing implement Tool Wood Office instrument

I think I have the celtic cross design beat now. Once I learned that the biggest obstacle is patience with this design, it seems so easy that I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to get it right.
This one is yellow heart with walnut for the celtic cross. The cross pieces were cut and glued in on a forty five degree angle.
Pen Office supplies Writing implement Wood Natural material

Pen Office supplies Writing implement Ball pen Purple

This one is box elder and walnut.
It actually was not turning out at all like I wanted. So when I realized it was going to look terrible the way it was going, I reversed the blank on the back end of the pen to make the swoops opposite each other. That change in mid-stream, while it wasn't exactly the look I was going for, I think saved the pen from complete failure.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Font Stationery

Writing implement Office supplies Wood Pencil Writing instrument accessory

Next up, since I had the celtic cross figured out and had one with dark in light contrast, I wanted to make one on the opposite end of the spectrum. So here is one in red heart with box elder cross pieces.
Office supplies Pen Wood Writing implement Stationery

Brown Natural material Wood Eyewear Fashion accessory

Eyewear Tints and shades Wood Kitchen utensil Peach

This one is a different take on a design I've done several time. I usually make a double curve along the length of the whole pen. I was just wondering what adding more curves to the mix would produce. I like this design very much and actually started thinking of some other variations I may try in the near future.
This one is purple heart with a box elder strip.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Natural material Pen

Pen Writing implement Office supplies Office instrument Ball pen

I admit that I really don't know where my thought process was going with this one. It looked magnificent in my mind. I think it turned out kind of plainer than I imagined though. It is a nice pen, but I don't think it is nice enough to revisit the awkward glue up process it took to make it.
It is made of sweet gum and the strips are walnut and sapelle.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

This one is one of the scrap wood pens. Actually, it is entirely scrap wood. Each and every piece of this particular pen came out of my scrap bucket. All I done was cut some notches in some of the pieces, stacked other pieces of scraps on top of it, and then took it apart and rebuilt it one piece at a time, in between waiting on other glue ups, and glued the pieces together.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Pen Wood

Office supplies Natural material Material property Wood Musical instrument

This is my other scrap wood pen. This one is not completely scrap wood. I cut notches for this one in a sweet gum blank. Then I glued the little squares of scraps in those notches. I don't know what I was expecting out of this one. I think it did turn out very interesting though. It looks almost like polka-dots to me.
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Were you keeping count?
I wasn't. I had turned the last pen for the day when I realized that I had met my own challenge and turned all seven pens in a day. I was proud of myself. I was also aware of how bad my back had started hurting. I hate it, but I highly doubt I'll make it to the shop tomorrow, but it felt so good to meet my goal.
 

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#857 ·
A Personal Challenge

I've had a couple of pretty decent days. When that happens, I usually mess it up by over doing things and making myself hurt worse than ever. Well, so it goes. That's exactly what I have done. As I sit here in pain though, I am sort of proud of myself. I sort of made myself a personal challenge, and I succeeded.
Product Wood Rectangle Natural material Wood stain

It started with yesterday. I wanted to see how many blanks I could prepare in one day. That was not all of the challenge though. I did not want to simply throw together two simple pieces of wood. I wanted to make interesting blanks. Then, whatever blanks I was able to make in one day, I wanted to see if I could turn them all in one more day.
In my mind, I was thinking I would aim for five blanks. Well, without putting much though into it, while waiting for some glue ups to set so I could add more, like on the celtic cross designs, I started playing around with pieces in my scrap bucket and glued up two extra blanks. That made for seven blanks total. That is when I realized I had actually put myself in a predicament if I was planning on doing them all in one day. I still wanted to go through with trying anyway. 
So, today I went to the shop to see if I was up to the challenge. I'll start left to right in the above photo of pen blanks and tell you about each one. Let's see how far I got.
Office supplies Writing implement Natural material Wood Stationery

Writing implement Office supplies Wood Tints and shades Pencil

Office supplies Writing implement Tool Wood Office instrument

I think I have the celtic cross design beat now. Once I learned that the biggest obstacle is patience with this design, it seems so easy that I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to get it right.
This one is yellow heart with walnut for the celtic cross. The cross pieces were cut and glued in on a forty five degree angle.
Pen Office supplies Writing implement Wood Natural material

Pen Office supplies Writing implement Ball pen Purple

This one is box elder and walnut.
It actually was not turning out at all like I wanted. So when I realized it was going to look terrible the way it was going, I reversed the blank on the back end of the pen to make the swoops opposite each other. That change in mid-stream, while it wasn't exactly the look I was going for, I think saved the pen from complete failure.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Font Stationery

Writing implement Office supplies Wood Pencil Writing instrument accessory

Next up, since I had the celtic cross figured out and had one with dark in light contrast, I wanted to make one on the opposite end of the spectrum. So here is one in red heart with box elder cross pieces.
Office supplies Pen Wood Writing implement Stationery

Brown Natural material Wood Eyewear Fashion accessory

Eyewear Tints and shades Wood Kitchen utensil Peach

This one is a different take on a design I've done several time. I usually make a double curve along the length of the whole pen. I was just wondering what adding more curves to the mix would produce. I like this design very much and actually started thinking of some other variations I may try in the near future.
This one is purple heart with a box elder strip.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Natural material Pen

Pen Writing implement Office supplies Office instrument Ball pen

I admit that I really don't know where my thought process was going with this one. It looked magnificent in my mind. I think it turned out kind of plainer than I imagined though. It is a nice pen, but I don't think it is nice enough to revisit the awkward glue up process it took to make it.
It is made of sweet gum and the strips are walnut and sapelle.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Wood

This one is one of the scrap wood pens. Actually, it is entirely scrap wood. Each and every piece of this particular pen came out of my scrap bucket. All I done was cut some notches in some of the pieces, stacked other pieces of scraps on top of it, and then took it apart and rebuilt it one piece at a time, in between waiting on other glue ups, and glued the pieces together.
Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Pen Wood

Office supplies Natural material Material property Wood Musical instrument

This is my other scrap wood pen. This one is not completely scrap wood. I cut notches for this one in a sweet gum blank. Then I glued the little squares of scraps in those notches. I don't know what I was expecting out of this one. I think it did turn out very interesting though. It looks almost like polka-dots to me.
.
Were you keeping count?
I wasn't. I had turned the last pen for the day when I realized that I had met my own challenge and turned all seven pens in a day. I was proud of myself. I was also aware of how bad my back had started hurting. I hate it, but I highly doubt I'll make it to the shop tomorrow, but it felt so good to meet my goal.
It appears there is no limit to the design variations you can come up with for pens. They all turned out cool but the yellowheart and redheart with the celtic knots are the winners for today. (IMHO)
 

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#870 ·
Counting Blessings

Today's post is quite a lengthy one. It covers several days work. I did not post daily because I have had something on my mind. I have been thinking of all that I have been blessed with since I started turning pens.
First of all, I love turning pens. I'm sure that has become obvious. The thing I love about it most is the fact that I get the chance to work with so many different beautiful materials that I otherwise would never get to use. That is just the beginning though.
What brought me to thinking of all this? Well I will get to that, but first, I'd like to just start with an overview of all the generosity that has been shown to me since I started turning.
I had an old piece of crap lathe. It wasn't working out and I found out the spindle was bent. So a friend gave me a lathe.
Then I mentioned that I was interested in pen turning and started experimenting with store bought pen parts. A friend sent me a hundred dollar gift card to get me started with buying proper kits and equipment.
Next, other friends found out about my interest and several of those friends have sent me woods of different species from all over the world.
All this is in addition to the moral support, advice, and all the online help a guy could ever hope for along the way.
I even had another friend who sent me some mesh sandpaper that I had never even heard of which has now become my go to choice for preparing for finishing pens.
I may have left out a detail or two there. I've been so blessed with all the support I've gotten that I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude. I have no words to express the thanks I owe so many people who have helped me with this adventure.
Anyway, back to the present.
Wood Tool Rectangle Hardwood Metal

With all this going on a couple of days ago, I forgot to take a photo of the blanks before I started turning pens. Here are the three that were left when I did think about it though.
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Wood Plant Terrestrial plant Natural material Metal

This one is walnut and box elder. If you've been reading my blogs and remember the blanks I've made with a double curve line, this one is similar, but an experiment with two lines opposing each other.
Writing implement Office supplies Fashion accessory Metal Natural material

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Natural material Fashion accessory

This one is purple heart and yellow heart. I got this idea from a photo that was sent to me by a reader of my blog.
It was after this pen that I thought about taking a photo of the blanks. I do apologize for that. I've been told by a couple of readers that they like seeing the blanks so they can see what blanks look like before the turning.
Wood Peach Natural material Metal Varnish

Wood Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Stationery

This one is padauk and box elder.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Stationery Musical instrument

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Stationery Pen

This one was one of my wild ideas that turned out pretty good.
All the time, while preparing blanks, I often have thin strips of wood left over off the table saw. I've been throwing those strips into a coffee can on one of my tables. I took some of those strips and glued them up just to see how they would turn out.
Wood Pattern Fashion accessory Font Natural material

Then, I like the pen my reader gave me the idea for so much that I made a similar one from ziricote and yellow heart.
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Now I must back up to the original thought that began this blog post, the generosity that others have shown so much of to me.
Wood Flag Bookend Wood stain Hardwood

Early on, while turning all the pens I showed above, the mail delivery ran. When I stopped to take my medicine at noon, I went to the house and there was a package by my door.
This came from a good friend, Andy. He sent me some beautiful wood. There is mesquite, black cherry, elm, hedge apple, mulberry, and I'm probably leaving a couple out. There was a lot of beautiful wood.
Table Furniture Wood Tableware Wood stain

I immediately had to cut some of it up. These were again woods I had never worked with and had to get a better view of what wonderful grain patterns I was working with.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Natural material

So before the day was over, I had to take a piece of that hedge apple, which is some of most brilliant color I've ever seen in wood, and start on a pen for Andy.
While I was at it, I glued up the rest of those scrap strips I had mentioned earlier for another idea I had on my mind.
Wood Rectangle Font Kitchen utensil Cutlery

Here is the results of my idea. The middle blanks was the idea I was working on. The bottom blank is a result of the left over material from that idea. The top blank is Andy's pen.
Water Wood Rectangle Tints and shades Bumper

It's a good thing that the bottom blank in the above photo is left over, because before I could get it to a pen, I had a pretty bad blow out on it. With a blow out this bad, about all you can do is turn it down to the tubes and, hopefully, save them to be used again.
Wood Twig Natural material Musical instrument Jewellery

Musical instrument Wood Gold Font Rectangle

So that made me more cautious when turning the original pen blank I was trying for. Actually, I had a blowout on this one too. However, it happen early enough that I was able to flip that side of the blank and save the overall pen. This is made from sapelle and maple strips that are off cuts from past projects.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Musical instrument Art

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Writing instrument accessory Stationery


That brings me to Andy's pen.
This is an absolutely beautiful wood, and it is a joy to work with too. It is a very hard wood, which is actually great for turning in my opinion. The yellowish wood is hedge apple. Some people call this osage orange. I'm not sure about that name, because to me it is simply a more brilliant yellow than even yellow heart. It is absolutely stunning. The celtic knot is walnut strips spliced in at a sixty degree angle.
.
My day of counting blessings did not end there though.
Rectangle Wood Wooden block Flooring Font

This time the package came by way of UPS. This came from my buddy Jeff. He sent me rosewood, wenge, maple, some spalted maple, and a real treat, the boxes.
Rectangle Wood Font Wood stain Hardwood

These are boxes that Jeff has made for me and two other friends. The boxes are nice, but the attention to detail make them beyond what I can possibly describe in words. They are a work of art in themselves.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Varnish Natural material

Here is my box with two pens I turned sitting in it on pen blocks. Jeff sent the pen blocks too. He has given me full permission to copy his design or come up with a design of my own. Either way I decide to go, I am going to work at this. It will be an added feature I'll be able to offer while trying to sell pens. Also, for a fee, I will be able to send off lids to be carved with details as nice as the ones on these boxes. Even with the extra cost, I think some people may like that option.
Brown Wood Tints and shades Rectangle Composite material

Back to the wood though, have any of you wood workers ever seen a piece of wood that you just couldn't get off your mind?
While I was finishing up the other pens I showed above, this particular piece of the spalted maple stayed on my mind.
This piece of wood is actually a terrible piece of wood to turn. It has cracking. It has busted out areas. It has some parts where I stuck an awl into to check that were so punky that it almost felt like a sponge. The grain runs across it instead of along the length. For all that it had wrong with it though, it also was absolutely stunning in appearance. Sometimes nature produces something nicer than anything I could possibly glue up.
I won't bore you with all I had to go through to get this turned without completely ruining it. I will tell you I used a lot (I mean a LOT) of CA glue. I practically had to soak some area in it to stabilize it enough that it wouldn't fly apart on the lathe.
But…........
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Musical instrument Pen Office supplies Writing implement Wood

Wood Office supplies Metal Fashion accessory Font

I don't know if Jeff knew it or not, but he sent me something else that I love more than anything, a challenge. This blank was a big challenge, but I love how it turned out.
Jeff, please make sure I have your proper address. I'm not sure if the address on the package you sent is your work address or not. Should I sent packages there, or is there another address?

Again, I'd like to thank all who have supported me in my turning adventures. Without the help I have recieved from such good people, there is no way I would have moved so fast to where I am now with this. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
 

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#871 ·
Counting Blessings

Today's post is quite a lengthy one. It covers several days work. I did not post daily because I have had something on my mind. I have been thinking of all that I have been blessed with since I started turning pens.
First of all, I love turning pens. I'm sure that has become obvious. The thing I love about it most is the fact that I get the chance to work with so many different beautiful materials that I otherwise would never get to use. That is just the beginning though.
What brought me to thinking of all this? Well I will get to that, but first, I'd like to just start with an overview of all the generosity that has been shown to me since I started turning.
I had an old piece of crap lathe. It wasn't working out and I found out the spindle was bent. So a friend gave me a lathe.
Then I mentioned that I was interested in pen turning and started experimenting with store bought pen parts. A friend sent me a hundred dollar gift card to get me started with buying proper kits and equipment.
Next, other friends found out about my interest and several of those friends have sent me woods of different species from all over the world.
All this is in addition to the moral support, advice, and all the online help a guy could ever hope for along the way.
I even had another friend who sent me some mesh sandpaper that I had never even heard of which has now become my go to choice for preparing for finishing pens.
I may have left out a detail or two there. I've been so blessed with all the support I've gotten that I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude. I have no words to express the thanks I owe so many people who have helped me with this adventure.
Anyway, back to the present.
Wood Tool Rectangle Hardwood Metal

With all this going on a couple of days ago, I forgot to take a photo of the blanks before I started turning pens. Here are the three that were left when I did think about it though.
Natural material Wood Metal Titanium Office supplies

Wood Plant Terrestrial plant Natural material Metal

This one is walnut and box elder. If you've been reading my blogs and remember the blanks I've made with a double curve line, this one is similar, but an experiment with two lines opposing each other.
Writing implement Office supplies Fashion accessory Metal Natural material

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Natural material Fashion accessory

This one is purple heart and yellow heart. I got this idea from a photo that was sent to me by a reader of my blog.
It was after this pen that I thought about taking a photo of the blanks. I do apologize for that. I've been told by a couple of readers that they like seeing the blanks so they can see what blanks look like before the turning.
Wood Peach Natural material Metal Varnish

Wood Office supplies Writing implement Writing instrument accessory Stationery

This one is padauk and box elder.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Stationery Musical instrument

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Stationery Pen

This one was one of my wild ideas that turned out pretty good.
All the time, while preparing blanks, I often have thin strips of wood left over off the table saw. I've been throwing those strips into a coffee can on one of my tables. I took some of those strips and glued them up just to see how they would turn out.
Wood Pattern Fashion accessory Font Natural material

Then, I like the pen my reader gave me the idea for so much that I made a similar one from ziricote and yellow heart.
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Now I must back up to the original thought that began this blog post, the generosity that others have shown so much of to me.
Wood Flag Bookend Wood stain Hardwood

Early on, while turning all the pens I showed above, the mail delivery ran. When I stopped to take my medicine at noon, I went to the house and there was a package by my door.
This came from a good friend, Andy. He sent me some beautiful wood. There is mesquite, black cherry, elm, hedge apple, mulberry, and I'm probably leaving a couple out. There was a lot of beautiful wood.
Table Furniture Wood Tableware Wood stain

I immediately had to cut some of it up. These were again woods I had never worked with and had to get a better view of what wonderful grain patterns I was working with.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Natural material

So before the day was over, I had to take a piece of that hedge apple, which is some of most brilliant color I've ever seen in wood, and start on a pen for Andy.
While I was at it, I glued up the rest of those scrap strips I had mentioned earlier for another idea I had on my mind.
Wood Rectangle Font Kitchen utensil Cutlery

Here is the results of my idea. The middle blanks was the idea I was working on. The bottom blank is a result of the left over material from that idea. The top blank is Andy's pen.
Water Wood Rectangle Tints and shades Bumper

It's a good thing that the bottom blank in the above photo is left over, because before I could get it to a pen, I had a pretty bad blow out on it. With a blow out this bad, about all you can do is turn it down to the tubes and, hopefully, save them to be used again.
Wood Twig Natural material Musical instrument Jewellery

Musical instrument Wood Gold Font Rectangle

So that made me more cautious when turning the original pen blank I was trying for. Actually, I had a blowout on this one too. However, it happen early enough that I was able to flip that side of the blank and save the overall pen. This is made from sapelle and maple strips that are off cuts from past projects.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Musical instrument Art

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Writing instrument accessory Stationery


That brings me to Andy's pen.
This is an absolutely beautiful wood, and it is a joy to work with too. It is a very hard wood, which is actually great for turning in my opinion. The yellowish wood is hedge apple. Some people call this osage orange. I'm not sure about that name, because to me it is simply a more brilliant yellow than even yellow heart. It is absolutely stunning. The celtic knot is walnut strips spliced in at a sixty degree angle.
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My day of counting blessings did not end there though.
Rectangle Wood Wooden block Flooring Font

This time the package came by way of UPS. This came from my buddy Jeff. He sent me rosewood, wenge, maple, some spalted maple, and a real treat, the boxes.
Rectangle Wood Font Wood stain Hardwood

These are boxes that Jeff has made for me and two other friends. The boxes are nice, but the attention to detail make them beyond what I can possibly describe in words. They are a work of art in themselves.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Varnish Natural material

Here is my box with two pens I turned sitting in it on pen blocks. Jeff sent the pen blocks too. He has given me full permission to copy his design or come up with a design of my own. Either way I decide to go, I am going to work at this. It will be an added feature I'll be able to offer while trying to sell pens. Also, for a fee, I will be able to send off lids to be carved with details as nice as the ones on these boxes. Even with the extra cost, I think some people may like that option.
Brown Wood Tints and shades Rectangle Composite material

Back to the wood though, have any of you wood workers ever seen a piece of wood that you just couldn't get off your mind?
While I was finishing up the other pens I showed above, this particular piece of the spalted maple stayed on my mind.
This piece of wood is actually a terrible piece of wood to turn. It has cracking. It has busted out areas. It has some parts where I stuck an awl into to check that were so punky that it almost felt like a sponge. The grain runs across it instead of along the length. For all that it had wrong with it though, it also was absolutely stunning in appearance. Sometimes nature produces something nicer than anything I could possibly glue up.
I won't bore you with all I had to go through to get this turned without completely ruining it. I will tell you I used a lot (I mean a LOT) of CA glue. I practically had to soak some area in it to stabilize it enough that it wouldn't fly apart on the lathe.
But…........
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Musical instrument Pen Office supplies Writing implement Wood

Wood Office supplies Metal Fashion accessory Font

I don't know if Jeff knew it or not, but he sent me something else that I love more than anything, a challenge. This blank was a big challenge, but I love how it turned out.
Jeff, please make sure I have your proper address. I'm not sure if the address on the package you sent is your work address or not. Should I sent packages there, or is there another address?

Again, I'd like to thank all who have supported me in my turning adventures. Without the help I have recieved from such good people, there is no way I would have moved so fast to where I am now with this. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
They look great William..

Very nice work!
 

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#893 ·
More Fun And Challenges

I have to apologize for today's (again) very lengthy post. It started with six pen blanks. Then I was not able to get them done in one day's time. So it dragged on for a couple of days. I need to start making fewer blanks at once I guess. Another option would be to photograph the blanks separately so I can post daily on just what I do. That would use up even more space though. So I'm torn on how to handle that little problem.
Anyway, while I figure that out, let's get to it shall we?
Rectangle Wood Font Wooden block Hardwood

Here are the six blanks I mentioned. As usual though, there is more to the story on some of these.
Musical instrument Writing implement Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory

The first one I made was the other cross grained spalted maple that my buddy had sent me. I think this one turned out to be an even bigger challenge than the first.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Office instrument Wood

Next was the hedge apple with the sixty degree celtic knot of walnut.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself that you've already seen these recently, so why do them again, and show them again, so soon?
Rectangle Wood Varnish Art Font

Remember that fancy box my friend sent me?
Wood Natural material Hardwood Rectangle Metal

I had decided that I liked these two pens so much, that the reason I made them again so soon was, these are now my own personal pens.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Office instrument Ball pen

Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Next up was the mulberry. The mulberry reminds me a lot of yellow heart. It is a beautiful wood, but is kind of plain without some kind of accent to it. So I added a square of ziricote to the center of the blank before turning.
Office supplies Wood Metal Writing implement Stationery

Speaking of the similarities between yellow heart and mulberry, my friend had sent me this because he said that yellow heart I'd made such a fuss about recently looked a lot like mulberry to him. So here is a side by side comparison of the three yellowish woods. From left to right is mulberry, yellow heart, and hedge apple.
Andy is right, turned, the yellow heart and mulberry look almost identical. They look so much alike that I want to do some research soon as to what the differences are in these two woods, if any. They both look, turn, and smell the same. If I find out anything about this mystery, I'll be sure to report back.
In the meantime, Andy, I absolutely love the mulberry. Again, since I have never seen mulberry or yellow heart locally, it is a special treat to me to be able to work with these woods.
Wood Publication Natural material Wood stain Pipe

Next, I had noticed that I had several sixty degree knots in lighter woods, but none the opposite. So I decided to try one in jatoba, another wood I had never turned before.
It actually turned out beautifully, until I messed up. The front end of the pen looked a tad too plain to me compared to the rear with the celtic knot. So I got the bright idea of burning some lines.
The wire somehow caught, broke the wire, and messed up the pen.
Food Ingredient Wood Cuisine Staple food

This is what is left of the burn wire. I still have not found all of it after it violently slung across my shop. I am here to beg all of you wood turners who are holding wire with your fingers to burn lines, and I know this because I used to do it that way, please make some handles like you see in this photo. Yes, my wire is broken, but not my fingers. If I had been holding the wire wrapped around my fingers like I used to, I'd be lucky to have all ten of them right now.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Wood Office supplies Fashion accessory Stationery Terrestrial animal

The last two pens in the blank batch you've also seen before. I just decided to go ahead and get these two turned to get them off my bench.
Wood Rectangle Twig Beige Font

The friend who sent me the cross grained spalted maple? He also sent me a piece of long grain. I decided I just couldn't wait to see how it turned out.
Office supplies Writing implement Musical instrument Wood Pen

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Musical instrument Gun accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Metal

It turned out beautifully. Actually, I think this one may be a little nicer. It has a lighter color because I was able to turn it without completely saturating it in glue to hold it together.
Wood Trunk Automotive tire Tire Wood stain

That evening I decided to go see another friend of mine, Chips.
Chips gave me this piece of cherry burl. I was anxious to cut into this. I've never worked with any kind of burl in raw form. I know from reading that it's like a Christmas present. You never know what's inside until you cut into it.
So I wondered what I could find in this?
Ingredient Wood Cuisine Dish Seafood

Well that didn't look at all like I expected. Then again, I'm not sure what I expected.
Wood Artifact Hardwood Natural material Beige

I like to be able to get five continuous inches of blank material when possible. I was not able to get that out of any of the burl pieces. So instead, I looked it over good and matched up two short length blanks the best I could.
Wood Office supplies Natural material Writing implement Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Pen Metal

Then, with all that careful matching, I had a major blowout and wound up having to flip one piece so the blown out area could be turned off the back end to shape the pen. I still think it turned out to be an extraordinary piece though. As I've said before, sometimes nature creates looks more beautiful than anything I could possibly glue up in a blank.
Wood Hardwood Natural material Composite material Plywood

Last pen for this post, the same friend who had sent the box you seen earlier in this post, he sent me several pieces of wenge. This wood intrigued me. It varied from almost black to a chocolaty brown color. It looked beautiful, and I wanted to know what it would look like as a pen.
Writing implement Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory Stationery

Hey! You can't win them all.
I do not like this pen at all. Believe it or not, it was a beautiful contrast in it that drew the eye in after sanding it to a smooth finish. Then I put a CA glue finish on it, and the lighter colors in the contrast turned almost as dark as the darker areas, leaving a pretty bland looking pen. I think I have enough of this for two more pens. I think I will try again at a later date, with a different finish than the CA glue I normally use.
 

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#894 ·
More Fun And Challenges

I have to apologize for today's (again) very lengthy post. It started with six pen blanks. Then I was not able to get them done in one day's time. So it dragged on for a couple of days. I need to start making fewer blanks at once I guess. Another option would be to photograph the blanks separately so I can post daily on just what I do. That would use up even more space though. So I'm torn on how to handle that little problem.
Anyway, while I figure that out, let's get to it shall we?
Rectangle Wood Font Wooden block Hardwood

Here are the six blanks I mentioned. As usual though, there is more to the story on some of these.
Musical instrument Writing implement Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory

The first one I made was the other cross grained spalted maple that my buddy had sent me. I think this one turned out to be an even bigger challenge than the first.
Office supplies Writing implement Pen Office instrument Wood

Next was the hedge apple with the sixty degree celtic knot of walnut.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself that you've already seen these recently, so why do them again, and show them again, so soon?
Rectangle Wood Varnish Art Font

Remember that fancy box my friend sent me?
Wood Natural material Hardwood Rectangle Metal

I had decided that I liked these two pens so much, that the reason I made them again so soon was, these are now my own personal pens.
Pen Writing implement Office supplies Office instrument Ball pen

Pen Writing implement Office supplies Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Next up was the mulberry. The mulberry reminds me a lot of yellow heart. It is a beautiful wood, but is kind of plain without some kind of accent to it. So I added a square of ziricote to the center of the blank before turning.
Office supplies Wood Metal Writing implement Stationery

Speaking of the similarities between yellow heart and mulberry, my friend had sent me this because he said that yellow heart I'd made such a fuss about recently looked a lot like mulberry to him. So here is a side by side comparison of the three yellowish woods. From left to right is mulberry, yellow heart, and hedge apple.
Andy is right, turned, the yellow heart and mulberry look almost identical. They look so much alike that I want to do some research soon as to what the differences are in these two woods, if any. They both look, turn, and smell the same. If I find out anything about this mystery, I'll be sure to report back.
In the meantime, Andy, I absolutely love the mulberry. Again, since I have never seen mulberry or yellow heart locally, it is a special treat to me to be able to work with these woods.
Wood Publication Natural material Wood stain Pipe

Next, I had noticed that I had several sixty degree knots in lighter woods, but none the opposite. So I decided to try one in jatoba, another wood I had never turned before.
It actually turned out beautifully, until I messed up. The front end of the pen looked a tad too plain to me compared to the rear with the celtic knot. So I got the bright idea of burning some lines.
The wire somehow caught, broke the wire, and messed up the pen.
Food Ingredient Wood Cuisine Staple food

This is what is left of the burn wire. I still have not found all of it after it violently slung across my shop. I am here to beg all of you wood turners who are holding wire with your fingers to burn lines, and I know this because I used to do it that way, please make some handles like you see in this photo. Yes, my wire is broken, but not my fingers. If I had been holding the wire wrapped around my fingers like I used to, I'd be lucky to have all ten of them right now.
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Writing instrument accessory Office instrument

Wood Office supplies Fashion accessory Stationery Terrestrial animal

The last two pens in the blank batch you've also seen before. I just decided to go ahead and get these two turned to get them off my bench.
Wood Rectangle Twig Beige Font

The friend who sent me the cross grained spalted maple? He also sent me a piece of long grain. I decided I just couldn't wait to see how it turned out.
Office supplies Writing implement Musical instrument Wood Pen

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Musical instrument Gun accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Pen Wood Metal

It turned out beautifully. Actually, I think this one may be a little nicer. It has a lighter color because I was able to turn it without completely saturating it in glue to hold it together.
Wood Trunk Automotive tire Tire Wood stain

That evening I decided to go see another friend of mine, Chips.
Chips gave me this piece of cherry burl. I was anxious to cut into this. I've never worked with any kind of burl in raw form. I know from reading that it's like a Christmas present. You never know what's inside until you cut into it.
So I wondered what I could find in this?
Ingredient Wood Cuisine Dish Seafood

Well that didn't look at all like I expected. Then again, I'm not sure what I expected.
Wood Artifact Hardwood Natural material Beige

I like to be able to get five continuous inches of blank material when possible. I was not able to get that out of any of the burl pieces. So instead, I looked it over good and matched up two short length blanks the best I could.
Wood Office supplies Natural material Writing implement Writing instrument accessory

Office supplies Writing implement Wood Pen Metal

Then, with all that careful matching, I had a major blowout and wound up having to flip one piece so the blown out area could be turned off the back end to shape the pen. I still think it turned out to be an extraordinary piece though. As I've said before, sometimes nature creates looks more beautiful than anything I could possibly glue up in a blank.
Wood Hardwood Natural material Composite material Plywood

Last pen for this post, the same friend who had sent the box you seen earlier in this post, he sent me several pieces of wenge. This wood intrigued me. It varied from almost black to a chocolaty brown color. It looked beautiful, and I wanted to know what it would look like as a pen.
Writing implement Office supplies Wood Writing instrument accessory Stationery

Hey! You can't win them all.
I do not like this pen at all. Believe it or not, it was a beautiful contrast in it that drew the eye in after sanding it to a smooth finish. Then I put a CA glue finish on it, and the lighter colors in the contrast turned almost as dark as the darker areas, leaving a pretty bland looking pen. I think I have enough of this for two more pens. I think I will try again at a later date, with a different finish than the CA glue I normally use.
I am so glad you like the hedge and mulberry. The hedge will darken quite a bit. The mulberry seems to stay yellow. I honestly think the hedge is my favorite of all you have done.
 

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#909 ·
Pen Boxes

Not exactly actual turning on the lathe, but since it is for my turned pen, I thought it belonged in the "As The Lathe Turns" series anyway. So here goes.
Wood Composite material Table Hardwood Gas

I've already gotten a couple of emails about how the jig I posted yesterday could possibly have anything to do with making a pen box.
The long piece on the right has knobs underneath to make it adjustable. I put one part of a box in place, tap that clamp block against the part, and tighten the knobs to hold it in place. I have ink pen markings on the jig for several different size boxes. The part on the left, the one you see the knobs on, is an adjustable fence for a router to ride against. Again, I have markings for it to do several different sizes. The pieces that stick out the bottom and top of the jig are also adjustable from underneath. They are stop blocks for where you want the routed holes to start and end.
I am glad to report, I made two boxes today, so I can show you the box style.
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Flooring Wood stain

I made two boxes. One is made of sapelle and one of sycamore.
They are each made of two pieces of wood. Each piece is six and a half inches long, two and a half inches wide, and three quarters of an inch thick. I set the router to cut three eighths of an inch deep with a three quarter inch bull nose bit. Then I set my jig to route the groove in each piece exactly in the center of each piece, starting and stopping a half inch from the ends.
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Metal

After making the two pieces on the jig, and marking and predrilling holes for the hinges, I move to my table router, with a quarter inch round over bit, and smooth over the sharp edges. Next I mark and drill a three eighths hole in each piece so I can glue in a magnet on each piece that will hold the box shut. Then, after sanding everything real good, I install the hinges on it. Lastly, on these two at least, I give the whole thing a good rubdown with Johnson's Past Wax.
Rectangle Wood Office supplies Font Hardwood

I like these boxes. I can make them cheaply enough, and easy enough to offer them as an add on item with my pens. I can sell them for ten dollars with a pen order, or a little more if someone wants to buy just a pen box for some reason.
Before starting, I set everything up, including my saws, sander, jig, and table router. With everything set up, I can make up one of these boxes in about thirty minutes. I don't think that is bad considering I plan on offering them with pen orders at a price that I really won't be making anything on them. The idea is for this to be a value added product, with my profits coming from the pens themselves. Later, I hope things go well enough that I can branch out into maybe some fancier boxes that I may actually make a profit on in addition to the pens.
Anyway, these were just two I made a point of getting done today so I could show what they would look like. I've got the hardware to make eight more for now, and will get them done as soon as I can get around to it.
 

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#910 ·
Pen Boxes

Not exactly actual turning on the lathe, but since it is for my turned pen, I thought it belonged in the "As The Lathe Turns" series anyway. So here goes.
Wood Composite material Table Hardwood Gas

I've already gotten a couple of emails about how the jig I posted yesterday could possibly have anything to do with making a pen box.
The long piece on the right has knobs underneath to make it adjustable. I put one part of a box in place, tap that clamp block against the part, and tighten the knobs to hold it in place. I have ink pen markings on the jig for several different size boxes. The part on the left, the one you see the knobs on, is an adjustable fence for a router to ride against. Again, I have markings for it to do several different sizes. The pieces that stick out the bottom and top of the jig are also adjustable from underneath. They are stop blocks for where you want the routed holes to start and end.
I am glad to report, I made two boxes today, so I can show you the box style.
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Flooring Wood stain

I made two boxes. One is made of sapelle and one of sycamore.
They are each made of two pieces of wood. Each piece is six and a half inches long, two and a half inches wide, and three quarters of an inch thick. I set the router to cut three eighths of an inch deep with a three quarter inch bull nose bit. Then I set my jig to route the groove in each piece exactly in the center of each piece, starting and stopping a half inch from the ends.
Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Metal

After making the two pieces on the jig, and marking and predrilling holes for the hinges, I move to my table router, with a quarter inch round over bit, and smooth over the sharp edges. Next I mark and drill a three eighths hole in each piece so I can glue in a magnet on each piece that will hold the box shut. Then, after sanding everything real good, I install the hinges on it. Lastly, on these two at least, I give the whole thing a good rubdown with Johnson's Past Wax.
Rectangle Wood Office supplies Font Hardwood

I like these boxes. I can make them cheaply enough, and easy enough to offer them as an add on item with my pens. I can sell them for ten dollars with a pen order, or a little more if someone wants to buy just a pen box for some reason.
Before starting, I set everything up, including my saws, sander, jig, and table router. With everything set up, I can make up one of these boxes in about thirty minutes. I don't think that is bad considering I plan on offering them with pen orders at a price that I really won't be making anything on them. The idea is for this to be a value added product, with my profits coming from the pens themselves. Later, I hope things go well enough that I can branch out into maybe some fancier boxes that I may actually make a profit on in addition to the pens.
Anyway, these were just two I made a point of getting done today so I could show what they would look like. I've got the hardware to make eight more for now, and will get them done as soon as I can get around to it.
Great jig and wonderful boxes
 

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#921 ·
Slow Progress

It is getting to be normal lately for me not to feel much like getting online late in the evening when I finally get time to do so. I will try my best to start posting more often. I want to thank those of you who have been sending me emails and messages of concern and well wishes though. I appreciate it very much.
I have been able to get in the shop a little lately. It has not been nearly as much as I would like, but a little.
Wood Rectangle Wooden block Hardwood Wood stain

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Font Rectangle

I made some more of the pen boxes a showed last time. From left to right are rosewood (two of them), oak, pecan, walnut, sapelle, and sycamore.
Wood Tableware Kitchen utensil Natural material Hardwood

My buddy Bearpie, when he visited recently, left me some live oak burl with all the other wood he'd brought. I love burl. On the rare occasion I'm able to get my hands on some, I just can't wait to turn a pen with it. Turning burl is like opening a Christmas present. You never know what beauty lies beneath the ugly wrapping until you get into it and see for yourself.
Wood Beige Metal Fashion accessory Rectangle

Next up, he also brought some spalted pecan. I'd worked with spalting before, and pecan, but never spalted pecan. So I couldn't wait to see this one either.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Varnish

Then it was on to another curiosity I had, the lignum vitae. This wood has been of interest to me for some time. This is said to be one of the hardest woods in the world. It is a nice looking wood. I think the pen would look better with some accent color added. Since I'd never turned it before though, I decided to leave it plain for the first go around to see how well it worked.
It is an easy wood to work with on the lathe in my opinion. It is hard as people say, but with sharp tools, that makes it easier to turn to a very nice and smooth finish.
I applied finish on this one. I wanted to see how it reacts with finish on it. I was told that it would turn a greenish color in a few weeks without finish. So I have this pen with finish on it, and another piece sanded. I will check back in a few weeks and see which way I like it best.
Wood Gas Concrete Circle Art

Also on the visit with Bearpie, I got some pointers from him on something else I plan on diving into in the future, segmented turning.
While considering some of the ideas I got from him, I decided to try a couple of rings out of scrap wood just to see how much trouble it would be. This turned into a day long adventure in figuring out why my Incra sled was a half a degree off.
Some of you may be wondering why I am worried about half a degree. That doesn't seem to be a problem. This is wood after all. Well, if you take a half a degree off of each angle, that it one degree per joint. The piece on the right in the above picture has twelve joints. That adds up to twelve degrees. Now, a half a degree may sound like no problem, but twelve degrees is a huge problem. So I had to fix that.
After a whole day of finicky adjustments to my sled, I think I have it dialed into where I want it, and will try to make use of all this in the near future.
Wood Office supplies Rectangle Font Writing implement

Here is another piece that was left that peaked my interest. I am not sure what it is. It was in a variety bag that was bought at one of the stores that I can't remember. I am not sure what it is. It looked, before turning, to be pink died plywood.
It is a pink pen. I think that is all I have to say about that one.
Wood Material property Writing implement Office supplies Hardwood

I liked the oak burl pen. Actually, everyone I show it to likes it. Since I plan on keeping that first one for myself, I decided I had better turn another one before someone snatches mine up.
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I have now had the opportunity to turn oak burl and cherry burl. Both of them had figure that simply amazed me. I hope I can find a way to acquire different varieties of burl one day. Each time I work with it, the beauty of it just blows me away.
 

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#922 ·
Slow Progress

It is getting to be normal lately for me not to feel much like getting online late in the evening when I finally get time to do so. I will try my best to start posting more often. I want to thank those of you who have been sending me emails and messages of concern and well wishes though. I appreciate it very much.
I have been able to get in the shop a little lately. It has not been nearly as much as I would like, but a little.
Wood Rectangle Wooden block Hardwood Wood stain

Wood Hardwood Wood stain Font Rectangle

I made some more of the pen boxes a showed last time. From left to right are rosewood (two of them), oak, pecan, walnut, sapelle, and sycamore.
Wood Tableware Kitchen utensil Natural material Hardwood

My buddy Bearpie, when he visited recently, left me some live oak burl with all the other wood he'd brought. I love burl. On the rare occasion I'm able to get my hands on some, I just can't wait to turn a pen with it. Turning burl is like opening a Christmas present. You never know what beauty lies beneath the ugly wrapping until you get into it and see for yourself.
Wood Beige Metal Fashion accessory Rectangle

Next up, he also brought some spalted pecan. I'd worked with spalting before, and pecan, but never spalted pecan. So I couldn't wait to see this one either.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Varnish

Then it was on to another curiosity I had, the lignum vitae. This wood has been of interest to me for some time. This is said to be one of the hardest woods in the world. It is a nice looking wood. I think the pen would look better with some accent color added. Since I'd never turned it before though, I decided to leave it plain for the first go around to see how well it worked.
It is an easy wood to work with on the lathe in my opinion. It is hard as people say, but with sharp tools, that makes it easier to turn to a very nice and smooth finish.
I applied finish on this one. I wanted to see how it reacts with finish on it. I was told that it would turn a greenish color in a few weeks without finish. So I have this pen with finish on it, and another piece sanded. I will check back in a few weeks and see which way I like it best.
Wood Gas Concrete Circle Art

Also on the visit with Bearpie, I got some pointers from him on something else I plan on diving into in the future, segmented turning.
While considering some of the ideas I got from him, I decided to try a couple of rings out of scrap wood just to see how much trouble it would be. This turned into a day long adventure in figuring out why my Incra sled was a half a degree off.
Some of you may be wondering why I am worried about half a degree. That doesn't seem to be a problem. This is wood after all. Well, if you take a half a degree off of each angle, that it one degree per joint. The piece on the right in the above picture has twelve joints. That adds up to twelve degrees. Now, a half a degree may sound like no problem, but twelve degrees is a huge problem. So I had to fix that.
After a whole day of finicky adjustments to my sled, I think I have it dialed into where I want it, and will try to make use of all this in the near future.
Wood Office supplies Rectangle Font Writing implement

Here is another piece that was left that peaked my interest. I am not sure what it is. It was in a variety bag that was bought at one of the stores that I can't remember. I am not sure what it is. It looked, before turning, to be pink died plywood.
It is a pink pen. I think that is all I have to say about that one.
Wood Material property Writing implement Office supplies Hardwood

I liked the oak burl pen. Actually, everyone I show it to likes it. Since I plan on keeping that first one for myself, I decided I had better turn another one before someone snatches mine up.
.
I have now had the opportunity to turn oak burl and cherry burl. Both of them had figure that simply amazed me. I hope I can find a way to acquire different varieties of burl one day. Each time I work with it, the beauty of it just blows me away.
Good to see you back in the shop William…..hope all is well.

That is quite an assortment of goodies…lot's of cool wood…...not sure about the pink one? Is that wood?

The boxes are looking good, but looks like you are missing the right bit for the magnets?

Keep posting the cool wood…..
 

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#949 ·
Still Learning

I mentioned some time back that I was going to try to get into segmented turnings. I have been reading and getting advice everywhere and anywhere I could on the subject, along with doing a lot of reading. I felt I was ready to start a simple bowl to see how it would go.
Things got off to a rocky start right from the beginning. While trying to make an eight piece segmented ring, I happen to discover that my Incra sled was one half a degree off from square. This had never presented itself as a problem to me before now and therefore went undetected. However, when you consider a half degree per side of each joint piece, times eight pieces, this made for an eight degree gap overall in the ring. Now, a half a degree is tiny, but eight degrees, well, let's just say that glue is not going to cover that gap.
Wood Cookie cutter Bottle Font Art

Anyway, after fiddling with the sled for a couple of days, I was finally able to get it to where it was accurate enough for the segments. The Incra sled is a great piece of equipment, but I have found out that if it ever gets a tiny bit out of square, it is a pain in the rearend to get it perfect again.
Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Brick

The bowl press I made a while back made the glueing up of the stacks of rings much easier.
Wood Art Engineering Machine Gas

I allowed it to set up overnight before moving on the the turning fun.
Gas Cylinder Machine Metal Auto part

The biggest difference I found with doing the segmenting over simply turning a bowl from solid wood is that there is nothing in the middle on one end to keep everything securely on the lathe until you get everything balanced well enough to spin safely.
You may also notice I glued a piece on the bottom for no other reason that to have something to attach to the chuck without having to get into the material of the bowl itself. This I planned on turning off later.
Dishware Table Wood Tableware Pottery

Here is the bowl. Well, here is what is left of the bowl.
Everything went fine until I started turning the inside. I had nothing but problems, catches, and disappointment when I tried doing the inside. My tools were sharp, but I ran into other issues. The biggest of them being I need a better technique for getting into these smaller diameter bowls. When I work off the end of my tool rest, I'm kind of out there in no man's land because there is not enough room for my rest, my tool, and my hand to steady the tool. There has got to be a better way to do what I'm trying to do. I just need to do some more research and watch some more videos to figure it out. As usual though, it's always a learning process and I will get it one day.
The bowl isn't a complete waste. Since all my past "reject" bowls that I put next to my bench to hold small tools always seem to get snatched up by family members, I needed a new small tool catch-all anyway.
 

Attachments

#950 ·
Still Learning

I mentioned some time back that I was going to try to get into segmented turnings. I have been reading and getting advice everywhere and anywhere I could on the subject, along with doing a lot of reading. I felt I was ready to start a simple bowl to see how it would go.
Things got off to a rocky start right from the beginning. While trying to make an eight piece segmented ring, I happen to discover that my Incra sled was one half a degree off from square. This had never presented itself as a problem to me before now and therefore went undetected. However, when you consider a half degree per side of each joint piece, times eight pieces, this made for an eight degree gap overall in the ring. Now, a half a degree is tiny, but eight degrees, well, let's just say that glue is not going to cover that gap.
Wood Cookie cutter Bottle Font Art

Anyway, after fiddling with the sled for a couple of days, I was finally able to get it to where it was accurate enough for the segments. The Incra sled is a great piece of equipment, but I have found out that if it ever gets a tiny bit out of square, it is a pain in the rearend to get it perfect again.
Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Brick

The bowl press I made a while back made the glueing up of the stacks of rings much easier.
Wood Art Engineering Machine Gas

I allowed it to set up overnight before moving on the the turning fun.
Gas Cylinder Machine Metal Auto part

The biggest difference I found with doing the segmenting over simply turning a bowl from solid wood is that there is nothing in the middle on one end to keep everything securely on the lathe until you get everything balanced well enough to spin safely.
You may also notice I glued a piece on the bottom for no other reason that to have something to attach to the chuck without having to get into the material of the bowl itself. This I planned on turning off later.
Dishware Table Wood Tableware Pottery

Here is the bowl. Well, here is what is left of the bowl.
Everything went fine until I started turning the inside. I had nothing but problems, catches, and disappointment when I tried doing the inside. My tools were sharp, but I ran into other issues. The biggest of them being I need a better technique for getting into these smaller diameter bowls. When I work off the end of my tool rest, I'm kind of out there in no man's land because there is not enough room for my rest, my tool, and my hand to steady the tool. There has got to be a better way to do what I'm trying to do. I just need to do some more research and watch some more videos to figure it out. As usual though, it's always a learning process and I will get it one day.
The bowl isn't a complete waste. Since all my past "reject" bowls that I put next to my bench to hold small tools always seem to get snatched up by family members, I needed a new small tool catch-all anyway.
well it looks really good from this angle, would it help to get another turner over that way to help show you technique, i know you have the drive and determination, glad yo see you post, ive tried to call you twice, but get voice mail…maybe i will try again monday…grizz
 

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#975 ·
Newest Antler Pen

I've done several antler pens in the past. However, I have not been completely happy with any of them. They are antler, but they have been from very small tines, and I've had to make odd shape pens to be able to include any of the outer "bark" to make them even resemble antler.
Wood Natural material Hardwood Wood stain Terrestrial plant

Recently though, I was given a pretty large rack and couldn't wait to see what I could do with this one.
Insect Arthropod Wood Fashion accessory Invertebrate

I was able to get a solid piece off of this one to be able to make the whole pen from one continuous piece. This makes it easier to match the two pen halves in appearances.
Wood Tableware Wood stain Hardwood Kitchen utensil

This allowed me to leave much more of the bark than I have on past antler pens, and be able to stick with the pen shape that I also like. It is a little fatter than my other pens, but I am just happy with the overall results.
Wood Tableware Wood stain Natural material Hardwood

On the other side of the pen, I guess because of the large size, it did become a little soft on me while turning. I had to keep soaking it in CA glue as I went, and this left a yellowish look where the soft area was, but I like this look as well.
So overall, this is my favorite antler pen so far.
 

Attachments

#976 ·
Newest Antler Pen

I've done several antler pens in the past. However, I have not been completely happy with any of them. They are antler, but they have been from very small tines, and I've had to make odd shape pens to be able to include any of the outer "bark" to make them even resemble antler.
Wood Natural material Hardwood Wood stain Terrestrial plant

Recently though, I was given a pretty large rack and couldn't wait to see what I could do with this one.
Insect Arthropod Wood Fashion accessory Invertebrate

I was able to get a solid piece off of this one to be able to make the whole pen from one continuous piece. This makes it easier to match the two pen halves in appearances.
Wood Tableware Wood stain Hardwood Kitchen utensil

This allowed me to leave much more of the bark than I have on past antler pens, and be able to stick with the pen shape that I also like. It is a little fatter than my other pens, but I am just happy with the overall results.
Wood Tableware Wood stain Natural material Hardwood

On the other side of the pen, I guess because of the large size, it did become a little soft on me while turning. I had to keep soaking it in CA glue as I went, and this left a yellowish look where the soft area was, but I like this look as well.
So overall, this is my favorite antler pen so far.
Super work, William Sure are pretty
 

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#990 ·
Shooting Straight

I must give you all fair warning. I have gotten way behind on posting my blog as of late. Settle in, grab a cup of coffee, or beverage of your choice, and hang on. This one will be a long one.

The thing that has kept me from posting, besides personal problems, is that I have gotten into some pens that have really peaked my interest. I had a birthday last month. My wife asked what I wanted and I told her I'd really like to order some kind of pen kits besides slimlines that I have been turning. So she gave me some money to order what I wanted and I ordered some teacher's pens, and a five piece starter set of bullet pens.
There is so much to show, that I guess I'll just go in order and shoot straight through it, thus the name of this blog entry.
Wood Musical instrument Flute Hardwood Natural material

I done one of the teacher's pens first. I made a Celtic knot in the middle piece, which is made of maple. Then I used purple heart and ziricote for the end pieces. This pen is designed for teachers or accountants because it uses the two inks that those professions use most. The end of the pen with the ziricote turns to expose a black ink tip, while the purple heart end exposes a red ink tip.
Natural material Sleeve Wood Rectangle Beige

Next, I desperately wanted to get into those bullet pens. However, the starter set came with several pieces of camouflage acrylic blanks. I had never worked with acrylic before, and really wanted to practice on it before I started on the higher priced bullet pen kits. Well, one of the acrylic blanks was this crushed camo. Personally, I thought it was the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Someone else might like it though, so it was a perfect candidate to use with a slimline kit to get some practice on.
Wood Window Wood stain Hardwood Plank

Then I couldn't wait any longer. I just had to do a bullet pen. I decided to do one of the .30 caliber click pens first, since it would also be my first click pen. This one is chrome with urban camo acrylic.
After turning two pens with it, I felt I was ready to give my opinion of turning acrylic. It is alright. I much more prefer wood though. If someone wants acrylic, or I happen to get some, I'll be happy to turn it. I highly doubt I'll be going out of my way to acquire more though.
Graduated cylinder Test tube Solution Wood Gas

This next pen was just a fun pen to do. It is the .50 caliber pen made with desert camo acrylic. It is meant to be a stand alone desk accessory. I did however go back later and make a box for it so it would make a good gift for someone.
Wood Metal Household hardware Nickel Auto part

To really give you an idea of the massive size of this pen, here it is next to a slimline pen. It also shows why I had to make a different box for it.
I have so many photos to show that I am not necessarily showing the boxes I made in this post. I had to make special boxes for several other pens. If any of my readers are actually interested in them though, please let me know and I'll post more about the boxes.
Liquid Drinkware Wood Bottle Office supplies

Now, I am going to show the box for this pen in just a bit. This pen is special to me for several reasons. For starters, I think it is my new favorite. I absolutely love this pen. It is the civil war pen. Another thing is, my hometown, and where I now reside, is steeped in civil war history. Also not to be missed, I fell in love with the box elder burl that came with this starter set before I even turned it, and loved it more after it was turned, sanded, and buffed to a high gloss shine.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Hardwood Font

Here is a better close up of the pen. It is chrome with box elder burl.
Brown Wood Rectangle Tints and shades Wood stain

I made more of a collector style box for it out of sapelle. I chose this design because it is more of a collector item than most of the pens I have turned. Also, the paper that goes with the pen would not fit in the boxes I've been making.
Brown Wood Pen Rectangle Office supplies

Here is the inside of the box, and the paper I am talking about. The paper has a stylish front which tells who turned it and what kind of wood is used on it.
Inside that paper is information about the different parts of the pen and why they were chose for the hardware on a civil war pen. The clip is the replica of an 1861 Springfield musket. The cap is a .58 caliber "Minnie" ball, and the tip is the replica of a .44 caliber 1860 Colt Army revolver bullet.
If any of you would like to read more about this, please let me know and I'll type up the information for you to read.
Wood Writing implement Office supplies Art Hardwood

For the .30 caliber twist pen, I decided that since I love burl so much, I would try some of the live oak burl on it.
Wood Bicycle handlebar Bicycle part Eyewear Hardwood

By this time, the idea had struck me to combine two things that are very popular in the area where I live, bullets (or guns) and white tail deer. So I done the last pen, the gold click pen, in white tail deer antler.
Wood Door Wood stain Hardwood Varnish

With all these ideas floating around in my head, I somehow came out of the starter set with one piece of untouched acrylic. So I decided to do the woodland camo blank for another slimline pen.
Tableware Wood Wood stain Kitchen utensil Hardwood

Then, through all this, one of my older sons had seen each pen with great interest. He loves guns and hunting. He recently bought a .45-70 and was bugging me to death about making him a pen out of a .45-70 cartridge. I kept telling him they don't make kits for that and carried on. Then, as I was nearing completion of all of the kit pens, I thought one evening about how much I've done in the past without proper kits. So I knew there had to be a way.
I took what was left of the urban camo blank. I cut one end off to length for a slimline tube. The other end I glued what was left to one end of a slimline tube. Next, I used calipers to carefully measure and turn a shoulder to fit snugly inside the .45-70 cartridge. Then, resetting the calipers, again carefully turned the rest of the pen to be exactly the same diameter as the outside of the cartridge. From there, I just turned the tip end to shape of a regular pen and used gold slimline parts to make a pen. The shoulder I turned before got glued inside the .45-70 cartridge.
Wood Office supplies Violet Tableware Tints and shades

Wood Office supplies Hardwood Tool Writing implement

These are unrelated, but both the pink slimline pen and the zebra wood with cross grain slimline pen have left my shop. Since both of these pens seem to be very popular, I felt I needed to replace them.
Tableware Wood Natural material Hardwood Terrestrial plant

While doing the pink pen though, which is actually pink dyed maple, I had another idea. I also had a piece of black dyed maple. These two together made perfect ends for a teacher's pen. For the middle I used a piece of cocabolo that has really interested me since I first laid eyes on it. It had sap wood in it, which is something I had never seen before.
Tableware Wood Kitchen utensil Cutlery Wood stain

While doing that teachers pen, I had yet another idea. You may remember how much I love burl. I had just enough box elder burl from the start set to go with some cherry burl and live oak burl, and make a teachers pen with three different types of burl on it.
Wood Tableware Office supplies Wood stain Hardwood

I had just enough left of that cocabolo with the sapwood to do one more thing with. I wanted to make something special for my Dad.
My Dad, if some of you remember, is part of S.A.S.S. They shoot old west era guns. One of the guns he shoot is a .45 Colt. It is the same ones I made gun blocks for some time back.
Well I knew if I could make a pen with a .45-70, then I should be able to do the same with a .45 Colt. So, using the same method as for the pen previously described, I made my Dad a cocabolo pen with a .45 Colt cap.

Well, if you haven't left yet or fell asleep, that is what I have been able to get done in the last couple of weeks. I have been down a bit in my health, but hope to get back in the shop soon. Also, I hope I am able to order more bullet pen kits soon. I really enjoy them and have all kinds of idea for them. In the meantime, I still have seven more teachers pen kits to come up with ideas for.
 

Attachments

#991 ·
Shooting Straight

I must give you all fair warning. I have gotten way behind on posting my blog as of late. Settle in, grab a cup of coffee, or beverage of your choice, and hang on. This one will be a long one.

The thing that has kept me from posting, besides personal problems, is that I have gotten into some pens that have really peaked my interest. I had a birthday last month. My wife asked what I wanted and I told her I'd really like to order some kind of pen kits besides slimlines that I have been turning. So she gave me some money to order what I wanted and I ordered some teacher's pens, and a five piece starter set of bullet pens.
There is so much to show, that I guess I'll just go in order and shoot straight through it, thus the name of this blog entry.

I done one of the teacher's pens first. I made a Celtic knot in the middle piece, which is made of maple. Then I used purple heart and ziricote for the end pieces. This pen is designed for teachers or accountants because it uses the two inks that those professions use most. The end of the pen with the ziricote turns to expose a black ink tip, while the purple heart end exposes a red ink tip.

Next, I desperately wanted to get into those bullet pens. However, the starter set came with several pieces of camouflage acrylic blanks. I had never worked with acrylic before, and really wanted to practice on it before I started on the higher priced bullet pen kits. Well, one of the acrylic blanks was this crushed camo. Personally, I thought it was the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Someone else might like it though, so it was a perfect candidate to use with a slimline kit to get some practice on.

Then I couldn't wait any longer. I just had to do a bullet pen. I decided to do one of the .30 caliber click pens first, since it would also be my first click pen. This one is chrome with urban camo acrylic.
After turning two pens with it, I felt I was ready to give my opinion of turning acrylic. It is alright. I much more prefer wood though. If someone wants acrylic, or I happen to get some, I'll be happy to turn it. I highly doubt I'll be going out of my way to acquire more though.

This next pen was just a fun pen to do. It is the .50 caliber pen made with desert camo acrylic. It is meant to be a stand alone desk accessory. I did however go back later and make a box for it so it would make a good gift for someone.

To really give you an idea of the massive size of this pen, here it is next to a slimline pen. It also shows why I had to make a different box for it.
I have so many photos to show that I am not necessarily showing the boxes I made in this post. I had to make special boxes for several other pens. If any of my readers are actually interested in them though, please let me know and I'll post more about the boxes.

Now, I am going to show the box for this pen in just a bit. This pen is special to me for several reasons. For starters, I think it is my new favorite. I absolutely love this pen. It is the civil war pen. Another thing is, my hometown, and where I now reside, is steeped in civil war history. Also not to be missed, I fell in love with the box elder burl that came with this starter set before I even turned it, and loved it more after it was turned, sanded, and buffed to a high gloss shine.

Here is a better close up of the pen. It is chrome with box elder burl.

I made more of a collector style box for it out of sapelle. I chose this design because it is more of a collector item than most of the pens I have turned. Also, the paper that goes with the pen would not fit in the boxes I've been making.

Here is the inside of the box, and the paper I am talking about. The paper has a stylish front which tells who turned it and what kind of wood is used on it.
Inside that paper is information about the different parts of the pen and why they were chose for the hardware on a civil war pen. The clip is the replica of an 1861 Springfield musket. The cap is a .58 caliber "Minnie" ball, and the tip is the replica of a .44 caliber 1860 Colt Army revolver bullet.
If any of you would like to read more about this, please let me know and I'll type up the information for you to read.

For the .30 caliber twist pen, I decided that since I love burl so much, I would try some of the live oak burl on it.

By this time, the idea had struck me to combine two things that are very popular in the area where I live, bullets (or guns) and white tail deer. So I done the last pen, the gold click pen, in white tail deer antler.

With all these ideas floating around in my head, I somehow came out of the starter set with one piece of untouched acrylic. So I decided to do the woodland camo blank for another slimline pen.

Then, through all this, one of my older sons had seen each pen with great interest. He loves guns and hunting. He recently bought a .45-70 and was bugging me to death about making him a pen out of a .45-70 cartridge. I kept telling him they don't make kits for that and carried on. Then, as I was nearing completion of all of the kit pens, I thought one evening about how much I've done in the past without proper kits. So I knew there had to be a way.
I took what was left of the urban camo blank. I cut one end off to length for a slimline tube. The other end I glued what was left to one end of a slimline tube. Next, I used calipers to carefully measure and turn a shoulder to fit snugly inside the .45-70 cartridge. Then, resetting the calipers, again carefully turned the rest of the pen to be exactly the same diameter as the outside of the cartridge. From there, I just turned the tip end to shape of a regular pen and used gold slimline parts to make a pen. The shoulder I turned before got glued inside the .45-70 cartridge.


These are unrelated, but both the pink slimline pen and the zebra wood with cross grain slimline pen have left my shop. Since both of these pens seem to be very popular, I felt I needed to replace them.

While doing the pink pen though, which is actually pink dyed maple, I had another idea. I also had a piece of black dyed maple. These two together made perfect ends for a teacher's pen. For the middle I used a piece of cocabolo that has really interested me since I first laid eyes on it. It had sap wood in it, which is something I had never seen before.

While doing that teachers pen, I had yet another idea. You may remember how much I love burl. I had just enough box elder burl from the start set to go with some cherry burl and live oak burl, and make a teachers pen with three different types of burl on it.

I had just enough left of that cocabolo with the sapwood to do one more thing with. I wanted to make something special for my Dad.
My Dad, if some of you remember, is part of S.A.S.S. They shoot old west era guns. One of the guns he shoot is a .45 Colt. It is the same ones I made gun blocks for some time back.
Well I knew if I could make a pen with a .45-70, then I should be able to do the same with a .45 Colt. So, using the same method as for the pen previously described, I made my Dad a cocabolo pen with a .45 Colt cap.

Well, if you haven't left yet or fell asleep, that is what I have been able to get done in the last couple of weeks. I have been down a bit in my health, but hope to get back in the shop soon. Also, I hope I am able to order more bullet pen kits soon. I really enjoy them and have all kinds of idea for them. In the meantime, I still have seven more teachers pen kits to come up with ideas for.
That was some catching up.
Good to see you back, I hope you get back to normal

Jamie
 

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#1,015 ·
The Lathe

I try my best to come up with catchy little titles for my blog posts. Sometimes though, I just can't think of anything that does not sound over the top corny. So I decided to title this one simply, the lathe.
Wood Gas Lumber Machine Shelf

As such, let's talk about my lathe. Recently I realized that I was extremely unhappy with the height of my lathe. I was turning a small bowl that I needed to see inside of for those final light passes when it occurred to me, this is why my back is giving me problems after turning small bowls. I was stooping at an uncomfortable position to be able to see inside my work. This made me also think of other operations that made me have to stoop. It was clear that either my lathe had to come up, or I had to get shorter. Since I had no intention of cutting my legs…..
I built an eight and a half inch riser frame under the lathe stand and bolted the stand to the frame using half inch lag bolts. I added strips across the bottom and had my sons move these huge pieces of marble under it that we brought back from my Grandpa's place in north Georgia earlier this year. This added a lot of stability. I checked it and was much happier with this height. The lathe bed is even with my elbows. I can work comfortably without stopping or reaching up in any uncomfortable positions.
While I was at it, I decided to make a couple of other modifications.
The middle supports for my lathe stand were just there. I mean, they really served no purpose besides keeping the legs from buckling, which I didn't see happening anyway. So I thought I should make use of that space. So I added a shelf with sides and ends that extend up two and a half inches. This gives me somewhere to put small tools I'm using while turning any given project. This is much better than my previous method, which was to lay it on the lathe bed and forget about it until I hear it hit the floor. Then I would usually have to get down into the floor and retrieve whatever it was that I had just lost in a nearby pile of shavings.
This took care of things except for one more aggravation I'd been having. A lot of projects usually require the use of more than one cutting tool. I would turn around to my accessory table, replace whatever tool I was using, and retrieve the one I needed. Then later I would usually go back for the first tool. This happened back and forth quite often. It would be nice to keep whatever few tools I used for any given project right on the lathe stand. So you may notice the angles wooden pieces at each end of my lathe now. Each of these has four holes one inch in diameter in them to drop tools I am using into. The one on the left end of the front are for most spindle type projects. The one on the other end I use when I sometimes stand at the back of the lathe while hollowing small bowls. I know some of you may tell me it's wrong to work at the back of my lathe, but it's what is comfortable to me. The are placed so I am grabbing for the left end on either side I'm working on because I am left handed.

Now let's talk about those tools.
Wood Cylinder Gas Engineering Art

Someone told me once that the lathe was the cheapest part of wood turning. I did not, at the time, understand what they meant by that. They were correct though. To me, a three hundred dollar investment in a lathe is a huge deal. I just don't have that kind of money lying around. I have all these other tools though. They cost fifteen dollars here, twenty dollars there, and then you throw in those forty and fifty dollar accessories. Don't even get me to talking about some of the more expensive things. Let's just put it like this. I sat down one day and started figuring up what I had invested in accessories, not counting the lathe, and I swear I felt a heart attack coming on, or at least quite a bit of anxiety if I dared let my wife see those figures.

Anyway, I am always looking for ways to save on tools. The problem is, with a lot of lathe tools, you get what you pay for. Cheap tools are just that, cheap tools. Sure, you may get the job done, but be prepared to spend a lot of time at the grinder touching up the cutting edge. Yes, I learned this one the hard way. So I have found that the only other alternative is to make your own tools as much as possible.
With all this rambling, let me explain. I have several nice scrapers and gouges. The problem is that I often find myself in a position where I would love to have a different cutting profile on the tool I have in my hand. However, because of the cost, I just cannot start grinding a different profile on a tool each time I find myself in this predicament.
Then I read this article about the Oland Tool. This little dandy seemed like the answer to my prayers. So I started to look around to see what I had to work with.
Now, to make this tools, you can get pretty much any steel, drill a hole into the end of it, drill and tap for set screws, and stick a piece of tool steel in it. Really the only parameter you have to make sure on is that the holder part is big enough to hold the cutting part. So what would I use for the cutting part?
Wood Hardwood Natural material Office supplies Wood stain

Then I remembered this tool. I ordered this from Penn State some time ago. I used it several times, hated it, stuck it in my tool rack, and it has collected dust and cobwebs there ever since. This tool is meant to hold quarter inch shank router bits and you use them on the lathe. I think it was a good idea in theory, but just doesn't work well, in my opinion, in practice.
Anyway, all I needed was some good steel to make cutting bits out of that would fit into the quarter inch hole in the end of this tool. So off to town I went. You know what I found? It is hard to find a clear answer in town what exactly good tool steel is, much less actually find any. So in frustration, I found myself at Tractor Supply Company just in hopes of finding something that would work, since they seem to have everything else. Then the brain fart hit me and I thought of drill bits. On the shelf, for less than six bucks a bit, was some very long shank, quarter inch, high speed tool steel, drill bits. I wondered if this would work. There was only one way to find out. So I bought the two bits they had left.
Hand tool Wood Wood stain Metalworking hand tool Hardwood

After grinding and cutting, I can get four bits off of each long shank drill bit. So after taxes, for less than fifteen bucks, I made eight different profiled bits to use in the bar of the tool.
Some of you are already asking the important question. How well does it work?
Dishware Drinkware Flowerpot Tableware Wood

Normally, I would use more than just the oland tool. For example, most of my hollowing would be done with a bowl gouge. However, for testing purposes, I decided to turn this rosewood bowl entirely with the oland tool, using nothing more but different tip profiles. I am happy to say that I am absolutely thrilled with how it performs and would even venture as to say to it is my new favorite tool simply for it's versatility. I've already thought of some other tip profiles I'd like to have once Tractor Supply stocks some more of those quarter inch bits.

Something I love more than turning wood is fishing. Well I went fishing a few nights ago. Since I've been down in my back a lot lately, I let one of my younger sons do something I would never normally allow, carry my tackle box. He hit is on the steps leading down to the water and the flimsy factory handle came right off, with a broken plastic tab that used to hold it on. So I spent some time online looking for a tackle box and could not find one I was happy with. Then finally, at a local sports store, I found one I like a lot. The funny thing is, it was the exact box I have now that has a broken handle. What can I say? I got used to it and just really like the box. The problem is, there is no way I was going to pay over fifty dollars for the same box I already have, that has already proven to have a weak handle support on it. It just did not make sense to me.
So I decided the better alternative to this dilemma would be to fix the box I had. I wanted something better than what came from the factory though. I wanted something that would not tear off just because one of my sons hit it on a concrete step.
Wood Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Font Vehicle door

So I turned a handle from a solid piece of pecan. I ran strong enough rope through the handle and attached it to the bottom section of the box. In my opinion, this is better anyway because it also take undue stress off of the plastic latches that holds the lid shut, which I was sure by this point would be the next part of the box to fail otherwise.
Jigsaw Bumper Wood Gas Tool

Here you can see how the handle holds the box up while being carried. Not only do I think this will outlast the factory handle on a new box, in my opinion it is now more comfortable to carry. The handle having the ability to slip on the rope from side to side allows the weight to shift comfortably without the box hitting against your leg as you walk like it used to.

That's all I have to show today. Looking at things I've fixed using the lathe though, I guess I should have named this post, if it's broke, fix it.
Till next time, happy turnings.
 

Attachments

#1,016 ·
The Lathe

I try my best to come up with catchy little titles for my blog posts. Sometimes though, I just can't think of anything that does not sound over the top corny. So I decided to title this one simply, the lathe.
Wood Gas Lumber Machine Shelf

As such, let's talk about my lathe. Recently I realized that I was extremely unhappy with the height of my lathe. I was turning a small bowl that I needed to see inside of for those final light passes when it occurred to me, this is why my back is giving me problems after turning small bowls. I was stooping at an uncomfortable position to be able to see inside my work. This made me also think of other operations that made me have to stoop. It was clear that either my lathe had to come up, or I had to get shorter. Since I had no intention of cutting my legs…..
I built an eight and a half inch riser frame under the lathe stand and bolted the stand to the frame using half inch lag bolts. I added strips across the bottom and had my sons move these huge pieces of marble under it that we brought back from my Grandpa's place in north Georgia earlier this year. This added a lot of stability. I checked it and was much happier with this height. The lathe bed is even with my elbows. I can work comfortably without stopping or reaching up in any uncomfortable positions.
While I was at it, I decided to make a couple of other modifications.
The middle supports for my lathe stand were just there. I mean, they really served no purpose besides keeping the legs from buckling, which I didn't see happening anyway. So I thought I should make use of that space. So I added a shelf with sides and ends that extend up two and a half inches. This gives me somewhere to put small tools I'm using while turning any given project. This is much better than my previous method, which was to lay it on the lathe bed and forget about it until I hear it hit the floor. Then I would usually have to get down into the floor and retrieve whatever it was that I had just lost in a nearby pile of shavings.
This took care of things except for one more aggravation I'd been having. A lot of projects usually require the use of more than one cutting tool. I would turn around to my accessory table, replace whatever tool I was using, and retrieve the one I needed. Then later I would usually go back for the first tool. This happened back and forth quite often. It would be nice to keep whatever few tools I used for any given project right on the lathe stand. So you may notice the angles wooden pieces at each end of my lathe now. Each of these has four holes one inch in diameter in them to drop tools I am using into. The one on the left end of the front are for most spindle type projects. The one on the other end I use when I sometimes stand at the back of the lathe while hollowing small bowls. I know some of you may tell me it's wrong to work at the back of my lathe, but it's what is comfortable to me. The are placed so I am grabbing for the left end on either side I'm working on because I am left handed.

Now let's talk about those tools.
Wood Cylinder Gas Engineering Art

Someone told me once that the lathe was the cheapest part of wood turning. I did not, at the time, understand what they meant by that. They were correct though. To me, a three hundred dollar investment in a lathe is a huge deal. I just don't have that kind of money lying around. I have all these other tools though. They cost fifteen dollars here, twenty dollars there, and then you throw in those forty and fifty dollar accessories. Don't even get me to talking about some of the more expensive things. Let's just put it like this. I sat down one day and started figuring up what I had invested in accessories, not counting the lathe, and I swear I felt a heart attack coming on, or at least quite a bit of anxiety if I dared let my wife see those figures.

Anyway, I am always looking for ways to save on tools. The problem is, with a lot of lathe tools, you get what you pay for. Cheap tools are just that, cheap tools. Sure, you may get the job done, but be prepared to spend a lot of time at the grinder touching up the cutting edge. Yes, I learned this one the hard way. So I have found that the only other alternative is to make your own tools as much as possible.
With all this rambling, let me explain. I have several nice scrapers and gouges. The problem is that I often find myself in a position where I would love to have a different cutting profile on the tool I have in my hand. However, because of the cost, I just cannot start grinding a different profile on a tool each time I find myself in this predicament.
Then I read this article about the Oland Tool. This little dandy seemed like the answer to my prayers. So I started to look around to see what I had to work with.
Now, to make this tools, you can get pretty much any steel, drill a hole into the end of it, drill and tap for set screws, and stick a piece of tool steel in it. Really the only parameter you have to make sure on is that the holder part is big enough to hold the cutting part. So what would I use for the cutting part?
Wood Hardwood Natural material Office supplies Wood stain

Then I remembered this tool. I ordered this from Penn State some time ago. I used it several times, hated it, stuck it in my tool rack, and it has collected dust and cobwebs there ever since. This tool is meant to hold quarter inch shank router bits and you use them on the lathe. I think it was a good idea in theory, but just doesn't work well, in my opinion, in practice.
Anyway, all I needed was some good steel to make cutting bits out of that would fit into the quarter inch hole in the end of this tool. So off to town I went. You know what I found? It is hard to find a clear answer in town what exactly good tool steel is, much less actually find any. So in frustration, I found myself at Tractor Supply Company just in hopes of finding something that would work, since they seem to have everything else. Then the brain fart hit me and I thought of drill bits. On the shelf, for less than six bucks a bit, was some very long shank, quarter inch, high speed tool steel, drill bits. I wondered if this would work. There was only one way to find out. So I bought the two bits they had left.
Hand tool Wood Wood stain Metalworking hand tool Hardwood

After grinding and cutting, I can get four bits off of each long shank drill bit. So after taxes, for less than fifteen bucks, I made eight different profiled bits to use in the bar of the tool.
Some of you are already asking the important question. How well does it work?
Dishware Drinkware Flowerpot Tableware Wood

Normally, I would use more than just the oland tool. For example, most of my hollowing would be done with a bowl gouge. However, for testing purposes, I decided to turn this rosewood bowl entirely with the oland tool, using nothing more but different tip profiles. I am happy to say that I am absolutely thrilled with how it performs and would even venture as to say to it is my new favorite tool simply for it's versatility. I've already thought of some other tip profiles I'd like to have once Tractor Supply stocks some more of those quarter inch bits.

Something I love more than turning wood is fishing. Well I went fishing a few nights ago. Since I've been down in my back a lot lately, I let one of my younger sons do something I would never normally allow, carry my tackle box. He hit is on the steps leading down to the water and the flimsy factory handle came right off, with a broken plastic tab that used to hold it on. So I spent some time online looking for a tackle box and could not find one I was happy with. Then finally, at a local sports store, I found one I like a lot. The funny thing is, it was the exact box I have now that has a broken handle. What can I say? I got used to it and just really like the box. The problem is, there is no way I was going to pay over fifty dollars for the same box I already have, that has already proven to have a weak handle support on it. It just did not make sense to me.
So I decided the better alternative to this dilemma would be to fix the box I had. I wanted something better than what came from the factory though. I wanted something that would not tear off just because one of my sons hit it on a concrete step.
Wood Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Font Vehicle door

So I turned a handle from a solid piece of pecan. I ran strong enough rope through the handle and attached it to the bottom section of the box. In my opinion, this is better anyway because it also take undue stress off of the plastic latches that holds the lid shut, which I was sure by this point would be the next part of the box to fail otherwise.
Jigsaw Bumper Wood Gas Tool

Here you can see how the handle holds the box up while being carried. Not only do I think this will outlast the factory handle on a new box, in my opinion it is now more comfortable to carry. The handle having the ability to slip on the rope from side to side allows the weight to shift comfortably without the box hitting against your leg as you walk like it used to.

That's all I have to show today. Looking at things I've fixed using the lathe though, I guess I should have named this post, if it's broke, fix it.
Till next time, happy turnings.
Good to see you posting. You had a brain fart?
{insert joke here}
Any way, great work William. elevating the lathe was a brilliant idea.
And the tool bits were cool too.
Keep them coming!
 

Attachments

#1,035 ·
More Home Brews

Wood Hardwood Tool Musical instrument accessory Wood stain

If you read my last blog entry, you probably remember seeing the above tool. It is a tool sold by Penn State to hold router bits. It is a good idea that did not work too well for me. Well I took that tool and used it for the basis for an Oland type tool.
When I posted it, a friend (Stefang) suggested modifying this design to protrude a bit out at an angle. I thought it was a great idea and it got the wheels in the old noggin to turning.
Wood Hardwood Office supplies Wood stain Flute

It was suggested to drill a hole, split the end, and use a nut and bolt to tighten the split sides around the bit, holding it firmly in place. I thought this sounded like an easy way to do it since I did not have the proper tap to make neat little holes for set screws like you see in the factory made piece. So off again I went to town to see what I could come up with.
First thing I done was stop by Hayden's, my favorite hardware store. I like the place because it's one of the few places left in town that still has that friendly, hometown feel. You walk in the door. People ask you can they help. Ok, that's normal. The difference is that these people are actually extremely knowledgeable in what they sell and know where everything you need is located in the store. I'll take that over the endless scavenger hunt at the big orange store any day of the week.
I apologize for that little side track. Let's get back to the project at hand, tools.
I figured that tapping holes to hold the bits was going to be something way out of my price range. After discussing it with the man at Hayden's, I realized that it was going to cost me less than five dollars for the tap, the proper drill bit for the tap, and a palm full of the proper sized set screws. So I decided that this was going to be the way to go. This eliminated the need to have that extra pinch length out past where the bit would protrude out.
Next, I needed steele to make the bar from. I was thinking half inch, but the only half inch they had was something the salesman told me was extremely mild steele that would bend easily. He sold me on some five eighths cold roll steele to get the job done.
So back to the shop.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Household hardware Hardwood

Here is how the business end of the tool turned out.
There is just something I love about making my own tools. I think it is that ability to say, "this thing I made, I made it using a tool that, guess what, I made that too". It never hurts that it also usually saves me a lot of money in the process too. It is just a great pleasure to me to make my own tools when I get the opportunity.
Wood Bicycle part Office supplies Rim Hardwood

I liked the new angle when I tested it on a scrap piece. Then I thought it would be nice to have a tool with the tip protruding straight out at a ninety degree angle. So I made that as well. After all, since the five eighths steele was only sold in forty eight inch lengths minimum, I had some extra stock.
Speaking of that extra stock…...
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Office instrument

While I was making the second tool, I was thinking about the first tool. I thought I could reverse the bit and cut sharp upper corners in vessels or bowls by having the bit angles forty five degrees back towards the handle. Since I still had enough stock left over after making the second tool though, why not just make a third tool that would do just what I was thinking about. This eliminates having to have the end of my set screw riding on the tool rest, which is something I really don't like to do.
Wood Tool Varnish Hardwood Wood stain

So here are the ends of the four Oland type tools I now have. Of course the first one came from Penn State, but the other three I made. I tested them first with just the bar. I wanted to see how they performed before making handles. I love how they work and now just needed to turn some handles.
Wood Wood stain Musical instrument Tool Hardwood

The top one, the top one, has a pecan handle. I used pecan on it because I just happened to have grabbed a piece of pecan earlier when I was testing the tools. So I figured that, instead of wasting that piece of nice wood, I may as well turn off my test cuts and make it into a usable handle.
The next two have sapelle handles. I love the look and feel of sapelle. Also, I have a lot of it.
The bottom one is the Penn State tool and has the factory handle on it. One of these days I think I'm going to redo all the handles on my factory made tools just so I'll have handles that are made by me.
The tools are different lengths. I done this for a reason. It is hard to tell from the photo, but from handle end to cutting end, they are made so that the actually cutting point is the same distance on all four tools. I like to keep it this way because I already knew that this distance was comfortable to me on the tool made be Penn State. There's no sense in messing with what works.

.

Not all of my home made brews work out just like I want them too. Some time back, some of you who read my blog regularly may remember that I went through several solutions to squaring pen blanks. I was determined not to spend the money on a pen mill when I could make something to do the job just as good.
Well, the set up I had, using stick on sandpaper on a setup on my second lathe was actually working without any problems. The problem is that the sandpaper wore out fairly quickly. I'd move the paper around on the disk it stuck to often to get fresh abrasive. I happen to think about it recently though and figured up how much sandpaper I'd bought since starting with this setup. What I had already spent on it would have already bought me two pen mills, and it was was going to be a recurring cost.
Wood Tool Kitchen utensil Hand tool Font

So I decided to admit defeat on this one and order a pen mill set. Here is a link to this one. I ordered it from Penn State. I chose the steele cutter over the carbide because I've heard some people complain that the two cutter design of the carbide, versus four on the steele, can cause splitting and catching on hard woods. I seen where this could be highly possible, and since I do like to work with a wide variety of materials, settled on the steele set.
It arrived promptly, as I've come to always expect from Penn State. I've never had a single complaint when ordering from that company.
I immediately tested it out and liked it better over my old shop made system, except for one thing. The instructions say to use it in a drill or drill press along with a pen vice. If you click the link above and read the instructions for the tool, you can see a photo on the instructions that makes no sense to me. If you clamp a blank in the pen vice on your drill press, and the tube is straight enough so that you can run this pen mill down the middle with no issues, then you really have no need for a pen mill because your tube is already perfectly squared to your blank. Also, when I tried using it in a drill press, it grabbed too much for my liking.
I hit the cutting edges a couple of time with a sharpening stone and then tried squaring a blank with the pen mill and the blank being held in each hand. It worked great this way. So I decided that I'd be using this as a hand held tool. To do this comfortably though, I needed a handle on it. There is just not much to grab ahold to on the cutting shafts behind the squaring cutter.
Wood Office supplies Hardwood Electric blue Wood stain

While thinking about how I wanted to do this, I thought of this little doohickey. This is an extension shaft for a spade bit. The cutting shafts all fit perfectly in the end of this tool and tighten down using the set screws. I just needed one because this one is one I use all the time. Luckily, when I went to town to get the parts for the tools I showed earlier, they had these extension shafts at Hayden's for less than three bucks.
Wood Tool Kitchen utensil Hardwood Wood stain

So I just needed to turn a handle and use epoxy to attach it to the extension shaft. This allowed me to hold onto the tool, while still being able to swap out cutting shafts for different pen kits.
For the handle, I started to use sapelle. Then I remembered this piece of oak burl a friend (Bearpie) had given me a while back. This particular piece had a bad crack right down the middle. I was worried about it blowing apart if I tried turning it thin enough for a pen. It was a perfect piece though for this small tool handle. Oak burl, in my opinion, is really too nice a piece to be used for a tool handle, but I just couldn't help myself. I do love the look of oak burl.
Wood Tool Knife Kitchen utensil Metal

I love oak burl enough that I just had to show you all one more photo so you can see the other side.
.
So till next time, happy turning.
 

Attachments

#1,036 ·
More Home Brews

Wood Hardwood Tool Musical instrument accessory Wood stain

If you read my last blog entry, you probably remember seeing the above tool. It is a tool sold by Penn State to hold router bits. It is a good idea that did not work too well for me. Well I took that tool and used it for the basis for an Oland type tool.
When I posted it, a friend (Stefang) suggested modifying this design to protrude a bit out at an angle. I thought it was a great idea and it got the wheels in the old noggin to turning.
Wood Hardwood Office supplies Wood stain Flute

It was suggested to drill a hole, split the end, and use a nut and bolt to tighten the split sides around the bit, holding it firmly in place. I thought this sounded like an easy way to do it since I did not have the proper tap to make neat little holes for set screws like you see in the factory made piece. So off again I went to town to see what I could come up with.
First thing I done was stop by Hayden's, my favorite hardware store. I like the place because it's one of the few places left in town that still has that friendly, hometown feel. You walk in the door. People ask you can they help. Ok, that's normal. The difference is that these people are actually extremely knowledgeable in what they sell and know where everything you need is located in the store. I'll take that over the endless scavenger hunt at the big orange store any day of the week.
I apologize for that little side track. Let's get back to the project at hand, tools.
I figured that tapping holes to hold the bits was going to be something way out of my price range. After discussing it with the man at Hayden's, I realized that it was going to cost me less than five dollars for the tap, the proper drill bit for the tap, and a palm full of the proper sized set screws. So I decided that this was going to be the way to go. This eliminated the need to have that extra pinch length out past where the bit would protrude out.
Next, I needed steele to make the bar from. I was thinking half inch, but the only half inch they had was something the salesman told me was extremely mild steele that would bend easily. He sold me on some five eighths cold roll steele to get the job done.
So back to the shop.
Office supplies Wood Writing implement Household hardware Hardwood

Here is how the business end of the tool turned out.
There is just something I love about making my own tools. I think it is that ability to say, "this thing I made, I made it using a tool that, guess what, I made that too". It never hurts that it also usually saves me a lot of money in the process too. It is just a great pleasure to me to make my own tools when I get the opportunity.
Wood Bicycle part Office supplies Rim Hardwood

I liked the new angle when I tested it on a scrap piece. Then I thought it would be nice to have a tool with the tip protruding straight out at a ninety degree angle. So I made that as well. After all, since the five eighths steele was only sold in forty eight inch lengths minimum, I had some extra stock.
Speaking of that extra stock…...
Writing implement Office supplies Pen Wood Office instrument

While I was making the second tool, I was thinking about the first tool. I thought I could reverse the bit and cut sharp upper corners in vessels or bowls by having the bit angles forty five degrees back towards the handle. Since I still had enough stock left over after making the second tool though, why not just make a third tool that would do just what I was thinking about. This eliminates having to have the end of my set screw riding on the tool rest, which is something I really don't like to do.
Wood Tool Varnish Hardwood Wood stain

So here are the ends of the four Oland type tools I now have. Of course the first one came from Penn State, but the other three I made. I tested them first with just the bar. I wanted to see how they performed before making handles. I love how they work and now just needed to turn some handles.
Wood Wood stain Musical instrument Tool Hardwood

The top one, the top one, has a pecan handle. I used pecan on it because I just happened to have grabbed a piece of pecan earlier when I was testing the tools. So I figured that, instead of wasting that piece of nice wood, I may as well turn off my test cuts and make it into a usable handle.
The next two have sapelle handles. I love the look and feel of sapelle. Also, I have a lot of it.
The bottom one is the Penn State tool and has the factory handle on it. One of these days I think I'm going to redo all the handles on my factory made tools just so I'll have handles that are made by me.
The tools are different lengths. I done this for a reason. It is hard to tell from the photo, but from handle end to cutting end, they are made so that the actually cutting point is the same distance on all four tools. I like to keep it this way because I already knew that this distance was comfortable to me on the tool made be Penn State. There's no sense in messing with what works.

.

Not all of my home made brews work out just like I want them too. Some time back, some of you who read my blog regularly may remember that I went through several solutions to squaring pen blanks. I was determined not to spend the money on a pen mill when I could make something to do the job just as good.
Well, the set up I had, using stick on sandpaper on a setup on my second lathe was actually working without any problems. The problem is that the sandpaper wore out fairly quickly. I'd move the paper around on the disk it stuck to often to get fresh abrasive. I happen to think about it recently though and figured up how much sandpaper I'd bought since starting with this setup. What I had already spent on it would have already bought me two pen mills, and it was was going to be a recurring cost.
Wood Tool Kitchen utensil Hand tool Font

So I decided to admit defeat on this one and order a pen mill set. Here is a link to this one. I ordered it from Penn State. I chose the steele cutter over the carbide because I've heard some people complain that the two cutter design of the carbide, versus four on the steele, can cause splitting and catching on hard woods. I seen where this could be highly possible, and since I do like to work with a wide variety of materials, settled on the steele set.
It arrived promptly, as I've come to always expect from Penn State. I've never had a single complaint when ordering from that company.
I immediately tested it out and liked it better over my old shop made system, except for one thing. The instructions say to use it in a drill or drill press along with a pen vice. If you click the link above and read the instructions for the tool, you can see a photo on the instructions that makes no sense to me. If you clamp a blank in the pen vice on your drill press, and the tube is straight enough so that you can run this pen mill down the middle with no issues, then you really have no need for a pen mill because your tube is already perfectly squared to your blank. Also, when I tried using it in a drill press, it grabbed too much for my liking.
I hit the cutting edges a couple of time with a sharpening stone and then tried squaring a blank with the pen mill and the blank being held in each hand. It worked great this way. So I decided that I'd be using this as a hand held tool. To do this comfortably though, I needed a handle on it. There is just not much to grab ahold to on the cutting shafts behind the squaring cutter.
Wood Office supplies Hardwood Electric blue Wood stain

While thinking about how I wanted to do this, I thought of this little doohickey. This is an extension shaft for a spade bit. The cutting shafts all fit perfectly in the end of this tool and tighten down using the set screws. I just needed one because this one is one I use all the time. Luckily, when I went to town to get the parts for the tools I showed earlier, they had these extension shafts at Hayden's for less than three bucks.
Wood Tool Kitchen utensil Hardwood Wood stain

So I just needed to turn a handle and use epoxy to attach it to the extension shaft. This allowed me to hold onto the tool, while still being able to swap out cutting shafts for different pen kits.
For the handle, I started to use sapelle. Then I remembered this piece of oak burl a friend (Bearpie) had given me a while back. This particular piece had a bad crack right down the middle. I was worried about it blowing apart if I tried turning it thin enough for a pen. It was a perfect piece though for this small tool handle. Oak burl, in my opinion, is really too nice a piece to be used for a tool handle, but I just couldn't help myself. I do love the look of oak burl.
Wood Tool Knife Kitchen utensil Metal

I love oak burl enough that I just had to show you all one more photo so you can see the other side.
.
So till next time, happy turning.
william , you da man, fantastic buddy, some day i hope to have the ideas you have about some of the tools, but for now, i dont do the lathe, and you do , and so well…im still around, but not to much, here and there, back is not well at all, went and got a shot this morning, epidural…im hoping for the best…i pray for you and your situation to buddy, im glad i have your work here in my bedroom , i like seeing the work my friends have blessed me with….take care…bob
 

Attachments

#1,056 ·
Burls

If you have been reading my blog, you probably already know that I have a major liking for burls, and I got the chance for this post to work with some new ones.
First though, I'll get a couple of problems I've been dealing with out of the way.
Automotive tire Gas Asphalt Circle Landscape

When turning bowls, I've been having a hard time with sanding, especially on the end grain. I've read and watched videos online about power sanding and wanted to give it a try. I've had in my mind several different ways to make my own. However, on a recent trip to Jackson, Mississippi, I stopped by Harbour Freight and seen the above little doohickeys and thought it was the perfect opportunity to try the method out before going through the trouble of making them. These are rather cheaply made, but I figured they would hold up long enough for me to see if I like the outcome of power sanding using a drill.
Dishware Wood Cup Tableware Drinkware

I have tried sanding end grain on cypress before and knew it is always a bear to do. So I thought it would be a good test of the power sanding method. I decided to make my wife a cypress flower pot, since cypress is known to hold up good to the elements.
The flower pot turned out great using the power sanding attachments in a hand held drill. The end grain was just as smooth as the rosewood bowl I recently done. The difference is, I sanded for two minutes on the cypress flower pot, while I sanded for over two hours on the rosewood bowl.
Wood Bookcase Musical instrument accessory Publication Drawer

My next problem I worked on recently was my pen display. I show my pens to lot of people. The problem was, with them sitting out in the open in a wood shop, they always stayed extremely dusty. It's kind of embarrassing to be showing someone a pen and have to wipe each and every one they ask about of all the dust, all the while apologizing for the messy look of them all.
So I used some oak, sapelle, and plexiglass to make a cover for the pen display. This allows them to be seen and still be covered so I can see that they're not being messed with at a distance. Yes, I have had some grow legs and walk off on their own when they were lying out in the open. Also, it keeps dust off of the pens. When someone is interested in them, I can easily go and pick the cover straight off of the display so they can look at nice, clean, pens.
The last problem I ran into recently was with my newly acquired pen mill. I don't know what I am not "getting", but I just hate the thing. After forty bucks and a good resharpening, you would think it would leave the ends of my pen blanks nice, clean, and square. That just is not the case. Yes, it squares the blanks. That is about all I can say about it. The end grain tears up though and leaves a terrible look between the two halves of a finished pen. It may work great for folks who use the center rings to break things up. I make almost all my pens these days though without center bands and must have a very clean end on the blanks. So, I am still using the mill for squaring up blanks that are badly out of square. However, once they are square and a majority of the extra material removed, I move back to my shop made sanding jig that has never failed me yet to leave crisp ends.
Yes, I will have to keep up that recurring cost of sand paper for it, but it is worth it to me to keep my pens looking good.

.

My wife got a day off recently and we took a trip to Jackson. I had told her that I wanted to carry her to my "heaven on earth", Pickens Hardwoods. Well, we pulled up to the place where they usually have me drooling before I even get in the door good, to find out that it is now a metal and welding shop. I was so disappointed. It turns out, they had moved from their location in Clinton to further north in Jackson. The thing is though, we had to get back home before kids got home from school, so I could not take her to show her why I liked Pickens so much.
I think my wife would tell how disappointed I was that I didn't even get the chance to pick up a couple of cheap pen blanks from Pickens like I'd planned, so the next day she talked me heading back towards Jackson and checking out their new location.
As usual, I was not disappointed. There is a reason I call that place my heaven on earth. Although I can't possibly think of ever affording some of them, that place has just about ever type of wood you can think of from all reaches of the world. If I was not an honest man, I may think of grabbing what bowl blanks I could carry in that place and making a run for the door.
Alright, I admit it. I have thought about it, but would never act on such a devious thought.
Wood Writing implement Office supplies Wood stain Hardwood

Besides the zebra wood and blood wood board I bought, I also emptied my wallet, and even got a few more dollars from my wife (about forty dollars more to be exact) buying pen blanks, in burls.
This first one is called amboyna burl.
I had never heard of this. The tag said it was shipped from Cambodia. At ten bucks for a set of two short pieces, enough for one pen, I was a little hesitant about even buying this one, but I just couldn't help it. I kept being drawn back to it from across the room. Even before turning, the wood had so many twists and turns in the grain that my eyes just got lost in it.
Needless to say, this pen did not go in my pen display. I took pictures of it and put it with my own personal pens. I would love to get some more of these blanks one day. Until then though, this one is mine.
Wood Natural material Hardwood Wood stain Close-up

This one is redwood root burl. The blank, before turning, actually looked rather plain. It was burl though, so I had to give it a try.
If you look real closely at this photograph, you can see the gap between the two halves of the pen. This is the condition I described earlier with using the pen mill. It was too late to do anything about this pen, but it was, and will be, the last pen I finish off with the pen mill. I'd rather use my old sanding jig and be assured of having clean lines.
Wood Tableware Natural material Hardwood Kitchen utensil

Next is myrtle wood burl. Again, this one was kind of a mystery from looking at the blank, but a burl nonetheless. I love the way it turned out though.
Ok, that's the last of the burls, but I still have a few more pens from the Picken's purchase.
Wood Hardwood Metal Office supplies Wood stain

This one is black palm. You may notice that, while I stick with the same basic shape on all my pens, the back end of this one is much more slender than usual. The reason for that is tear out. This wood, while a most interesting looking wood, tears out way too easily. There was a point while turning this one that I was not sure I was going to be able to save it. It did not just tear out a few stands of grain. Whole hunks along the length of the grain would suddenly tear off and go flying. I backed off with the gouge and used a skew chisel to finish it up to what you see here. With the skew, I was able to slice it off cleaner without so much tear out.
Wood Material property Natural material Composite material Metal

This last one is called Texas ebony. I got it because I am always, for some reason, drawn to the darker woods. As a matter of fact, woods such as this one with the almost black look, have my attention from the start. This wood also was quite hard, which allowed me to buff it out to a nice shine before ever putting on a finish. The finish is just for protection. It had plenty enough of a gloss to it when it was just bare wood.

.

I also got a couple of piece of spalted lemon wood. At fifty cents a blank, I couldn't pass those up. I bought a three foot length of zebra wood and blood wood. I had no intended purpose for them, but they were in the sale pile because of some tiny imperfections in them. I just had to take them home. I am afraid I have turned the few burls blanks I got though. It always goes that way with me and burl wood. I just can't wait to get them on the lathe and see what surprises hide underneath the usually ugly exterior.

Until next time, happy turning.
 

Attachments

#1,057 ·
Burls

If you have been reading my blog, you probably already know that I have a major liking for burls, and I got the chance for this post to work with some new ones.
First though, I'll get a couple of problems I've been dealing with out of the way.
Automotive tire Gas Asphalt Circle Landscape

When turning bowls, I've been having a hard time with sanding, especially on the end grain. I've read and watched videos online about power sanding and wanted to give it a try. I've had in my mind several different ways to make my own. However, on a recent trip to Jackson, Mississippi, I stopped by Harbour Freight and seen the above little doohickeys and thought it was the perfect opportunity to try the method out before going through the trouble of making them. These are rather cheaply made, but I figured they would hold up long enough for me to see if I like the outcome of power sanding using a drill.
Dishware Wood Cup Tableware Drinkware

I have tried sanding end grain on cypress before and knew it is always a bear to do. So I thought it would be a good test of the power sanding method. I decided to make my wife a cypress flower pot, since cypress is known to hold up good to the elements.
The flower pot turned out great using the power sanding attachments in a hand held drill. The end grain was just as smooth as the rosewood bowl I recently done. The difference is, I sanded for two minutes on the cypress flower pot, while I sanded for over two hours on the rosewood bowl.
Wood Bookcase Musical instrument accessory Publication Drawer

My next problem I worked on recently was my pen display. I show my pens to lot of people. The problem was, with them sitting out in the open in a wood shop, they always stayed extremely dusty. It's kind of embarrassing to be showing someone a pen and have to wipe each and every one they ask about of all the dust, all the while apologizing for the messy look of them all.
So I used some oak, sapelle, and plexiglass to make a cover for the pen display. This allows them to be seen and still be covered so I can see that they're not being messed with at a distance. Yes, I have had some grow legs and walk off on their own when they were lying out in the open. Also, it keeps dust off of the pens. When someone is interested in them, I can easily go and pick the cover straight off of the display so they can look at nice, clean, pens.
The last problem I ran into recently was with my newly acquired pen mill. I don't know what I am not "getting", but I just hate the thing. After forty bucks and a good resharpening, you would think it would leave the ends of my pen blanks nice, clean, and square. That just is not the case. Yes, it squares the blanks. That is about all I can say about it. The end grain tears up though and leaves a terrible look between the two halves of a finished pen. It may work great for folks who use the center rings to break things up. I make almost all my pens these days though without center bands and must have a very clean end on the blanks. So, I am still using the mill for squaring up blanks that are badly out of square. However, once they are square and a majority of the extra material removed, I move back to my shop made sanding jig that has never failed me yet to leave crisp ends.
Yes, I will have to keep up that recurring cost of sand paper for it, but it is worth it to me to keep my pens looking good.

.

My wife got a day off recently and we took a trip to Jackson. I had told her that I wanted to carry her to my "heaven on earth", Pickens Hardwoods. Well, we pulled up to the place where they usually have me drooling before I even get in the door good, to find out that it is now a metal and welding shop. I was so disappointed. It turns out, they had moved from their location in Clinton to further north in Jackson. The thing is though, we had to get back home before kids got home from school, so I could not take her to show her why I liked Pickens so much.
I think my wife would tell how disappointed I was that I didn't even get the chance to pick up a couple of cheap pen blanks from Pickens like I'd planned, so the next day she talked me heading back towards Jackson and checking out their new location.
As usual, I was not disappointed. There is a reason I call that place my heaven on earth. Although I can't possibly think of ever affording some of them, that place has just about ever type of wood you can think of from all reaches of the world. If I was not an honest man, I may think of grabbing what bowl blanks I could carry in that place and making a run for the door.
Alright, I admit it. I have thought about it, but would never act on such a devious thought.
Wood Writing implement Office supplies Wood stain Hardwood

Besides the zebra wood and blood wood board I bought, I also emptied my wallet, and even got a few more dollars from my wife (about forty dollars more to be exact) buying pen blanks, in burls.
This first one is called amboyna burl.
I had never heard of this. The tag said it was shipped from Cambodia. At ten bucks for a set of two short pieces, enough for one pen, I was a little hesitant about even buying this one, but I just couldn't help it. I kept being drawn back to it from across the room. Even before turning, the wood had so many twists and turns in the grain that my eyes just got lost in it.
Needless to say, this pen did not go in my pen display. I took pictures of it and put it with my own personal pens. I would love to get some more of these blanks one day. Until then though, this one is mine.
Wood Natural material Hardwood Wood stain Close-up

This one is redwood root burl. The blank, before turning, actually looked rather plain. It was burl though, so I had to give it a try.
If you look real closely at this photograph, you can see the gap between the two halves of the pen. This is the condition I described earlier with using the pen mill. It was too late to do anything about this pen, but it was, and will be, the last pen I finish off with the pen mill. I'd rather use my old sanding jig and be assured of having clean lines.
Wood Tableware Natural material Hardwood Kitchen utensil

Next is myrtle wood burl. Again, this one was kind of a mystery from looking at the blank, but a burl nonetheless. I love the way it turned out though.
Ok, that's the last of the burls, but I still have a few more pens from the Picken's purchase.
Wood Hardwood Metal Office supplies Wood stain

This one is black palm. You may notice that, while I stick with the same basic shape on all my pens, the back end of this one is much more slender than usual. The reason for that is tear out. This wood, while a most interesting looking wood, tears out way too easily. There was a point while turning this one that I was not sure I was going to be able to save it. It did not just tear out a few stands of grain. Whole hunks along the length of the grain would suddenly tear off and go flying. I backed off with the gouge and used a skew chisel to finish it up to what you see here. With the skew, I was able to slice it off cleaner without so much tear out.
Wood Material property Natural material Composite material Metal

This last one is called Texas ebony. I got it because I am always, for some reason, drawn to the darker woods. As a matter of fact, woods such as this one with the almost black look, have my attention from the start. This wood also was quite hard, which allowed me to buff it out to a nice shine before ever putting on a finish. The finish is just for protection. It had plenty enough of a gloss to it when it was just bare wood.

.

I also got a couple of piece of spalted lemon wood. At fifty cents a blank, I couldn't pass those up. I bought a three foot length of zebra wood and blood wood. I had no intended purpose for them, but they were in the sale pile because of some tiny imperfections in them. I just had to take them home. I am afraid I have turned the few burls blanks I got though. It always goes that way with me and burl wood. I just can't wait to get them on the lathe and see what surprises hide underneath the usually ugly exterior.

Until next time, happy turning.
Great stuff, William.
I'm glad you were able to make it to heaven & yet remain here on earth with the rest of us!!! ;^)

I know which pens are your faves….
For me the Black Palm and Texas Ebony are high on my list!

Keep on keepin' on….
 

Attachments

#1,074 ·
Back To Basics

As for the title of this blog, I had to get back to basics while turning the last couple of days. Before I get to that though, I want to get the one pen for this blog entry out of the way.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Natural material Office supplies

This is made from one of the pen blanks I bought on my recent trip to Pickens Hardwoods. I talked about that in my last blog entry.
I was excited to turn this because it was labeled as spalted lemon wood. I usually love spalting, so I wanted to see what it looked like. Spalting is like burls, it's always a surprise as to how they are going to turn out. Well this one was really a surprise, but not the kind of surprise I was hoping for. From start to finish, I found no spalting in this wood at all. So it is just lemon wood, minus any spalting. I only payed fifty cents a piece for two blanks, so I am not too bummed out by it.
Tableware Kitchen utensil Wood Tool Hardwood

Now for the back to basics.
What you see here are my bowl tools. I have a few others, like my depth drill and such, but these are the ones designed for actually working the wood. Some are made by me. Some are bought. However, while turning a bowl the other day I got a little frustrated. I just could not get a clean finishing cut on the inside of a bowl I was turning. I tried the Oland tool at every possible way and direction I could think of. I had done it before, but it was a different type wood than I'd done it in and it just wasn't working out like I had planned. I sharpened the tool and tried again. I tried cleaning it up with very light passes with a scraper. Nothing I tried seemed to give me the results I would be happy with though.
So I sat with a cup of coffee and thought about this for a moment. That's when the thought came to me that I didn't have this problem in the past with this same wood. I had turned it before. So what was different? The only thing that was different was that I was stubbornly insisting on using these new tools that I had made myself.
Tool Wood Hand tool Stonemason's hammer Metalworking hand tool

So the answer to my problem was to get back to the basics that I had learned when I first started studying and learning to turn any bowls. All those tools, whether bought or made, are nice to have for those different circumstances. When it comes down to it though, there just is no substitute, in my opinion, for a good detail gouge and a skew chisel for getting clean cuts.
If any of you are reading this and thinking of learning to turn, let me offer a bit of advice that I have learned, at least for me.
There are all kinds of tools. There are oland tools, hook tools, hollowing tools of all shapes and sizes, carbide, and a host of other ways to hollow bowls. I even seen a guy hollow a bowl once using nothing but a diamond shaped parting tool. If you want good clean cuts though without burnishing or catches though, learn to sharpen and use a gouge.
Next, on the outside of the bowl, or any spindle type work, if you can't get a clean cut with a sharp tool, even a gouge, a skew chisel will make quick work of it. For the longest time, I was scared to death of the skew. The skew, to me, was just a quick way to ruin anything I was trying to do. One day, I decided to just throw a piece of scrap on the lathe and not stop until I could use a skew, and boy am I glad I did. There are times that there is no better tool for the job than the skew. If you don't know how to use one, there is no other way to learn it besides practice.
Dishware Tableware Drinkware Flowerpot Serveware

Tableware Dishware Drinkware Bookcase Wood

This bowl I turned really just to test how the power sanding attachments I've been talking so much about worked on small bowls. I knew I wasn't going to be able to easily get the direction I wanted inside this bowl while power sanding. So I wanted to see how that was going to work out. I was worried it would leave radial lines much like on a pen that one has either skipped grits on or failed to sand the length of after sanding with the lathe running. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. With a little tilting back and forth with the drill, it did a great job on this little piece of sapelle.
Wood Serveware Automotive tire Pottery Wood stain

Tableware Wood Dishware Basket Serveware

Dishware Drinkware Cup Wood Clay

I felt I was finally ready to turn this piece that I've been holding back on. I was wanting to build my confidence a bit before tackling this chunk of rosewood because I just knew I would cry like a baby if I messed it up.
This was from a six inch square chunk of rosewood that a friend (Bearpie) gave me a while back when he visited my shop. I know there are many, many turners out there that could have done a better job than I with it, but I am quite proud of myself with the results.
Ingredient Wood Cookware and bakeware Tableware Cuisine

This one did not turn out being what I originally intended it to be. It was a two inch thick piece of six inch square lacewood. I intended to turn a shallow bowl. Midway through though, with the size and shape, I remembered a wooden ash tray I had seen somewhere and remembered that I had thought how much I would love to have one. Well this presented a perfect opportunity for me to do just that. It was the right size. So I used my tailstock to hold a scrap piece against the top of the bowl. Then I turned it down to the same as the sides of the bowl and use a drill and forstner bit to drill holes with the point where the bowl and scrap block met. Then I finished turning it.
.
Well that is all I have to show today.
Till next time, happy turning.
 

Attachments

#1,075 ·
Back To Basics

As for the title of this blog, I had to get back to basics while turning the last couple of days. Before I get to that though, I want to get the one pen for this blog entry out of the way.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Natural material Office supplies

This is made from one of the pen blanks I bought on my recent trip to Pickens Hardwoods. I talked about that in my last blog entry.
I was excited to turn this because it was labeled as spalted lemon wood. I usually love spalting, so I wanted to see what it looked like. Spalting is like burls, it's always a surprise as to how they are going to turn out. Well this one was really a surprise, but not the kind of surprise I was hoping for. From start to finish, I found no spalting in this wood at all. So it is just lemon wood, minus any spalting. I only payed fifty cents a piece for two blanks, so I am not too bummed out by it.
Tableware Kitchen utensil Wood Tool Hardwood

Now for the back to basics.
What you see here are my bowl tools. I have a few others, like my depth drill and such, but these are the ones designed for actually working the wood. Some are made by me. Some are bought. However, while turning a bowl the other day I got a little frustrated. I just could not get a clean finishing cut on the inside of a bowl I was turning. I tried the Oland tool at every possible way and direction I could think of. I had done it before, but it was a different type wood than I'd done it in and it just wasn't working out like I had planned. I sharpened the tool and tried again. I tried cleaning it up with very light passes with a scraper. Nothing I tried seemed to give me the results I would be happy with though.
So I sat with a cup of coffee and thought about this for a moment. That's when the thought came to me that I didn't have this problem in the past with this same wood. I had turned it before. So what was different? The only thing that was different was that I was stubbornly insisting on using these new tools that I had made myself.
Tool Wood Hand tool Stonemason's hammer Metalworking hand tool

So the answer to my problem was to get back to the basics that I had learned when I first started studying and learning to turn any bowls. All those tools, whether bought or made, are nice to have for those different circumstances. When it comes down to it though, there just is no substitute, in my opinion, for a good detail gouge and a skew chisel for getting clean cuts.
If any of you are reading this and thinking of learning to turn, let me offer a bit of advice that I have learned, at least for me.
There are all kinds of tools. There are oland tools, hook tools, hollowing tools of all shapes and sizes, carbide, and a host of other ways to hollow bowls. I even seen a guy hollow a bowl once using nothing but a diamond shaped parting tool. If you want good clean cuts though without burnishing or catches though, learn to sharpen and use a gouge.
Next, on the outside of the bowl, or any spindle type work, if you can't get a clean cut with a sharp tool, even a gouge, a skew chisel will make quick work of it. For the longest time, I was scared to death of the skew. The skew, to me, was just a quick way to ruin anything I was trying to do. One day, I decided to just throw a piece of scrap on the lathe and not stop until I could use a skew, and boy am I glad I did. There are times that there is no better tool for the job than the skew. If you don't know how to use one, there is no other way to learn it besides practice.
Dishware Tableware Drinkware Flowerpot Serveware

Tableware Dishware Drinkware Bookcase Wood

This bowl I turned really just to test how the power sanding attachments I've been talking so much about worked on small bowls. I knew I wasn't going to be able to easily get the direction I wanted inside this bowl while power sanding. So I wanted to see how that was going to work out. I was worried it would leave radial lines much like on a pen that one has either skipped grits on or failed to sand the length of after sanding with the lathe running. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. With a little tilting back and forth with the drill, it did a great job on this little piece of sapelle.
Wood Serveware Automotive tire Pottery Wood stain

Tableware Wood Dishware Basket Serveware

Dishware Drinkware Cup Wood Clay

I felt I was finally ready to turn this piece that I've been holding back on. I was wanting to build my confidence a bit before tackling this chunk of rosewood because I just knew I would cry like a baby if I messed it up.
This was from a six inch square chunk of rosewood that a friend (Bearpie) gave me a while back when he visited my shop. I know there are many, many turners out there that could have done a better job than I with it, but I am quite proud of myself with the results.
Ingredient Wood Cookware and bakeware Tableware Cuisine

This one did not turn out being what I originally intended it to be. It was a two inch thick piece of six inch square lacewood. I intended to turn a shallow bowl. Midway through though, with the size and shape, I remembered a wooden ash tray I had seen somewhere and remembered that I had thought how much I would love to have one. Well this presented a perfect opportunity for me to do just that. It was the right size. So I used my tailstock to hold a scrap piece against the top of the bowl. Then I turned it down to the same as the sides of the bowl and use a drill and forstner bit to drill holes with the point where the bowl and scrap block met. Then I finished turning it.
.
Well that is all I have to show today.
Till next time, happy turning.
That unspalted lemonwood looks a lot like hedge or mulberry. I LOVE that bowl with the sapwood on part of the top edge!
 

Attachments

#1,089 ·
What I Like

If you've been reading my blog posts, you know I fairly recently tried power sanding bowls on the lathe and liked it. Well, I've had several people suggest a non-powered method that seems to be popular. I checked into it and do believe that it will work just as well as the power sanding, but easier to deal with. I checked on one suggested system. You can see it if you like by clicking on this link. Besides being out of stock at the moment, I simply do not have the money to afford it at this time. I still wanted to try this type system though.
So I watched Captain Eddies video here and built his design. I think the one from Penn State will probably be better, but this one will get me started until I can afford to get it.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Tool Fashion accessory

The thing is really just a handle with holes drilled into it. Inside those holes is a magnet that is glued into the bottom to keep the sanding attachment from just falling out. While Captain Eddie sells a bushing set that probably works wonderfully for this tool, I did not have the money to buy that at the moment either. So I used quarter inch bronze bushings that I got at my local hardware store.
Wood Audio equipment Electric blue Circle Adhesive

For the sanding attachment, I read an article here.
They are simple to make really. They are just a piece of three quarter inch plywood cut into a two inch diameter circle. The mandrel shaft is just a quarter inch carriage bolt with the head cut off. The threaded end is used to attach it to the plywood disk using nuts, washers, and a drop of CA glue to prevent the nut from moving once tightened down. The foam rubber and Velcro backing is attached using thick CA glue.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Office supplies Plywood

This photo shows the three different locations I can put the sanding attachments. By moving the attachment being used to a different hole I can sand straight out from the handle, at a ninety degree angle to it, or a forty five degree angle.
If this works like I think it will, I think I will like the adjustable angle on the Penn State model better. I can make do with this though until I can afford that. I haven't used it yet on a bowl, but will be sure to report back on the results when I do.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Varnish

Now, for the meaning of the title of this blog post.
The recent pens I've been making have been made from some very interesting burls and such. While I enjoy using these type materials, it is not what I really enjoy the most. What I like is this, making blanks. I enjoy gluing up my own blanks instead of using solid pieces. While I can never match the beauty that comes from nature in the form of a beautiful burl blank, or some interesting spalting in just the right area of a blank, I just seem to get more satisfaction from gluing up blanks like these. It is fun to experiment and you never know for sure how they will turn out until you put the cutting tool to the wood on the lathe.
You see the blanks in the photo. Now I'll go from the top down and show you how they turned out.
Wood Material property Pattern Metal Office supplies

Wood Automotive exterior Pattern Metal Steel

This one is mulberry and bocote. This one was an attempt at making a chevron design. I was recently asked about putting a chevron on a pen. Until I went online to find out what a chevron even was, I was a little lost for words, and that is truly unusual for me. So after seeing what a chevron was, I started trying to get on in a design. I do not know if this qualifies or not. I will have to ask for opinions on that.
Wood Wood stain Musical instrument Automotive exterior Hardwood

Wood Automotive exterior Wood stain Material property Hardwood

With the same chevron styling in mind, I made this one from padauk, ziricote, and hedge apple.
Wood Door handle Office supplies Automotive exterior Pattern

Wood Sleeve Beige Khaki Material property

This next one was supposed to be a zig zag down the length of the pen as I'd seen on some other chevron themed items on the internet. Remember what I said about you never know for sure how they'll turn out? I neglected to remember the curvation effect that turning a square blank round has on intersecting lines. I still like the way it turned out though. It is an interesting pen in my personal opinion.
It is made of mulberry and walnut.
Wood Wind instrument Natural material Hardwood Handle

Wood Writing implement Musical instrument Office supplies Wind instrument

This next one is blood wood and mulberry. It is simply another one of my "why not" ideas. When I start playing with these wave designs, it almost always creates interesting patterns. Remember that interesting does not always mean it looks good or is pretty. Sometimes the ones I find ugly as homemade sin are also the most interesting.
Wood Musical instrument Writing implement Automotive exterior Varnish

Wood Writing implement Office supplies Natural material Stationery

Again, I just wanted to see how this idea would turn out, and there is only one way to find out. I cut two blanks, one wild cherry and one padauk, at a long angle and sandwiched a strip of mulberry in there. I do not like this pen, but it is interesting.
Since I did not like this last pen, I didn't bother turning the last blanks in the photo of glued up blanks. I only made that last one to use up the other halves of the padauk and wild cherry blanks that I had cut up to make the above pen. I sandwiched box elder in it. I put it away in my blank pile. One day I'll think of some other embellishment I wish to add to it to make it interesting.
.
You may notice that sometimes I make pens that I find interesting, if ugly. I actually have a good reason for that. You see, from what I've learned, if a pen is interesting, I may find it ugly while someone else may think it is absolutely beautiful. Therefore, as long as it's interesting, I feel it is a good chance that someone, somewhere, will like it. Then I only hope they like it enough to buy it, because Lord knows I need to sells more of my pens if I am to keep turning them.
.
That's all for today. Until next time, happy turning.
 

Attachments

#1,090 ·
What I Like

If you've been reading my blog posts, you know I fairly recently tried power sanding bowls on the lathe and liked it. Well, I've had several people suggest a non-powered method that seems to be popular. I checked into it and do believe that it will work just as well as the power sanding, but easier to deal with. I checked on one suggested system. You can see it if you like by clicking on this link. Besides being out of stock at the moment, I simply do not have the money to afford it at this time. I still wanted to try this type system though.
So I watched Captain Eddies video here and built his design. I think the one from Penn State will probably be better, but this one will get me started until I can afford to get it.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Tool Fashion accessory

The thing is really just a handle with holes drilled into it. Inside those holes is a magnet that is glued into the bottom to keep the sanding attachment from just falling out. While Captain Eddie sells a bushing set that probably works wonderfully for this tool, I did not have the money to buy that at the moment either. So I used quarter inch bronze bushings that I got at my local hardware store.
Wood Audio equipment Electric blue Circle Adhesive

For the sanding attachment, I read an article here.
They are simple to make really. They are just a piece of three quarter inch plywood cut into a two inch diameter circle. The mandrel shaft is just a quarter inch carriage bolt with the head cut off. The threaded end is used to attach it to the plywood disk using nuts, washers, and a drop of CA glue to prevent the nut from moving once tightened down. The foam rubber and Velcro backing is attached using thick CA glue.
Wood Hardwood Wood stain Office supplies Plywood

This photo shows the three different locations I can put the sanding attachments. By moving the attachment being used to a different hole I can sand straight out from the handle, at a ninety degree angle to it, or a forty five degree angle.
If this works like I think it will, I think I will like the adjustable angle on the Penn State model better. I can make do with this though until I can afford that. I haven't used it yet on a bowl, but will be sure to report back on the results when I do.
Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Varnish

Now, for the meaning of the title of this blog post.
The recent pens I've been making have been made from some very interesting burls and such. While I enjoy using these type materials, it is not what I really enjoy the most. What I like is this, making blanks. I enjoy gluing up my own blanks instead of using solid pieces. While I can never match the beauty that comes from nature in the form of a beautiful burl blank, or some interesting spalting in just the right area of a blank, I just seem to get more satisfaction from gluing up blanks like these. It is fun to experiment and you never know for sure how they will turn out until you put the cutting tool to the wood on the lathe.
You see the blanks in the photo. Now I'll go from the top down and show you how they turned out.
Wood Material property Pattern Metal Office supplies

Wood Automotive exterior Pattern Metal Steel

This one is mulberry and bocote. This one was an attempt at making a chevron design. I was recently asked about putting a chevron on a pen. Until I went online to find out what a chevron even was, I was a little lost for words, and that is truly unusual for me. So after seeing what a chevron was, I started trying to get on in a design. I do not know if this qualifies or not. I will have to ask for opinions on that.
Wood Wood stain Musical instrument Automotive exterior Hardwood

Wood Automotive exterior Wood stain Material property Hardwood

With the same chevron styling in mind, I made this one from padauk, ziricote, and hedge apple.
Wood Door handle Office supplies Automotive exterior Pattern

Wood Sleeve Beige Khaki Material property

This next one was supposed to be a zig zag down the length of the pen as I'd seen on some other chevron themed items on the internet. Remember what I said about you never know for sure how they'll turn out? I neglected to remember the curvation effect that turning a square blank round has on intersecting lines. I still like the way it turned out though. It is an interesting pen in my personal opinion.
It is made of mulberry and walnut.
Wood Wind instrument Natural material Hardwood Handle

Wood Writing implement Musical instrument Office supplies Wind instrument

This next one is blood wood and mulberry. It is simply another one of my "why not" ideas. When I start playing with these wave designs, it almost always creates interesting patterns. Remember that interesting does not always mean it looks good or is pretty. Sometimes the ones I find ugly as homemade sin are also the most interesting.
Wood Musical instrument Writing implement Automotive exterior Varnish

Wood Writing implement Office supplies Natural material Stationery

Again, I just wanted to see how this idea would turn out, and there is only one way to find out. I cut two blanks, one wild cherry and one padauk, at a long angle and sandwiched a strip of mulberry in there. I do not like this pen, but it is interesting.
Since I did not like this last pen, I didn't bother turning the last blanks in the photo of glued up blanks. I only made that last one to use up the other halves of the padauk and wild cherry blanks that I had cut up to make the above pen. I sandwiched box elder in it. I put it away in my blank pile. One day I'll think of some other embellishment I wish to add to it to make it interesting.
.
You may notice that sometimes I make pens that I find interesting, if ugly. I actually have a good reason for that. You see, from what I've learned, if a pen is interesting, I may find it ugly while someone else may think it is absolutely beautiful. Therefore, as long as it's interesting, I feel it is a good chance that someone, somewhere, will like it. Then I only hope they like it enough to buy it, because Lord knows I need to sells more of my pens if I am to keep turning them.
.
That's all for today. Until next time, happy turning.
The first pen is my favorite of tonight's pens. But did you notice some of the amazing grain in the QS sycamore used in your boxes? Qs sycamore is just one of my favorites.
 

Attachments

#1,102 ·
Everything Is Experimental

Yellow Wood Gas Engineering Machine

After posting yesterday's blog post, I received several emails with questions about the magnet I used in it, and how well it does or does not work. So today I decided to test it out so I could answer these questions with some kind of honesty instead of simply giving my best guess.
Wood Office supplies Hardwood Wood stain Nail

If you clicked on the link I provided to watch the video on constructing the tool (video is here), you know that a sphere shaped magnet is what is called for. That was one of the issues I was asked about. I did not have a sphere shaped magnet. I used a disk shaped one in each of the holes. You can see in the above photo the type magnet I used and what I used to put it in with. I dropped a tiny bit of CA glue in each hole, stuck the magnet on the end of a long nail, and stuck it in the hole. After allowing the glue to set, I simply pulled the nail out.
Wood Natural material Trunk Hardwood Plant

So I needed a test subject. I had this short section of a cedar log setting in the shop and thought it would make a nice bowl.
Wood Gas Cylinder Machine Metal

By the time I thought to snap another photo, I'd already lost several inches of height on the bowl. I'll talk more on that in a bit. First, how does the sander perform?
Product Purple Textile Fire hydrant Gas

I found the roughest area I could find to photograph on the bowl. I knew I could find the same area again because, you can't see it in the photo, but the plates on my chuck have reference numbers for placement, and this area is even with the number four plate.
Purple Wood Gas Tints and shades Cylinder

I sanded with eighty grit paper and set a timer for thirty seconds. As you can see if you look closely, it still needs more sanding, but it is a huge improvement.
So, in my opinion, although I have never used one with the sphere shaped magnet in it, I think this works just fine for what I want.
Sometime in the future, I plan on buying a commercially made version of this tool. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll post my opinion at that time on how it compares to this shop made one.
Yellow Wood Gas Engineering Machine

Now, back to the cedar bowl. I kept losing height. This is one of the joys, and also drawbacks, to turning. You never know what you're going to find inside a piece of wood until you start turning it. Well, this particular piece of wood had more cracks in it than a three mile stretch of side walk. Every time I got it looking good, a piece would break along a crack somewhere near the rim.
Wood Serveware Tableware Wood stain Tints and shades

You can see here what I mean.
No big deal. I like to think of headaches such as this one as learning exercises. So what could I learn from this bowl that seems to not want to be completed?
I decided that, with the crack and the brittle nature of very dry cedar, I'd see how thin I could get the walls. That's something I've been working towards is getting the walls of my work thinner.
Tape measure Ruler Office ruler Finger Rectangle

I got it down to an eighth of an inch and everything was going great. Then the bowl decided that it would like to be shrapnel more than it wanted to be a bowl.
Purple Wood Natural material Violet Hardwood

No.
Seriously, a bowl that breaks into many pieces at high RPMs becomes shrapnel.
This is all the pieces I could find of it for the photo.
Gas Personal protective equipment Armour Machine Motor vehicle

And THAT, my friends, is why you always, ALWAYS, wear a full face shield while turning.
Of course, I was asking for this one to blow apart. However, you never know when it will happen. In the past, I have had bowls, or parts of bowls, leave the lathe at high speeds when I least expected it.
.
Until next time, happy turning!
 

Attachments

#1,103 ·
Everything Is Experimental

Yellow Wood Gas Engineering Machine

After posting yesterday's blog post, I received several emails with questions about the magnet I used in it, and how well it does or does not work. So today I decided to test it out so I could answer these questions with some kind of honesty instead of simply giving my best guess.
Wood Office supplies Hardwood Wood stain Nail

If you clicked on the link I provided to watch the video on constructing the tool (video is here), you know that a sphere shaped magnet is what is called for. That was one of the issues I was asked about. I did not have a sphere shaped magnet. I used a disk shaped one in each of the holes. You can see in the above photo the type magnet I used and what I used to put it in with. I dropped a tiny bit of CA glue in each hole, stuck the magnet on the end of a long nail, and stuck it in the hole. After allowing the glue to set, I simply pulled the nail out.
Wood Natural material Trunk Hardwood Plant

So I needed a test subject. I had this short section of a cedar log setting in the shop and thought it would make a nice bowl.
Wood Gas Cylinder Machine Metal

By the time I thought to snap another photo, I'd already lost several inches of height on the bowl. I'll talk more on that in a bit. First, how does the sander perform?
Product Purple Textile Fire hydrant Gas

I found the roughest area I could find to photograph on the bowl. I knew I could find the same area again because, you can't see it in the photo, but the plates on my chuck have reference numbers for placement, and this area is even with the number four plate.
Purple Wood Gas Tints and shades Cylinder

I sanded with eighty grit paper and set a timer for thirty seconds. As you can see if you look closely, it still needs more sanding, but it is a huge improvement.
So, in my opinion, although I have never used one with the sphere shaped magnet in it, I think this works just fine for what I want.
Sometime in the future, I plan on buying a commercially made version of this tool. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll post my opinion at that time on how it compares to this shop made one.
Yellow Wood Gas Engineering Machine

Now, back to the cedar bowl. I kept losing height. This is one of the joys, and also drawbacks, to turning. You never know what you're going to find inside a piece of wood until you start turning it. Well, this particular piece of wood had more cracks in it than a three mile stretch of side walk. Every time I got it looking good, a piece would break along a crack somewhere near the rim.
Wood Serveware Tableware Wood stain Tints and shades

You can see here what I mean.
No big deal. I like to think of headaches such as this one as learning exercises. So what could I learn from this bowl that seems to not want to be completed?
I decided that, with the crack and the brittle nature of very dry cedar, I'd see how thin I could get the walls. That's something I've been working towards is getting the walls of my work thinner.
Tape measure Ruler Office ruler Finger Rectangle

I got it down to an eighth of an inch and everything was going great. Then the bowl decided that it would like to be shrapnel more than it wanted to be a bowl.
Purple Wood Natural material Violet Hardwood

No.
Seriously, a bowl that breaks into many pieces at high RPMs becomes shrapnel.
This is all the pieces I could find of it for the photo.
Gas Personal protective equipment Armour Machine Motor vehicle

And THAT, my friends, is why you always, ALWAYS, wear a full face shield while turning.
Of course, I was asking for this one to blow apart. However, you never know when it will happen. In the past, I have had bowls, or parts of bowls, leave the lathe at high speeds when I least expected it.
.
Until next time, happy turning!
You have convinced me. I DO NOT NEED A LATHE!

But you do seem to enjoy yours. Carry on. (carefully)
 

Attachments

#1,117 ·
Early Christmas

The names and places of this story have been changed to protect the innocent.
.
I learned early on that woodworkers, in general, were a generous lot of folks. They are always willing to help in any way they can. Some other hobbies have people who protect their methods, materials, and such like it was a million dollar proprietary secret. In the land of wood elves though, we openly share anything we can to help others further along in their quest for knowledge and skill. We want others to know the secrets to success.
All of this though, it has become true in multiples since I started turning wood. If it were not for the help and assistance of others, I'd probably still be destroying pecan and oak logs and turning stick pens that looked like a new product line from Crayola called crap-ons.
I've had wood and blanks arrives from all corners of the country. I've had pen kits shipped to me from other states. I even had a new kind of sandpaper and a gift card to buy supplies and kits supplied to me from another country.
Each and every time I receive items such as these, it chokes me up and I have a hard time putting into words just how much I appreciate it all. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough. I have shipped out bowls and pens to different people, but that doesn't feel like it really conveys my gratitude either. It seems that my skills constantly improve and I wish I could send these people better items than what I've sent them before. Shipping gets in the way of that though.
Let me get to the point.
Green Rectangle Tablecloth Table Recreation

I received a package over the weekend.
I knew this was coming. It still didn't prepare me though for the emotions I went through upon it's arrival.
First I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. The packaging helped with this feeling as well. The box you see above was wrapped in a brown wrapper, wrapped up almost like a Christmas present would be, only without the shipping label.
It was an early Christmas present from Ms. Clause all the way from the great white north.
As I opened the box, there inside was the little things that bring so much joy to me, pen kits and wood. I was happier than a retard in a room full of bouncy balls.
Product Wood Rectangle Packing materials Hardwood

I received all kinds of pen kits. Some of them I am familiar with. Some of them are things I've never done before and am extremely excited to do so. There was even a kit for s spinning top, which is something I had thought of ordering in the past. How did Santa know this though?
Purple Textile Sleeve Body jewelry Rectangle

As if all that was not enough though, there was this little velvety bag inside. In the bag was this little doohickey.
Basket Stemware Wood Thumb Glass

It is a turned Christmas ornament. I'm not sure of the wood used, but it is absolutely stunning.
Green Gas Metal Glass Fashion accessory

It is engraved with, "Dorothy 2013".
This is an ornament made by Ms. Clause especially for my grand daughter. It is Dorothy's first Christmas ornament.
.
No, this package did not really come from Ms. Clause. Bear with me here. Remember, I changed the names for this.
.
I do not have words to express the gratitude I feel for the wood, kits, and other assorted goodies that Ms. Clause sent. Things that are made for my family though, that just about brings a tear to my eye. It is kindness such as this that just goes above anything I know how to describe. I have been told I have a way with words, but I just cannot seem to put enough thank yous into words to express how I feel for something like this.
Thank you Ms. Clause, from the bottom of my heart.
Textile Creative arts Ornament Jewellery Petal

The ornament will be joined on the tree by some ornaments another wood working buddy sent me some time back.
These came from Bubba Clause and his wife. They live in Alabama with their eight tiny ******************** dogs and flying Chevy.
This year, I will think of the kindness of these wonderful people, who I have only met online, every time I look at my Christmas tree.
Thank you all. The season has begun. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving coming up, then a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
.
Now listen to that. I am usually the one who gripes about people jumping the gun on the holidays. I just can't seem to help it this year.
Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive lighting Building

I've even gotten a head start this year on my outside decorating.
 

Attachments

#1,118 ·
Early Christmas

The names and places of this story have been changed to protect the innocent.
.
I learned early on that woodworkers, in general, were a generous lot of folks. They are always willing to help in any way they can. Some other hobbies have people who protect their methods, materials, and such like it was a million dollar proprietary secret. In the land of wood elves though, we openly share anything we can to help others further along in their quest for knowledge and skill. We want others to know the secrets to success.
All of this though, it has become true in multiples since I started turning wood. If it were not for the help and assistance of others, I'd probably still be destroying pecan and oak logs and turning stick pens that looked like a new product line from Crayola called crap-ons.
I've had wood and blanks arrives from all corners of the country. I've had pen kits shipped to me from other states. I even had a new kind of sandpaper and a gift card to buy supplies and kits supplied to me from another country.
Each and every time I receive items such as these, it chokes me up and I have a hard time putting into words just how much I appreciate it all. Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough. I have shipped out bowls and pens to different people, but that doesn't feel like it really conveys my gratitude either. It seems that my skills constantly improve and I wish I could send these people better items than what I've sent them before. Shipping gets in the way of that though.
Let me get to the point.
Green Rectangle Tablecloth Table Recreation

I received a package over the weekend.
I knew this was coming. It still didn't prepare me though for the emotions I went through upon it's arrival.
First I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. The packaging helped with this feeling as well. The box you see above was wrapped in a brown wrapper, wrapped up almost like a Christmas present would be, only without the shipping label.
It was an early Christmas present from Ms. Clause all the way from the great white north.
As I opened the box, there inside was the little things that bring so much joy to me, pen kits and wood. I was happier than a retard in a room full of bouncy balls.
Product Wood Rectangle Packing materials Hardwood

I received all kinds of pen kits. Some of them I am familiar with. Some of them are things I've never done before and am extremely excited to do so. There was even a kit for s spinning top, which is something I had thought of ordering in the past. How did Santa know this though?
Purple Textile Sleeve Body jewelry Rectangle

As if all that was not enough though, there was this little velvety bag inside. In the bag was this little doohickey.
Basket Stemware Wood Thumb Glass

It is a turned Christmas ornament. I'm not sure of the wood used, but it is absolutely stunning.
Green Gas Metal Glass Fashion accessory

It is engraved with, "Dorothy 2013".
This is an ornament made by Ms. Clause especially for my grand daughter. It is Dorothy's first Christmas ornament.
.
No, this package did not really come from Ms. Clause. Bear with me here. Remember, I changed the names for this.
.
I do not have words to express the gratitude I feel for the wood, kits, and other assorted goodies that Ms. Clause sent. Things that are made for my family though, that just about brings a tear to my eye. It is kindness such as this that just goes above anything I know how to describe. I have been told I have a way with words, but I just cannot seem to put enough thank yous into words to express how I feel for something like this.
Thank you Ms. Clause, from the bottom of my heart.
Textile Creative arts Ornament Jewellery Petal

The ornament will be joined on the tree by some ornaments another wood working buddy sent me some time back.
These came from Bubba Clause and his wife. They live in Alabama with their eight tiny ******************** dogs and flying Chevy.
This year, I will think of the kindness of these wonderful people, who I have only met online, every time I look at my Christmas tree.
Thank you all. The season has begun. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving coming up, then a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
.
Now listen to that. I am usually the one who gripes about people jumping the gun on the holidays. I just can't seem to help it this year.
Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive lighting Building

I've even gotten a head start this year on my outside decorating.
Very cool William…....there are a few good folks left out there…...
 

Attachments

#1,130 ·
Pens And Tools

Wood Writing implement Office supplies Natural material Metal

Wood Natural material Writing implement Hardwood Stationery

I wanted to make my son's karate teacher a nice pen. I was thinking about what to make it out of to set it apart. He seems like the type of guy, to me, who would appreciate something simple, yet different.
I remembered that I had been wanting to turn a piece of bamboo that was given to me and thought it was quite fitting for a karate instructor.
I presented him with this pen Wednesday night before the class started, and he really liked it.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Metal Rectangle

Wood Rectangle Metal Pattern Fashion accessory

This one I done because it was a special request.
It is a .45-70 shell casing done with deer antler.
Wood Stonemason's hammer Hand tool Wood stain Tool

Since getting it, I have been cleaning tubes out with my nifty little tool I got from Penn State. It usually does a great job. However, every now and again, I have a pen tube that simply turns out to be a mess. I can't really explain why. I think it's just that while working with CA glue, I opt to leave a mess in the tubes if I have the choice of that or getting it all over my fingers. Then it dries and has to be cleaned out. On really messy clean outs, the tools doesn't do so great. The single flute design just doesn't do the trick and I start missing my old quarter inch drill bit that I used to use before acquiring this tool.
That old drill bit I had taken a sander to and had it so it just slipped into a seven millimeter tube. It done the job good.
So I started thinking. Why couldn't I use my old drill bit on these extra messy situations? All I had to do was go pull it out of the drawer I had thrown it in and go back to using it. However, I'd also gotten a little spoiled having a comfortable handle on this tool. It is so much better than grabbing the drill bit with a pair of channel locks like I used to.
So there was only one answer to this problem.
Musical instrument Wood Gas Natural material Metal

As much as I liked the oak burl handle on my other tool, I did not have another piece that was not too good, in my opinion, to be used as a tool handle. So while looking for a good piece of wood for a handle, I remembered a left over piece I had from butchering up a block of rose wood for bowls. It was a short piece with the grain running across it instead of the length of it. This tool will not be subjected to a lot of prying force though, so it would work well for this application and look nice too.
Wood Material property Gas Metal Automotive exhaust

So now I have more options when it comes to cleaning out those tubes.
.
Untill next time, happy turning!
 

Attachments

#1,131 ·
Pens And Tools

Wood Writing implement Office supplies Natural material Metal

Wood Natural material Writing implement Hardwood Stationery

I wanted to make my son's karate teacher a nice pen. I was thinking about what to make it out of to set it apart. He seems like the type of guy, to me, who would appreciate something simple, yet different.
I remembered that I had been wanting to turn a piece of bamboo that was given to me and thought it was quite fitting for a karate instructor.
I presented him with this pen Wednesday night before the class started, and he really liked it.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Metal Rectangle

Wood Rectangle Metal Pattern Fashion accessory

This one I done because it was a special request.
It is a .45-70 shell casing done with deer antler.
Wood Stonemason's hammer Hand tool Wood stain Tool

Since getting it, I have been cleaning tubes out with my nifty little tool I got from Penn State. It usually does a great job. However, every now and again, I have a pen tube that simply turns out to be a mess. I can't really explain why. I think it's just that while working with CA glue, I opt to leave a mess in the tubes if I have the choice of that or getting it all over my fingers. Then it dries and has to be cleaned out. On really messy clean outs, the tools doesn't do so great. The single flute design just doesn't do the trick and I start missing my old quarter inch drill bit that I used to use before acquiring this tool.
That old drill bit I had taken a sander to and had it so it just slipped into a seven millimeter tube. It done the job good.
So I started thinking. Why couldn't I use my old drill bit on these extra messy situations? All I had to do was go pull it out of the drawer I had thrown it in and go back to using it. However, I'd also gotten a little spoiled having a comfortable handle on this tool. It is so much better than grabbing the drill bit with a pair of channel locks like I used to.
So there was only one answer to this problem.
Musical instrument Wood Gas Natural material Metal

As much as I liked the oak burl handle on my other tool, I did not have another piece that was not too good, in my opinion, to be used as a tool handle. So while looking for a good piece of wood for a handle, I remembered a left over piece I had from butchering up a block of rose wood for bowls. It was a short piece with the grain running across it instead of the length of it. This tool will not be subjected to a lot of prying force though, so it would work well for this application and look nice too.
Wood Material property Gas Metal Automotive exhaust

So now I have more options when it comes to cleaning out those tubes.
.
Untill next time, happy turning!
Well done. Love the look of deer antler, hate the smell. :)
 

Attachments

#1,137 ·
Fixer

Shelf Bookcase Wood Shelving Flooring

I called today's post "Fixer" because the last few days it seems I am constantly having to fix something. So the title seemed fitting.
Everyone seemed to like the cypress flower pot I made a while back, so I decided to try making a cypress bowl. I got the outside turned fine with the tail stock supporting it. Soon after I switched to hollowing out the inside though, the double sided tape I was using to hold on a waste block with a tenon cut into it to fit my chuck gave way and the bowl took flight. So I decided to use my bowl press to glue the waste block on before continuing. I let it set over night.
Wood Machine tool Gas Engineering Motor vehicle

Of course I had to retrue the outside the next day and then the hollowing went along without a hitch.
Automotive tire Automotive wheel system Gas Auto part Cylinder

As you can see, this one was going to require a lot of sanding. My powerless sanding tool I made a while back was working wonderfully, then….......
Automotive tire Wood Gas Adhesive Automotive wheel system

I knew that the thin sides seemed a tad brittle to me. I didn't think they were that brittle though.
Automotive tire Gas Wood Cylinder Auto part

So I turned it down to a shorter bowl and went at it again.
Before I could even get back to sanding though, well, you see what happened before I could even get back to sanding.
Automotive tire Cylinder Gas Auto part Automotive wheel system

So I turned it down to an even shorter bowl.
Wood Machine Hat Carmine Walking shoe

Here, after sanding, I decided I had better snap another photo before something else went wrong, like maybe while turning the waste block off the bottom.
Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Automotive tire Auto part

The waste block removal happened without incident. Well, almost.
I noticed a crack on the sides while I was checking my progress at one point. Once you get past a certain point of no return though, all you can do is finish the waste block removal and then take it off the lathe to see what you have.
Wood Terrestrial plant Hardwood Plant Wood stain

After all I had been through with this bowl, I really did not want to scrap it. So I used CA glue to fix the crack in it.
Tableware Flowerpot Dishware Mixing bowl Wood

I think it turned out ok. I can't gripe about all the wasted material making this tall bowl short. I try to look at things like this as opportunities to hone my skills.
That's what I tell people anyway. Never admit that you just messed up.
Brown Wood Floor Rectangle Flooring

Next, ever since Ms. Clause sent my the gift package last week, I've been looking at one of the pieces of mystery wood that was included. If I was correct it was going to be box elder burl. I used elder burl on the Civil War pen a while back and thought it was one of the most beautiful materials I've ever turned. So I was anxious to turn this to see what I got.
Automotive tire Tire Gas Rolling pin Auto part

If you read my blog, you know I always refer to burls as like unwrapping presents. You never know what surprises await underneath. Sometimes you are greeted with the most fabulous gift a fella could ask for. Well, sometimes you are greeted with a box of rock.
No seriously. You know you have an Uncle Joe who lost his pet rock collection. In his demented state of mind, he has mistakenly wrapped it up and gave it to you for your birthday about three and a half months after your birthday.
No?
Ok. Anyway, the beautiful wood, which did turn out to be box elder burl as I suspected by the way, revealed a knot about halfway into it. It wasn't one of those pretty, interesting knots. It was one of those knots that, if I'd continued, would have flown out and left a huge hole that would have been near impossible to fill with my usual slurry method.
So what to do? Well since the CA glue had worked for my bowl repair so well, I decided to go back to the well again. I really wanted to save this blank.
Wood Rectangle Metal Art Aluminium

And I think it worked out real well. Who says you can't turn a gift of a box of rocks into something nice?
This is a .50 Cal. pen with box elder burl, and a, now pretty and interesting, knot in it.
.
So what else could I tear up and fix?
Natural material Wood Bivalve Shell Fungus

This is a hunk of cedar I had back in the corner of the shop. Actually it is half of a split bowl that I tried turning some time back. I decided to try to turn it into one of those interesting looking things I seen somewhere on the internet some time ago. I would tell you what it is called or where I seen it, but unfortunately, I can't remember either.
Product Wood Textile Engineering Automotive tire

HOLY CRAP!!!
Things were going great. I was having fun. The wood was cooperating fine, and I was sure I could complete this project.
Then a hunk off one side decided it wanted to go bye-bye. Luckily, it flew away from me. However, this large hunk all of a sudden leaving the party threw the rest of it out of balance at high speed. Well, let's just say that I'm not sure those pants are going to ever come clean again.
I had not idea that a three hundred pound lathe could hop like that.
I decided to not try fixing this one. This same hunk of wood has caused massive failures on the lathe twice now. I haven't been hurt, but I do not wish to test that three strike rule thing.
Wood Cylinder Gas Engineering Auto part

Also, something in the back of my head told me to check the alignment on my lathe after all the excitement died down, my heart rate returned to normal, and I smoked as cigarette or ten to calm my nerves.
I'm glad I did. This is the disadvantage to having a lathe with a rotating head. Something like that out of balance hopping dance it was doing earlier throws things off.
So I felt it was a good time to do a lathe tune up. I cleaned it up, realigned everything, oiled everything, and generally made sure it was ready to safely go again.
Then it was time to climb back on the horse and go again.
Wood Hardwood Office supplies Natural material Metal

The deer antler pens, especially the .45-70 pens I've made before, seem popular. So I decided to make one for my display case.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Cylinder Metal

Then, since Ms. Clause had sent me a few .50 Cal. pen kits, I decided that, since people seem to like the bullet and deer antler combination, I should make a .50 Cal. pen with deer antler.
.
So, the lathe is back in fighting shape. We'll just have to see what I can mess up next. Remember though, it's not mistakes, it's learning opportunities.
Till next time, happy turning!
Martial arts uniform Sports uniform Martial arts Japanese martial arts Combat sport

Before I go, you may remember I made a bamboo pen for my kid's karate instructor a few days ago.
For my readers that always ask about my family, my son done his rank test yesterday. He passed and is now a yellow belt.
Oh, he's the little fella on the left in this photo.
 

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#1,138 ·
Fixer

Shelf Bookcase Wood Shelving Flooring

I called today's post "Fixer" because the last few days it seems I am constantly having to fix something. So the title seemed fitting.
Everyone seemed to like the cypress flower pot I made a while back, so I decided to try making a cypress bowl. I got the outside turned fine with the tail stock supporting it. Soon after I switched to hollowing out the inside though, the double sided tape I was using to hold on a waste block with a tenon cut into it to fit my chuck gave way and the bowl took flight. So I decided to use my bowl press to glue the waste block on before continuing. I let it set over night.
Wood Machine tool Gas Engineering Motor vehicle

Of course I had to retrue the outside the next day and then the hollowing went along without a hitch.
Automotive tire Automotive wheel system Gas Auto part Cylinder

As you can see, this one was going to require a lot of sanding. My powerless sanding tool I made a while back was working wonderfully, then….......
Automotive tire Wood Gas Adhesive Automotive wheel system

I knew that the thin sides seemed a tad brittle to me. I didn't think they were that brittle though.
Automotive tire Gas Wood Cylinder Auto part

So I turned it down to a shorter bowl and went at it again.
Before I could even get back to sanding though, well, you see what happened before I could even get back to sanding.
Automotive tire Cylinder Gas Auto part Automotive wheel system

So I turned it down to an even shorter bowl.
Wood Machine Hat Carmine Walking shoe

Here, after sanding, I decided I had better snap another photo before something else went wrong, like maybe while turning the waste block off the bottom.
Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Automotive tire Auto part

The waste block removal happened without incident. Well, almost.
I noticed a crack on the sides while I was checking my progress at one point. Once you get past a certain point of no return though, all you can do is finish the waste block removal and then take it off the lathe to see what you have.
Wood Terrestrial plant Hardwood Plant Wood stain

After all I had been through with this bowl, I really did not want to scrap it. So I used CA glue to fix the crack in it.
Tableware Flowerpot Dishware Mixing bowl Wood

I think it turned out ok. I can't gripe about all the wasted material making this tall bowl short. I try to look at things like this as opportunities to hone my skills.
That's what I tell people anyway. Never admit that you just messed up.
Brown Wood Floor Rectangle Flooring

Next, ever since Ms. Clause sent my the gift package last week, I've been looking at one of the pieces of mystery wood that was included. If I was correct it was going to be box elder burl. I used elder burl on the Civil War pen a while back and thought it was one of the most beautiful materials I've ever turned. So I was anxious to turn this to see what I got.
Automotive tire Tire Gas Rolling pin Auto part

If you read my blog, you know I always refer to burls as like unwrapping presents. You never know what surprises await underneath. Sometimes you are greeted with the most fabulous gift a fella could ask for. Well, sometimes you are greeted with a box of rock.
No seriously. You know you have an Uncle Joe who lost his pet rock collection. In his demented state of mind, he has mistakenly wrapped it up and gave it to you for your birthday about three and a half months after your birthday.
No?
Ok. Anyway, the beautiful wood, which did turn out to be box elder burl as I suspected by the way, revealed a knot about halfway into it. It wasn't one of those pretty, interesting knots. It was one of those knots that, if I'd continued, would have flown out and left a huge hole that would have been near impossible to fill with my usual slurry method.
So what to do? Well since the CA glue had worked for my bowl repair so well, I decided to go back to the well again. I really wanted to save this blank.
Wood Rectangle Metal Art Aluminium

And I think it worked out real well. Who says you can't turn a gift of a box of rocks into something nice?
This is a .50 Cal. pen with box elder burl, and a, now pretty and interesting, knot in it.
.
So what else could I tear up and fix?
Natural material Wood Bivalve Shell Fungus

This is a hunk of cedar I had back in the corner of the shop. Actually it is half of a split bowl that I tried turning some time back. I decided to try to turn it into one of those interesting looking things I seen somewhere on the internet some time ago. I would tell you what it is called or where I seen it, but unfortunately, I can't remember either.
Product Wood Textile Engineering Automotive tire

HOLY CRAP!!!
Things were going great. I was having fun. The wood was cooperating fine, and I was sure I could complete this project.
Then a hunk off one side decided it wanted to go bye-bye. Luckily, it flew away from me. However, this large hunk all of a sudden leaving the party threw the rest of it out of balance at high speed. Well, let's just say that I'm not sure those pants are going to ever come clean again.
I had not idea that a three hundred pound lathe could hop like that.
I decided to not try fixing this one. This same hunk of wood has caused massive failures on the lathe twice now. I haven't been hurt, but I do not wish to test that three strike rule thing.
Wood Cylinder Gas Engineering Auto part

Also, something in the back of my head told me to check the alignment on my lathe after all the excitement died down, my heart rate returned to normal, and I smoked as cigarette or ten to calm my nerves.
I'm glad I did. This is the disadvantage to having a lathe with a rotating head. Something like that out of balance hopping dance it was doing earlier throws things off.
So I felt it was a good time to do a lathe tune up. I cleaned it up, realigned everything, oiled everything, and generally made sure it was ready to safely go again.
Then it was time to climb back on the horse and go again.
Wood Hardwood Office supplies Natural material Metal

The deer antler pens, especially the .45-70 pens I've made before, seem popular. So I decided to make one for my display case.
Office supplies Writing implement Wood Cylinder Metal

Then, since Ms. Clause had sent me a few .50 Cal. pen kits, I decided that, since people seem to like the bullet and deer antler combination, I should make a .50 Cal. pen with deer antler.
.
So, the lathe is back in fighting shape. We'll just have to see what I can mess up next. Remember though, it's not mistakes, it's learning opportunities.
Till next time, happy turning!
Martial arts uniform Sports uniform Martial arts Japanese martial arts Combat sport

Before I go, you may remember I made a bamboo pen for my kid's karate instructor a few days ago.
For my readers that always ask about my family, my son done his rank test yesterday. He passed and is now a yellow belt.
Oh, he's the little fella on the left in this photo.
When things fall to pieces, you keep going! Nice pens and bowl. Any thoughts I have of getting a lathe are cured by your stories of wooden missiles shooting through the shop.
 

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#1,158 ·
Turn A Turner

Turn a turner.
I just couldn't help that corny play with words. I turned a spinning top.
Wood Toy Font Plastic Electric blue

I searched high and low for a suitable photo of what appears in my mind when I think of a spinning top. Somewhere buried deep in my memory is a metal spinning top very similar to the one above. It was painted up like an alien space ship.
Wood Table Finial Hardwood Wood stain

So that may explain why I chose the shape I did for my first turned spinning top.
This was one of the kits that Ms. Clause sent me. I chose a piece of a rosewood block that I had cut off to make a bowl a while back. That left me with just enough to drill a hole in to make a little stand for it to set on.
The instructions give several good ideas for shapes of a top. I'd like to order some more of these kits and try a few of them. For the first one though, I had to go back to what my memory told me a top should look like. I wasn't sure how it would work though.
Finial Serveware Gas Metal Art

I guess it does pretty good. With a good pull, it spins about two minutes before toppling over. This was plenty enough time to get a good photo of it in action.
I enjoyed this project and definitely hope to get the chance to do some more of them in the future.

Automotive tire Wood Gas Automotive wheel system Auto part

This is the bowl photo you seen a couple of days ago. It is the one I had all the problems with. Well after posting that blog, I got a couple of emails from some good friends who know more about turning than I do. It was apparent to them from that blog post that something was very wrong. Somewhere, somehow, my technique was off to a point that they were a little concerned about me and wanted to offer suggestions.
So I asked questions to try and figure out what was going on here. I seemed to be doing alright, besides a few high speed projectiles that seem to occur in my shop for unknown reasons. Next, I looked over a couple of books I have on techniques.
I couldn't figure it out. However, there was one area that always bugs me, my tools. I have read countless opinions and seen even more countless out of control arguments about the correct sharpening angle for this tool or that one. For my spindle tools, I am perfectly satisfied. For bowls though, I was going good, but still wasn't satisfied that it was right.
So back to square one. What is the correct angle for a bowl gouge?
Sixty degrees?
Fifty degrees?
Forty degrees?
Thirty eight and three sixty eighths degree with a side of bacon?
Seriously, if you get online and try to find an agreement on this question, you'll find it, until you look at a different source.
So what is right?
Liquid Fluid Tints and shades Natural material Electric blue

The only thing I knew for sure was that it was time to try something new. I done a search online for the instruction sheet for several different commercially available sharpening jigs. After looking at these, it seemed that it seemed to be a general consensus with these jigs that a bowl gouge should be ground at about a forty degree angle.
Above, on the left, is one of my gouges before regrinding them. As I said, it was getting the job done well, but something just wasn't right.
The one on the right is the new grind angle. I wouldn't say it is exact, but is very close to forty degrees. The question is, or was, would this change in grind angles make a difference for the better? Or worse?
Plant Textile Terrestrial plant Headgear Wood

Well there was but one way to find out.
This is a hunk of wood off the same block as the bowl you seen in the earlier photo. After all, I wanted to compare apples to apples here, not apples to apple sauce.
Plant Food Ingredient Recipe Dish

I think it made a huge difference. It seems that less of an angle causes less tear out, and a much more controlled cut.
Also, in this photo, on the left is shavings from before the regrind. It actually looks more like course saw dust than shavings. On the right is the shavings from the test bowl with the new grind angle.
Wood Drinkware Serveware Dishware Pottery

This is cypress. I noticed the other day that I am seeing sypress a lot lately called Lousiana Sinker Cypress. I'm not sure what that means. This I know came from Mississippi though and it floats. So I guess this is Mississippi Floater Cypress.
Dishware Wood Ingredient Serveware Cup

It turned out like cutting butter with a hot knife. I actually wanted to go a tad thinner. The bowl as you see it is just under a quarter inch thick. I started to see hairline cracks when I stopped the lathe to check the progress though, and decided I had better not push my luck.
So what angle do you grind a bowl gouge? I have no idea. I'm going to stick with this grind for a while and see how it works out for me. It looks very promising. If it turns out to be a problem though, I think I will change it on the word of the, I believe, best advice I have heard so far. A man on another blog told me once about sharpening tools, "If what works for other people don't work for you, change it until it does work for you."
With that said,
Till next time friends, happy turning!
 

Attachments

#1,159 ·
Turn A Turner

Turn a turner.
I just couldn't help that corny play with words. I turned a spinning top.
Wood Toy Font Plastic Electric blue

I searched high and low for a suitable photo of what appears in my mind when I think of a spinning top. Somewhere buried deep in my memory is a metal spinning top very similar to the one above. It was painted up like an alien space ship.
Wood Table Finial Hardwood Wood stain

So that may explain why I chose the shape I did for my first turned spinning top.
This was one of the kits that Ms. Clause sent me. I chose a piece of a rosewood block that I had cut off to make a bowl a while back. That left me with just enough to drill a hole in to make a little stand for it to set on.
The instructions give several good ideas for shapes of a top. I'd like to order some more of these kits and try a few of them. For the first one though, I had to go back to what my memory told me a top should look like. I wasn't sure how it would work though.
Finial Serveware Gas Metal Art

I guess it does pretty good. With a good pull, it spins about two minutes before toppling over. This was plenty enough time to get a good photo of it in action.
I enjoyed this project and definitely hope to get the chance to do some more of them in the future.

Automotive tire Wood Gas Automotive wheel system Auto part

This is the bowl photo you seen a couple of days ago. It is the one I had all the problems with. Well after posting that blog, I got a couple of emails from some good friends who know more about turning than I do. It was apparent to them from that blog post that something was very wrong. Somewhere, somehow, my technique was off to a point that they were a little concerned about me and wanted to offer suggestions.
So I asked questions to try and figure out what was going on here. I seemed to be doing alright, besides a few high speed projectiles that seem to occur in my shop for unknown reasons. Next, I looked over a couple of books I have on techniques.
I couldn't figure it out. However, there was one area that always bugs me, my tools. I have read countless opinions and seen even more countless out of control arguments about the correct sharpening angle for this tool or that one. For my spindle tools, I am perfectly satisfied. For bowls though, I was going good, but still wasn't satisfied that it was right.
So back to square one. What is the correct angle for a bowl gouge?
Sixty degrees?
Fifty degrees?
Forty degrees?
Thirty eight and three sixty eighths degree with a side of bacon?
Seriously, if you get online and try to find an agreement on this question, you'll find it, until you look at a different source.
So what is right?
Liquid Fluid Tints and shades Natural material Electric blue

The only thing I knew for sure was that it was time to try something new. I done a search online for the instruction sheet for several different commercially available sharpening jigs. After looking at these, it seemed that it seemed to be a general consensus with these jigs that a bowl gouge should be ground at about a forty degree angle.
Above, on the left, is one of my gouges before regrinding them. As I said, it was getting the job done well, but something just wasn't right.
The one on the right is the new grind angle. I wouldn't say it is exact, but is very close to forty degrees. The question is, or was, would this change in grind angles make a difference for the better? Or worse?
Plant Textile Terrestrial plant Headgear Wood

Well there was but one way to find out.
This is a hunk of wood off the same block as the bowl you seen in the earlier photo. After all, I wanted to compare apples to apples here, not apples to apple sauce.
Plant Food Ingredient Recipe Dish

I think it made a huge difference. It seems that less of an angle causes less tear out, and a much more controlled cut.
Also, in this photo, on the left is shavings from before the regrind. It actually looks more like course saw dust than shavings. On the right is the shavings from the test bowl with the new grind angle.
Wood Drinkware Serveware Dishware Pottery

This is cypress. I noticed the other day that I am seeing sypress a lot lately called Lousiana Sinker Cypress. I'm not sure what that means. This I know came from Mississippi though and it floats. So I guess this is Mississippi Floater Cypress.
Dishware Wood Ingredient Serveware Cup

It turned out like cutting butter with a hot knife. I actually wanted to go a tad thinner. The bowl as you see it is just under a quarter inch thick. I started to see hairline cracks when I stopped the lathe to check the progress though, and decided I had better not push my luck.
So what angle do you grind a bowl gouge? I have no idea. I'm going to stick with this grind for a while and see how it works out for me. It looks very promising. If it turns out to be a problem though, I think I will change it on the word of the, I believe, best advice I have heard so far. A man on another blog told me once about sharpening tools, "If what works for other people don't work for you, change it until it does work for you."
With that said,
Till next time friends, happy turning!
I vote for "Thirty eight and three sixty eighths degree with a side of bacon" on the bowl gouge, because chubby fellas like bacon.
 

Attachments

#1,179 ·
Pens For Sale

Rectangle Bumper Wood Automotive lighting Automotive exterior

These little boxes I make are fine for presenting a pen as a gift. In my shop I have a large display case that hold sixty pens. It is fine for showing them to people who visit my shop. The problem is I need a better way to show my pens away from the shop. I hate to admit it, but my pen sales have been dismal at best. If I am ever to sell more, I desperately need a way to take a few with me when I go to town and display them nicely.
I looked at various options. There are some real nice commercially available display cases and boxes. I always prefer making something myself though instead of using something that anyone can order and have.
Wood Musical instrument Rectangle Hardwood Gas

So this is what I came up with. I routes slots in a slab of sycamore for the pens to set into. Then I wrapped that with a sapelle casing with slots for a piece of plexi-glass to fit into. Then I added a sapelle handle to the top to make it comfortable to carry.
Wood Gas Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain

The plexi-glass simply slides up to put pens in, or take them out.
Musical instrument Wood Hardwood Wood stain Metal

Here is what it looks like loaded with pens.
I will start carrying this with me when I can. Hopefully it will improve my pen sales. If not, I am going to be forced to start writing a novel just to make a reason for having so many ink pens.
Wood Outdoor furniture Hardwood Wood stain Flooring

I made an extra case. I have a good friend that is also showing my pens around. Actually, that friend has sold more of my pens than I have. I guess I'm a better wood worker than I am a salesman.
.
The rest of today's post consists of pens I have turned the last couple of days.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Musical instrument Metal

Ms. Clause's care package that she sent had a piece of red palm in it. I have turned black palm before and really wanted to see the difference in appearance of the two. It was just a short piece, but that is all that is needed for a .50 Cal. pen.
Wood Natural material Hardwood Musical instrument Wood stain

This one, the pen kit and the wood, is also from that same package.
It is a Polaris kit with crepe myrtle for the wood.
Wood Office supplies Musical instrument Hardwood Metal

Then it was time to dive into some kits that I ordered recently from Penn State.
No, it is not a broken pen. This is called a flip stylus pen.
Wood Natural material Office supplies Musical instrument Wood stain

Put the insert in one way and it is a pen.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Office supplies Plank

Take it out and flip it over and it is a stylus.
I used a piece of olive wood for this pen. It was also in the Clause care package. I had never turned olive wood before and wanted to see how it looked. I think it went good with the gold and black hardware for this pen.
Wood Cylinder Wood stain Varnish Metal

No, you are not seeing double. I had the kits from the care package to make a pen and pencil. Both were designer kits with the same brushed satin finish, so I decided to make it as matching set. This was something I had never done.
This set took a lot longer than I anticipated. First, I had done the designer kits before that do not require a tenon. These were not those kits. These you have to cut a tenon for the center band to fit onto. Then, when you slip it on, you have to have the upper barrel the proper diameter for it all to flow as one. What made this a tad harder than it should be was the fact that I did not have bushings for it. I could have waited until I place another order to Penn State and got the right bushings. However, I did not think of all this until I had already glued the brass tubes into the blanks and was ready to turn.
Oh well. A good set of dial calipers took some careful measuring, and often, but I got the job done without the bushings.
For the wood, each pen is maple with two rings of cherry and one opposing ring of walnut.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning.
 

Attachments

#1,180 ·
Pens For Sale

Rectangle Bumper Wood Automotive lighting Automotive exterior

These little boxes I make are fine for presenting a pen as a gift. In my shop I have a large display case that hold sixty pens. It is fine for showing them to people who visit my shop. The problem is I need a better way to show my pens away from the shop. I hate to admit it, but my pen sales have been dismal at best. If I am ever to sell more, I desperately need a way to take a few with me when I go to town and display them nicely.
I looked at various options. There are some real nice commercially available display cases and boxes. I always prefer making something myself though instead of using something that anyone can order and have.
Wood Musical instrument Rectangle Hardwood Gas

So this is what I came up with. I routes slots in a slab of sycamore for the pens to set into. Then I wrapped that with a sapelle casing with slots for a piece of plexi-glass to fit into. Then I added a sapelle handle to the top to make it comfortable to carry.
Wood Gas Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain

The plexi-glass simply slides up to put pens in, or take them out.
Musical instrument Wood Hardwood Wood stain Metal

Here is what it looks like loaded with pens.
I will start carrying this with me when I can. Hopefully it will improve my pen sales. If not, I am going to be forced to start writing a novel just to make a reason for having so many ink pens.
Wood Outdoor furniture Hardwood Wood stain Flooring

I made an extra case. I have a good friend that is also showing my pens around. Actually, that friend has sold more of my pens than I have. I guess I'm a better wood worker than I am a salesman.
.
The rest of today's post consists of pens I have turned the last couple of days.
Wood Office supplies Writing implement Musical instrument Metal

Ms. Clause's care package that she sent had a piece of red palm in it. I have turned black palm before and really wanted to see the difference in appearance of the two. It was just a short piece, but that is all that is needed for a .50 Cal. pen.
Wood Natural material Hardwood Musical instrument Wood stain

This one, the pen kit and the wood, is also from that same package.
It is a Polaris kit with crepe myrtle for the wood.
Wood Office supplies Musical instrument Hardwood Metal

Then it was time to dive into some kits that I ordered recently from Penn State.
No, it is not a broken pen. This is called a flip stylus pen.
Wood Natural material Office supplies Musical instrument Wood stain

Put the insert in one way and it is a pen.
Wood Wood stain Hardwood Office supplies Plank

Take it out and flip it over and it is a stylus.
I used a piece of olive wood for this pen. It was also in the Clause care package. I had never turned olive wood before and wanted to see how it looked. I think it went good with the gold and black hardware for this pen.
Wood Cylinder Wood stain Varnish Metal

No, you are not seeing double. I had the kits from the care package to make a pen and pencil. Both were designer kits with the same brushed satin finish, so I decided to make it as matching set. This was something I had never done.
This set took a lot longer than I anticipated. First, I had done the designer kits before that do not require a tenon. These were not those kits. These you have to cut a tenon for the center band to fit onto. Then, when you slip it on, you have to have the upper barrel the proper diameter for it all to flow as one. What made this a tad harder than it should be was the fact that I did not have bushings for it. I could have waited until I place another order to Penn State and got the right bushings. However, I did not think of all this until I had already glued the brass tubes into the blanks and was ready to turn.
Oh well. A good set of dial calipers took some careful measuring, and often, but I got the job done without the bushings.
For the wood, each pen is maple with two rings of cherry and one opposing ring of walnut.
.
Until next time my friends, happy turning.
I like your "Pens-To-Go" cases.
An artist has a portfolio…
A pen artist needs a penfolio!!!

Keep up the good work!
 

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