Pen Turning Question

[Richard Baker]

Let’s say, let’s just say, that a person wanted to turn ONE pen, like maybe for a very special other person. Let’s assume that this person has a lathe and some accessories, has a drill press but no metric bits, has some suitable wood on hand, and has watched the PS DVD on pen turning. Let’s also assume that this person has spent virtually all of his or her disposable income on the lathe, food, housing, etc. What is the minimum stuff that this person could buy in order to turn ONE pen?

 

[Kenneth Hertzog]

If you pick a slimline pen the ID of the brass bushing is .250 ( 1/4 inch ) a mandrel would be nice with some bushings. A pen kit, a 9/32 drill bit, some style of glue ( CA or POLY or Epoxy ) now you can start turning. some style of finish for the end product and you can press it together with the drill press. the rest of the details have to be provided by the turner and his ability improvise. hope that answered your questions
ken
slippery rock, pa

 

[TurningDog]

buy a pen kit that doesn't require a metric bit, there are plenty of kits that have 3/8" holes. the Polaris from PSI and the Euro Capped Rollerball & fountain pens from woodcraft both come to mind at the moment. I never reccomend just buying 1 kit especially if you are new to this, if you mess up a part having a spare kit on hand and an extra set of tubes takes the hurt out of it if something goes wrong.

You will need a mandrel and the appropriate bushings. There is a guy on ebay who sells the same stuff as PSI and you can get your mandrel of choice with slimline bushings and a 7mm bit which would give you the option of going slimline which are cheaper kits and wouldn't require you to buy extra bushings if you used what came with the mandrel. That is $17 plush shipping on the mandrel and bit and this is one of the better mandrels. You could save $6 if you had a collet chuck or drill chuck and get the same kit with bare mandrel from the same guy but making pens in those isn't something I reccomend for pen newbies.

Slimline pens are pretty cheap either PSI or others who sell the same kits can be had for less than $2 each but still buy a couple it makes shipping worthwhile and are good back up tools. I have just placed my first order with www.pensofcolor.com and got satin and black slimlines for $1.70 each with no minimum.

Then you need your turning tools, sandpaper and finish which i am assuming you have. That leaves only glue to secure the tubes in the blank and off the shelf superglue from a dollar store works for that. Assembly is always easiest with a pen press but there are a lot of ways to do it without one to. I used to use my vise. I made some wooden jaw covers and held the pieces inline with one hand and twisted the handle slowly with the otherhand. I am sure others can make suggestions here. Because $40 is a lot to spend for a single pen making item on a limited budget.

 

[Hugh]

To turn "one" pen - I think I would find a fellow turner who made pens and see if I could use his tools so I did not have to purchase something that I was not going to use in the future. There has to be someone in your turning club who turns pens. Talk to them. Buy a good pen kit and go to his shop and turn the pen. Project done.
Hugh

 

[S. Clark]

As others have already stated, you’ll need a mandrel and of course a pen kit. Everything else can be improvised. It is helpful to have a good pair of calipers or a micrometer but even that can be improvised.

If you already have a set of standard drill bits, punch some holes with various bit, in a block of wood and find the one that is the closest to the brass tubes in your kit. Glue your tubes with polyurethane type glue and it’ll expand and help center the tubes in the loose holes.

You can make your own bushings. I frequently do this for one-of-a-kind pens; those styles that I know I won’t likely be purchasing again anytime soon. Or I also do this when I want to test a new style before knowing if I’ll invest in additional kits.

Take little scraps of hardwood, maple works well, and drill a ¼†hole through for your mandrel. Mount the piece on the mandrel, turn to a cylinder, then turn a shoulder on each end that’ll fit into the pen kit tubes. Now use your measuring tool (calipers, micrometer, or improvised gage) and measure the exterior diameter of each of your pen parts. These are the dimensions that you now need to transfer to the custom bushing’s body. Turn the rest of the custom bushing circumference to match, then part the piece in to. This provides the two end bushings. Now make another double shouldered block and this’ll be the center bushing. Your measurements don’t have to be perfect. Just be sure they aren’t smaller than the pen parts. You can shave the bushings and barrels down to proper size when you are manufacturing the pen.

Tip: you can coat these with thin CA glue and actually reuse them quite a few times before you need to make new ones.

- Scott

 

[heineda]

Pen Turning

Hello,

I'm not sure about one pen, bet if you are looking for a good resource for pen kits, check out http://www.woodturningz.com. They have the slim pen kits at $1.70 each, and you can buy enything that PSI sells at a significant discount. Great service too.

Thanks,
Dan heine

 

[Bill Boehme]

Richard in M-ville,

If this pen is for a gift to a friend or relative, I would get one of the higher quality pen kits made by Berea. Woodcraft and Rockler also sells them under their own label. The kits from Penn State are low in cost and also low in quality and are well known for having the gold (and other) plating very quickly wear off. For less than twenty bucks, you can buy a mandrel, letter size drill, and bushings. The slimline and streamline style pens require 7 mm drills and most of the others use letter sized drills. An end mill is nice to have for squaring the end of the blank after it has been drilled and a brass tube has been glued in place, but if the drilling has been done carefully, you can use a tablesaw to clean up the ends.

Bill

 

[Ron Sardo]

I'll swap you a pen for some mesquite.

 

[TurningDog]

Richard in M-ville,

I would get one of the higher quality pen kits made by Berea. Woodcraft and Rockler also sells them under thier own label. The kits from Penn State are low in cost and also low in quality and are well known for having the gold (and other) plating very quickly wear off.

Bill

of course rockler woodcraft berea and psi get the majority of their kits from the same manufacturer... Any of the epoxy/enamel coated plating is going to wear off no matter which store sells it.

 

[jimwtolly]

Richard, You just come over to my shop and I will let you turn a pen and will supply the kit, and wood to boot! I have exotics, mesquite, and domistic for you to choose from.

Let me know?

 

[Richard Baker]

Wow! Thank you Ken, Tdog, Hugh, Scott, Dan, Bill, Ron, and Jimmy for your replies. Hugh, I have never met a fellow turner in person, but some day I’ll make it to Austin to visit Jimmy. Like Norm, I am self-taught, which means I’ve had a sorry teacher. Scott, I like your approach. And from other comments it sounds like I should get a couple of the least expensive kits to start, improvise some accessories, and practice. It will be fun. Ron, would love to trade but am down to my last little scrap of mesquite from the free pile at the flooring factory in Bryan. Sadly, said factory is no longer there and I can’t find them. I do have a couple of mesquite trees that will be ready to harvest about the time that the grandchildren are my age. Thanks again guys!

Sorry this response took so long. Been having trouble getting online for a couple days.

 

[S. Clark]

$ = Quality

Scott, I like your approach. And from other comments it sounds like I should get a couple of the least expensive kits to start, improvise some accessories, and practice. It will be fun.

As others have said here, the cheaper kits tend to have finishes that don't last if the pen receives consistent use. Nor are they always concentric! They are great to practice with but when you want to make a really nice one, spend a little extra and buy a higher quality kit. PSI's TN series, or their platinum series are quite nice.

- Scott

 

[Richard Baker]

Thanks, Scott. Will definitely practice with a couple of the economy kits before trying a really nice one.

 

[woodwish]

Recommending a brand of pen kits is like suggesting a brand of lathe, eveyone has a favorite and wants to convince the world they made the right choice. I make a lot of pens as special gifts that I either give away or sell, and almost all my kits are from CSUSA (also known as The Woodturners Catalog). The company, like many others, has great customer service and a wide variety of kits. Their quality is as good or better than any others I have tried, from the cheapies to the high-end ones. You may also want to check the forums at www.penturners.org, penturning is addictive and they are a good support group for penturners. Lots of online tutorials and other info.