I first take some sandpaper and scuff up the outside surface of the pen tubes. Feels good in the hand and very stylish. As the figure at right illustrates, pen turning boils down to turning a cylinder. If accuracy is needed, use a metal lathe. Wood lathe pen kits tutorial PDF.

The bushings are there to help guide you and keep the blanks at the correct dimensions on the ends. There is a locking nut on the end of the mandrel that will press everthing together so the the blank will be locked firmly on the mandrel. You can also see that I've used the horizontal mark I made earlier so that I can match up the grain between the pen blanks. Note that in my pictures I'm using something called a Pen Mandrel Saver which is slightly different from a regular mandrel. But either one works fine.

I assume you've had some practice with a wood lathe. Read the operating instructions that come with your lathe. Remove all jewelry and wear a face shield and a dust mask. Using a roughing gouge, begin turning the square-shaped blanks down to a cylinder. Make sure you rest the tool properly on the tool rest and slowly push the bevel against the wood.

Move the gouge smoothly back and forth along the blank. The lathe should be running at to RPM. Once I've got a majority of the wood off, I switch to a skew. Use the skew to take off more wood, but don't go all the way to the bushings. As a beginner you should probably stick to keeping a gradual curve in each blank.

In other words, the pen barrels are a little fatter in the middle than the endbut not too fat. You want the pen to look good and fit the hand well. With more experience, you can get more creative with shaping the wood. Remove your tool rest and begin sanding your pen blanks all the way down to the bushings so that the wood and bushings are flush with each other. I cut my sandpaper into 1 inch strips. Start with grit, then grit, then or grit. Stop between each grit and check progress.

Also sand lengthwise along the blank with the lathe off to remove circular scratches. After using the sandpaper, I move to something called Micro Mesh cloths. Start with grit and work up to 12, grit. Don't forget to stop the lathe periodically and check your progress. You can use either denatured alcohol with lathe off or an air compressor to clean the blank periodically as you sand. There are several ways to finish your pen. Many like to finish with a few coats of CA glue, but that's for advanced pen turners.

The CA finish produces a high gloss and very durable finish. For the beginner, I recommend a commercial friction polish. I use a friction polish made by HUT. Use a clean paper towel and squirt about a quarter size amount of polish onto the paper towel.

With the lathe off, wipe the polish all over and then turn the lathe back on. Wear your faceshield and bring the paper towel up to the bottom of the wood blank. Don't stay in one spot, but move the paper towel back and forth along the bottom of the blank. As you do this, you should feel a little heat building up through the paper towel. That's good because the heat helps to cure the polish on the wood.

Do this for about 30 seconds to a minute, and then turn the lathe off and allow the polish to dry. I don't recommend using cloth because there is the potential for cloth towels to get caught on the spinning wood and this could be a safety hazard. Use paper towels because if they do stick, they will break away. Note that with this finish, the pen will leave the lathe with a glossy finish, but with time and use this will fade away unlike a CA finish. But some like this finish because you can feel the wood in your hands, and it doesn't feel like the pen is "plastic" or made out of a "synthetic" material.

Get your pen instructions back out. Please read them very carefully and follow the exact steps to assemble the pen. Pull the wood pen barrels off the mandrel and keep them aligned so that the grain matches. Choose the blank that you earlier assigned as the lower pen barrel and press the tip into one end.

I prefer to use a bench-mounted vise. The V-slotted jaws provide a solid grip on round and square blanks. In addition to pens, the vise proves useful for turning bottle stoppers, key chains, perfume vials, and more. To use, simply advance the cutter slowly into the workpiece, and then sweep the tool from side to side. Contrary to its name, the round-headed mini finisher is also well suited for rounding square blanks and general shaping.

Equipped with the radiused R2 cutter shown , the mini rougher tool is Wood Lathe Pen Kits Pdf actually useful for finishing the blank right up to the edge of the bushing. Exotic blanks offer experience turners opportunities to try new materials that will produce one-of-a-kind pens and also test their technique.

Laminated and figured woods require sharp tools and a light touch. Acrylic blanks come in countless color combinations and can be polished without finish. Note: Composite materials containing stone or metal will make mincemeat of high-speed steel. Simply press either stick against the spinning pen to polish out small scratches while melting material onto the wood to create a durable finish.

Experienced turners often use CA glue as pen finish. Apply a few drops to a paper towel, wipe down the blank, allow the glue to cure, and then buff. With so many blanks and kits to choose from, coming up with an attractive combination can be the hardest part of the turning process. The design program allows you to mix and match blanks and kits and preview more than 39, possible combinations. The step-by-step format makes experimenting as easy as clicking a mouse.

Quick View. Hut - Satin Pen Polish 2 oz. Add to Cart. Hut - High Gloss Pen Polish 2 oz. Hut - Gloss Plastic Ultra Polish 8 oz. Hut - Gloss Crystal Coat 6 oz.

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Mobile Navigation. Same Day Shipping Find a Store. Search Go. Topics Cabinetry. Choosing Hardware. Dust Collection. Friends of Woodcraft. Getting Started with Woodworking. Make Something. Pen Kit Reference Chart. Press Releases. Resin Casting. Shop Talk. Woodcraft Magazine.

Woodworking Adventures. Download PDF. Turning a beautiful writing implement is as easy as Getting started As the figure at right illustrates, pen turning boils down to turning a cylinder. Do you think if you were to want one, would you prefer it stained darker or stained a colour like green, red, etc?

I'm new to making them so not quite sure what the market or demand is. All feedback appreciated! Jacqui www. A quill is a pen made from a flight feather of a large bird, most often a goose.

Quills were used as instruments for writing with ink before the metal dip pe This post discusses 5 ways to control dust in your shop. Learn how to keep your shop clean and to protect your health. Several cheap and practical ways to minimize the dust hazards in your workshop. Urushi — Carolina Pen Company. John Deere logo on a Corncob.

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