| Project by itsme_timd | posted 212 days ago | 130 views | 0 times favorited | 7 comments |  |
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My lathe came in recently and after a few minutes of setup I was rolling. Sorry, that was a lame pun.
Anyhow, I’ve made a few pens and a letter opener – not too bad, they shine nicely. But I’m having an issue with my pens. They are the slimline twist pens and when you write with them the pens twist closed – anybody know what causes this or how to fix it? I imagine operator error is the likely culprit.
On my letter opener I didn’t have the mandrel or bushings sized properly so it wobbled on the lathe, I didn’t notice it until I took it off – the turning was off center and it’s noticeable in the letter opener.
But, I enjoyed myself and I’m learning more every day…
Pics aren’t that great – I took them with my phone. I’ll get some better pics (and projects hopefully) up soon.
-- Tim D. - Woodstock, GA
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7 comments so far
Scott Bryan
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8584 posts in 273 days
posted 212 days ago
These are nice pens. Getting a new tool is just like Christmas time and being 10 again. I don’t blame you for wanting to start turning something.
Thanks for the post.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
rikkor
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7201 posts in 326 days
posted 212 days ago
Everyone starts somewhere. These look just fine for early efforts. Keep practicing.
-- Maplewood, MN
rpmurphy509
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287 posts in 306 days
posted 212 days ago
My wife is getting her mini-lathe tomorrow morning so she can
start pen turnings. I see nothing wrong with these at all.
-- Still learning everything
Grumpy
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4919 posts in 303 days
posted 212 days ago
Good start Itsme. Things can only get better now you know where the problem is.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
clieb91
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308 posts in 386 days
posted 211 days ago
Tim, they look good for the first ones. I hope to be gettingone of those in the not too distant future and start down that long path to pens as well.
Can’t wait to see more projects.
CtL
-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."
Kerux
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281 posts in 335 days
posted 211 days ago
Looks good and keep up the nice work.
The problem is in the transmission. Cheaper pen kits usually have loose transmissions (even if you didn’t buy a cheaper kit, sometimes you get a bad transmission. I know I read somewhere on what to do to ‘stiffen’ up a lose transmission… but for the life of me I can’t think of what it is. If I remember or come across it… I’ll let you know.
-- http://www.LanierandSons.com
Jiri Parkman
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552 posts in 264 days
posted 210 days ago
Nice work.
-- Jiri