| Project by Shopsmithtom | posted 645 days ago | 552 views | 0 times favorited | 7 comments |  |
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I decided that I didn’t have enough stuff that I’m interested in, so I thought I’d try pen turning. It occurred to me that I could give them away to my business associates when they achieved a given level of performance. The pen would be appropriate to our business, and being hand made, it would provide a personal touch to the gift.
I got to looking at all the possibilities for wood blanks and decided that, while the exotic woods will ultimately be great, my first pen (which I figured might be a throw-away) should be made from something cheap. (have I ever mentioned that I was cheap?)
Since I have previously turned tool handles from sticks appropriated from a neighbor’s woodpile, and since I had a few left over, and since I’m cheap…I guess I said that before… I decided to use an ash remnant.
I just squared it up a bit and followed the instructions I downloaded from Woodcraft for the kit I bought, and
“turned” my stick into a pen.
I left the color natural, and used some leftover water based polyurethane for the finish. That worked really great. I just dipped a corner of cloth into the finish & wiped it on while it turned. That finish dried within minutes on the lathe and I did a second coat.
I let the piece spin for 2 or 3 minutes, and it was dry enough to assemble. This could become habit forming. -SST
-- Accuracy is not in your power tool, it's in you
7 comments so far
Scott Bryan
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20732 posts in 718 days
posted 645 days ago
You are a woodworker after my own heart. I love seeing projects done “cheaply” ($ that is). This is a nice pen and you also have a nice neighbor as well. Anyone would be proud to receive this as a gift.
Thanks for sharing.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Grumpy
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14932 posts in 748 days
posted 645 days ago
Great job on the pen SST. I made a bunch for my staff before I retired. They do get appreciated. Have you tried burnishing with wax?, very simple and fast to apply, gives a brilliant shine.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Napaman
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3488 posts in 974 days
posted 644 days ago
Looks great SST…this is even more cool that you used some “appropriated” wood…
I have not used the lathe on my SHOPSMITH yet—-send some advice…what kind of mandril, tools do i need to get set up for the pens on my shopsmith…are you using the drill chuck? or something else…would love to hear…let me know if you got a chance…I want to turn a series of pens for my teaching colleagues…I have the blanks purchased…
matt
-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...
rikkor
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11335 posts in 771 days
posted 644 days ago
Very nice pen. Keep turning them out. I still have ‘number one’ and use it all the time.
clieb91
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681 posts in 831 days
posted 643 days ago
SST, the pen looks good. I have only turned the one so far and still looking for a lathe so I can turn more them. Does seem to be addictive. I too hope to mainly be using cheap sticks I can pick up at work when we cut something down.
Good luck on the future pens, can’t wiat to see them.
CtL
-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."
darryl
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1393 posts in 1223 days
posted 642 days ago
I’ve made a couple of pens using Ash that came in a multipak. It does look nice, though I recall it turns down really fast so you have to be a little careful if you’ve been turning harder stuff previously.
nice work, any plans for more?
-- www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com
Shopsmithtom
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408 posts in 1091 days
posted 642 days ago
I’m certain there’ll be more, this is kind of addicting. I just need to go & buy more pen kits.
-- Accuracy is not in your power tool, it's in you