# Christmas gifts and learning how to hand turn!



## Metal Mickey (Oct 6, 2009)

Couldn't see a slot for this post really since its not to do with engines, although prompted by my two wobbler's as Christmas presents last year.

I wanted to make something in the workshop that I could give to more members of my 'own' section of the Freeman family. Looking through the Axminster tools website(UK) I came across their gift section and thought I would have a go at making a pen, pen and pencil or fountain pen set. In the end I thought I would try a couple and see if I could do it first.

So I ordered their 2MT pen arbour and a set of bushes for one of their pen types. I must say (and I have nothing to do with the company) that the quality of the pen kits is outstanding. I am pleasantly surprised at the end results. My practice first pen I gave (in its good quality pen box - better than you would get if buying a commercial good quality fountain pen - I know, I have) to the chap I deal with at my local scrap yard and to say he was pleased is an understatement. Worth its wait in gold (well brass really). I don't mean for this to sound a boasting post, only as encouragement if you have ever thought of making a gift. Their (not mine) kit and supporting items are top quality.

To start with I needed to have a tool rest so knocked one up in about an hour. Its main parts are a piece of 3mm angle iron and a suitable strap of steel which I welded together. The inside of the strip has a welded captive nut in the centre so a grub screw connects it to the mounting block. This in turn is screwed onto a plate that is then secured on the top slide of my Myford lathe (refurbishment was covered on this forum - cant seem to get the links button to work. The only adjustment made when tried out was to reduce the height of the block as for my height and comfort I needed to have it a little lower.

A visit to a local tool store saw me come away with the three turning tools recommended on the Axminster site (see their pen turning video) namely a gouge, skew and parting tool. These were not expensive (in case it didn't work) and in use it has gotten me to think that not all wood is 'orible. Indeed I would love to have a go at turning a bowl or something later on and as those who have read some of my posts before know, I HATE wood. Well, until recently that is.

Now armed with all the bits, it was a matter of trial and error. I was expecting to have a few failures at first and that's why Initially only bought two kits. The results I got with the first two however were very good. Surprisingly so! I don't put this down in any way to my skill levels, rather the bits and pieces bought to do the job and their online video, worth a look in anyhow.

My only 'failure' came when I got over confident and it has a top section slightly too long and whilst it works, it needs the clicking part to be depressed a little more than it should do....but I don't care because its in my pocket now....and it mine! One other little nugget is the refills are all the standard and easily available ones.....

So after the first two pens were done I ordered more pens, then ordered a couple of fountain pen kits (they are more expensive but the quality is as good as the others) and now can't stop making the things, its very addictive so beware! I have been asked to make a pen and pencil set and now am worried that this addiction doesn't take over my life. I have had to ration myself now by saying I will only make a pen AFTER I have done my 'other' engineering work, namely the pair of Seals I am building............so beware if your tempted....you could become the new Parker, or ....................

Photos tell the story better..................

The tool rest....







The first order of 'bits'........................






Made a small work bench thingy to keep the bits together..........you can tell I hate normal woodwork.......






The first pen blank on the 'new' rest....................






Getting there..............






The constituent parts....................






The finished article and the one given to my local scrap yard contact.......................






Finally where I have gotten to so far....................................


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## tmuir (Oct 6, 2009)

Cool.
I've often looked at those pen kits and thought 'One day'.
You got some nice results there.
Now you need to try those pen kits that come with exotic wood, or better still find your own wood to make a pen.


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## Krown Kustoms (Oct 6, 2009)

Those are really nice, 
I was surfing the tube a while back and found this
[youtube=425,350]Y9uQv5sKibk[/youtube]
-B-


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## black85vette (Oct 6, 2009)

My brother in law made one of these for me. Nice gift for someone with a shop and not too expensive.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16413

He also made an ice cream scoop with the same handle for my wife.


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## Metal Mickey (Oct 6, 2009)

Yes, that's impressive video. Something to aspire to. I have had a go at wood and am waiting for some finishing polish. Will let you have a picture of the finished item but this is how far I have gotten. I am looking out for some exotic wood now..ebony? perhaps the wood people would advise me.


I have included the pen box as well. It really is nice.


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## Krown Kustoms (Oct 6, 2009)

I knew the more I hung around the more I would want to make one.
I have an old veri tap transformer and motor I wasnt sure what to do with.
I guess it could be a variable speed small wood turning lathe.
-B-


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## black85vette (Oct 6, 2009)

My screwdriver handle is made of Cocobolo. It has great grain patterns and color.


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## ChooChooMike (Oct 7, 2009)

> Homework Ultimatum video



That kid sure has access to some great power tools !!


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## Krown Kustoms (Oct 7, 2009)

black85vette  said:
			
		

> My screwdriver handle is made of Cocobolo. It has great grain patterns and color.


Where does that come from?
-B-
never mind I found it.


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## cobra428 (Oct 7, 2009)

-B-
This site has a lot of wood species bottom of page has the info

http://www.woodcraft.com/Category/1002123/Exotic--Domestic-Woods.aspx

Oh, surface plate $32
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004864/7535/Granite-Surface-Plate.aspx

Tony


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## gilessim (Oct 7, 2009)

Great work there! cocobolo comes from Costa-Rica and is a type of rosewood (Dalbegia species ,called rosewood because when you cut it, smells like roses) it's one of my favorite woods!, beautiful to turn, almost like brass, other nice woods to use for pens, knife handles etc. are ebony, boxwood, kingwood, tulipwood (sometimes called bois de rose) and zebrawood, also olivewood is a joy to turn and very decorative, musical instrument suppliers are often good for small bits, in the UK Axminster tools have a reasonable selection of bits specially for pens among other sizes and do mail order, Yandles at Martock, Somerset also have a fairly large selection of exotic woods, try googling them as I'm not sure if they have a website.

Giles.


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## Metal Mickey (Oct 7, 2009)

Thanks Giles for the leads. I couldn't see the wood for the trees (sorry :'( ) I knew Axminster did the woods! However its great to get feedback on the types to go for.

I have seen Cocobolo. and wondered how it would turn so I may try and get some to play with. A set of ebony and a white would may make a nice contrasting set....any ideas on a white wood?

thanks for all the feedback..........


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## cobra428 (Oct 7, 2009)

Metal Mickey 

American Holy

http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2021004/American-Holly.aspx

Tony

Maple is almost white


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## Bluechip (Oct 7, 2009)

MM

If I read the post correctly, (not certain), if you are looking for them, this company has pen blanks in various types of wood.

I used to get thick veneer from 'em in my model boat days.

http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdCat.cgi/Timber===Pen===Blanks,2,,,Pen===Blanks

Dave BC


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## gilessim (Oct 7, 2009)

Sorry! I'd forgotten about Holly, which is in fact the whitest and very dense, almost like boxwood but whiter!, I don't know about American holly but I imagine that it must be very similar, if you have a holly tree near you, you can cut off a branch 1,1/2"-2" in diameter, cut to 6" lengths ,peel off the bark and put it in the microwave at medium for about 5 minutes, let it rest until it's cooled and repeat 3 or 4 times, then it should be dry enough to use, avoid the core and you should get some nice bits for your pens. To finish holly you're best off putting on a cellulose sanding sealer before any other polish as any oil based finish will tend to yellow the wood but cellulose will retain the natural colour of any wood without darkening, carnauba wax goes very well over the sanding sealer but you need to get the hang of using it and practice a bit!

Maple is a king among woods (although tending towards a yellowy orange) as is English Sycamore (whiter but softer than maple)but if you want to get the bits really white you can bleach them with 40% by volume h2o2 (hydrogen peroxide) and a few drops of ammonia just brushed on before the final sanding and finishing and left to evaporate, you'll get the effect that I think you're looking for!, this also helps to stabilize the wood in small sections.

Giles


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## Tin Falcon (Oct 8, 2009)

When I first got my mini lathe IIRC about 10 years ago I started with making pen and pencil kits. That was what I did for Christmas presents for most of the family. 
I had a good source of cherry at the time a good freind gave me a good sizes piece of mahogany and walnut.I also had good source of corian in several colors. I still have a decent stock of materials I collected. 

woodcraft currently has there 5 lb bag of assorted pen blanks on sale 
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004112/22006/5lb-Pen-Blank-Grab-Bag.aspx

IIRc making a comment about polish for wood . I used mostly french polish a home brew of 1/3 shellac 1/3 linseed oil and 1/3 denatured alcohol . I guess everclear would work too if you had it on hand.
Tin


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## Metal Mickey (Oct 8, 2009)

Many thanks Tony, Dave, Giles and Tin, there are a few good sources mentioned so many thanks. I must admit I didn't know there was such an industry out there for pen making!

MM


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## J. Tranter (Oct 8, 2009)

Making pens is another one of my hobbies. Here are a couple of forums that have a lot of information on pen making from from c/a finishes to just putting them together.

http://penturners.org

http://thepenshop.net/

John T.


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## Metal Mickey (Oct 9, 2009)

Many thanks John T. When you start as a model engineer little do you know how many different aspects there are open to you! the trouble is the time to do 'extra' things justice. All I know is pen making is very, very therapeutic to me.


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## tmuir (Nov 6, 2009)

I blame you and this thread fully Metal Mickey for my latest purchase.





I'm also keeping an eye out for a second hand bench wood turning lathe now.........


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## Metal Mickey (Nov 8, 2009)

Tmuir, you won't regret it, I promise!


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## tmuir (Nov 9, 2009)

I was hoping to buy a second hand lathe today off ebay but towards the end it came close to the price of a new one so didn't get it.

I've convinced myself I might as well spend the $319 and just buy a new small bench top wood turning lathe. Now I just need to convince the wife......

I went to go buy some polyurethane glue on the weekend to glue the brass tubes into the wood but Bunnings (our local hardware shop) wants $20 for 30mls of the stuff whilst the woodworking shop seel it for $30 for 355mls, so I will visit them this week to get the glue.


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## Kermit (Nov 9, 2009)

The last thing I need to do at this time is begin another new hobby.  ;D 



But this one does have lots of appeal to me. Maybe in another few years  . 

On the subject of lathes? I've seen a device that is just an attachment to a hand drill and turns it into a very small lathe. You have to mount the drill and add a base to put the tail piece on as well. I think there is another brand that is a prebuilt and you just add your drill as the motor.

Way less than 100 buck to do.  maybe it will spark ideas in a readers mind...Cause mine is blank right now on who makes those things.. :big:

Kermit


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## Steelmaster (Nov 9, 2009)

Interesting to see all this pen turning stuff here.

I came to metal turning via pen turning! Make lots of pens and when I started making bullet pens I decided that a metal lathe would give me more scope to do things, so I bought a 9x20 lathe, then an X2 mill.............

funny how you go from one thing to the next.

Anyway, here are a couple of my bullet pens


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## Troutsqueezer (Nov 9, 2009)

>I have seen Cocobolo. and wondered how it would turn so I may try and get some to play with.

While beautiful, there is one caveat when working with cocobolo, well, maybe two:

If you have a large disc sander, the cocobolo will clog it up immediately and ruin the disk in just a few seconds. 

If you breathe the dust, it will burn your nose so be sure to wear a mask when turning, cutting or sanding it. If you cut a lot of it on the table saw, the blade will need to be cleaned frequently with Oven-Off.

I have made many pens and jewelry boxes using cocobolo as well as most of the exotic woods that are available. I'll dig out some photos tonight and show them off.


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## zeeprogrammer (Nov 9, 2009)

Nice pens Steelmaster.
Do you experience any delays at airport security? ;D


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## tmuir (Nov 9, 2009)

I've not seen bullet pens before Steelmaster, thats something new to me.

I've got a few ounces of scrp sterling silver and I've been contemplaing casting some parts for pens with that and machining it up on my lathe to fit the wooden parts. But before I try anything like that I will just get a few regular pens under my belt.


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## Steelmaster (Nov 9, 2009)

zeeprogrammer  said:
			
		

> Nice pens Steelmaster.
> Do you experience any delays at airport security? ;D



Funnily enough, have never had a problem, go figure in this "security gone mad" world!

In fact I sold one of the bullet pens to a security person at the airport!

As well as the bullet pens, I make bullet pen kits for other pen turners and have mailed these all over the world, including to the US.


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## Cliff (Nov 9, 2009)

I don't know if you guys know but you can machine wood on a metal lathe. Cliff


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## zeeprogrammer (Nov 9, 2009)

I've thought about pens for gifts too.
Fellow at work just started. He made a pink one that he donated to the business for the Breast Cancer drive. Nice idea.

I used to work for a company that used CNC mills and lathes to make small robots. The owner was adamant about not turning wood. He thought that the chips would get in places, expand from the oil or coolant, and ruin the equipment. I don't know about that...in looking at my little equipment...I can't imagine it's a problem.


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## Steelmaster (Nov 9, 2009)

Cliff  said:
			
		

> I don't know if you guys know but you can machine wood on a metal lathe. Cliff



Yes, I often do, although I prefer to use my wood lathe, the saddle on the metal lathe tends to get in the way a bit.

I do turn a lot of polyester resin blanks on my metal lathe, turn to to max OD required, then transfer to wood lathe for final shaping by hand turning.

The autofeed on the metal lathe comes in handy for this sort of work.

I am in the process of buying a new wood lathe with a tail stock quill travel of over 4", very handy for drilling the blanks to take the brass tubes. Current metal lathe has only 1 1/2" travel as does current wood lathe.


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## Troutsqueezer (Nov 10, 2009)

Some of the Christmas gifts I've given over the last decade.

Pens were popular. I made some out every kind of wood I could find, these are a few. I still have a big box of pen blanks in the shed, about 75lbs of 'em.






I also went through the bottle stopper phase, embedding some of the new quarters in the tops. These were a good way to use up scraps. 






Jewelry boxes were the favorites. I gave this one to my mother, got it back when she went into a home. 

cocobolo carcass and big leaf quilted maple top. 
















Gave this one to my wife. 

Bird's Eye Maple











Padauk w/big leaf quilted maple. 






The Home Theater remote box, bubinga and quilted maple











I really cranked these boxes out there for a couple of years. Not gonna bore ya with any more pics however. 

-Trout


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## Steelmaster (Nov 10, 2009)

Some nice work there TroutSqueezer, well done.


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## tmuir (Nov 10, 2009)

Nice boxes.
Far better than any I've made.


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## tmuir (Nov 12, 2009)

Just finished my first pen on my new wood lathe last night. Will post photos tonight.
I convinced myself to buy a small wood lathe with the idea when I finaly get set up to cast things I can now turn up wooden patterns.

As promised here is the picture of my new lathe.





My first pen.

This one was really a learning curve as I haven't used a wood lathe since I was 14.
The bottom is wider at one end than the other and I'm not overly happy with the finishing wax I used so I think I will be trying a different finish next time.
Also the whole pen could of done with the diameter being 0.5mm smaller.

But for a first attempt its fine.


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## shred (Nov 12, 2009)

I used a couple of the wood pen kits to turn up some aluminum and brass pens a while back. That works pretty well, though Al turns your hands black after a while if you don't anodize or otherwise coat it.


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## Troutsqueezer (Nov 12, 2009)

tmuir  said:
			
		

> ...so I think I will be trying a different finish next time.




This is what I used, there's nothing easier and it comes out looking great. It's a little pricey for the bottle but it goes a long long way. 

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2003238/1664/Behlen-Woodturner-s-Finish.aspx


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## tmuir (Nov 13, 2009)

Troutsqueezer  said:
			
		

> This is what I used, there's nothing easier and it comes out looking great. It's a little pricey for the bottle but it goes a long long way.
> 
> http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2003238/1664/Behlen-Woodturner-s-Finish.aspx



I'm not familiar with that brand, don't know if I can get it where I live, but I've seen a similar product that I plan to get today.

I hope to make a couple of more pens over the weekend and maybe even finish a set of cast ali wheel that Rob made for me when I was in the UK in June.


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## Metal Mickey (Nov 13, 2009)

Regarding the link for the Behlen woodturners finish it really winds me up when we get ripped off just because we live on an island. Its frustrating that our own cars are cheaper when exported than they are where they are made (not that we have a motor industry left). I just checked to see if I could source the same product here in the UK and Behlen have there own UK website. In the link given the price is $17.99 and the $ price in the UK is $31.54!

I cannot believe it costs $13 plus to ship a bottle over to their UK base!7 http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/m...Product_Code=B611-08885&Category_Code=/[url]


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## Metal Mickey (Nov 13, 2009)

Ohh grumble over. Troutsqueezer those are beautiful boxes indeed. :bow: :bow: and Tmuir that's a neat lathe how expensive was it?


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## tmuir (Nov 13, 2009)

The lathe is the standard Chinese job that gets rebadged and shipped around the world.
We pay more for stuff like this in OZ than the US and the UK but it still was only $319 OZ which isn't too bad, although the finishing on it in a couple of places is lacking a bit. But as its a wood lathe not metal lathe its not so important.

Made a second pen and used a different polish and got much better results


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## Tin Falcon (Nov 13, 2009)

I have a bad habit of rushing gifts out the door before I photograph them oh well. As I said before did a 10 plus pen pencil sets over the years made a set of of solid cherry napkin rings as part of a wedding gift . And a set of Solid oak coasters. as an office warming gift. we rebuilt a trailer into offices at work. I had to bite my tough when I saw the one I gave the bosses wife used under a flower pot ,oh well it was given to her. I had to let go. I did keep one of those and have it next to the computer. 

I bought several of those screw driver kits.now I just need to get the wood for the handles.

TS beautiful work I bet the owners cherish there boxes. I just get beat up boxes at the market of fleas and then clean and polish them up a bit. My woodworking tools are a bit limited. 
Tin


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