Pen Turning 101 Turning a beautiful writing implement is as easy as

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1 Pe Turig 101 Turig a beautiful writig implemet is as easy as By Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk Gettig started As the igure at right illustrates, pe turig boils dow to turig a cylider. The body, cosistig of oe or more blaks, is bored ad itted with a brass cylider, mouted to a lathe, ad the tured, iished, ad assembled. A particular pe kit may have more or fewer parts tha those show here. The istructios icluded with the kit will explai the exact assembly sequece. I this day of text-messagig ad s, oe might assume that hadwritte otes are a thig of the past, yet custom pes are more popular tha ever, ad they re super easy to make. With a lathe, a few scraps of wood, ad a pe kit, ay woodworker possessig basic turig skills ca create a writig implemet that s useful ad uique. With a little practice, you ll soo be turig out pes i less time tha it takes to read this article. I the ext few pages, I ll show you what you ll eed to get started, walk you through the pe-makig process, ad 46 woodcraftmagazie.com the suggest a few products that ca save time, stock, ad frustratio for begier ad experieced turers alike. For this exercise, I used a attractive, iexpesive, ad easy-to-tur olivewood blak (Woodcraft #826211A, $2.79), pairig it with a Premier Cigar Ballpoit Pe Kit (Woodcraft #828439, $7.25). (For other combiatios, see Pe Preview, o page 51.) The same techiques ca be applied to ay of the other styles, but you may eed to purchase additioal drill bits, mills, ad bushigs to match the kit. Toolig up Etire catalogs are dedicated to pe-makig accessories, but if you ow a lathe ad a few turig tools, you wo t eed to sped a lot of moey to start. Check your arseal agaist the Pe Turer s Start-Up Kit, show at right. A few of these items do t eed ay itroductio; you may have some of them sittig aroud your shop. A few of the specialty items deserve explaatio. Pe Blaks. You ca buy readymade blaks, or saw your ow. Advaced turers ca make pes out of plastic, metal, ad eve boe, but whe startig out, stick Featured products available from Woodcraft Supply uless otherwise oted.

2 with less-exotic woods that are stable ad easier to work, such as cherry, maple, or walut. Drill Bits. The blaks must be drilled to it the kit. You ca use a good brad-poit bit, but pe maker s bits are groud to drill straight, deep holes without cloggig. Make sure your bit matches your pe kit. (For the Cigar pe, you ll eed a 10mm bit.) Epoxy. You ll eed a sure- ire meas of attachig the brass to the blak. Epoxy is t as quick-settig as cyaoacrylate glue (CA), but util you master the art of ittig the tube, you will appreciate a few extra miutes of workig time. Pe Mill. This two-part cutter helps esure easy-to-assemble barrels ad gap-free pes. The shaft slides ito the brass tube ad cleas the barrel while the trimmer head squares the eds for perfect- ittig parts. (For the Cigar pe, you ll eed a trimmer with a 10mm shaft.) Madrel ad Live Ceter. These two items parter up to secure the blak to your lathe. Isert the madrel ito the headstock, slide the bushigs ad blak o the shaft, ad the secure the assembly with the madrel ut. The rod s free ed is dimpled to it the live ceter at the tailstock. Madrels ad live ceters are available with #1 ad #2 Morse tapers. Buy the size that its your lathe. Bushigs. These metal rigs are mouted o either ed of your blak to provide a idicatio of whe to stop turig. (For this project, you eed bushig set #147161, $4.29.) Frictio Fiish. Fiish your blak before it leaves the lathe. To create a glasssmooth iish, simply apply, let dry, ad the buff. Pe Aatomy Twist holder Clip Refill/ik cartridge Fiial Clip bushig Blak Brass tube (short) Blak Rig Brass tube (log) Nib adaptor Ceter bad Pe Turer s Start-up Kit Pe blaks 5-miute epoxy Madrel Pe maker s drill bit Frictio fiish (HUT Crystal Coat, 6 oz. #141049, $14.99) Pe mill Bushigs Rig Twist mechaism Nib 60 live ceter (#149168, $23.99) Madrel ut Photos: Jim Osbor; Illustratio: Joh Hartma Feb/Mar 2011 woodcraftmagazie.com 47

3 Pe Turig Step-by-Step 1 2 Paiter s tape Sadpaper 3 4 Bushig Blak Bushig Lockut Step 1 Draw a lie alog oe face of your blak, ad mark the cap ed with a arrow to help you realig the parts. Usig measuremets from the kit s brass tubes, cut your blaks to rough legth (about 1 8" loger tha the tubes). Next, draw a pair of itersectig lies o the eds of both blaks from corer to corer to determie the ceter poits. Check that your drill press table is perpedicular to the chuck, hold the blak i the clamp as show, ad drill completely through each blak. (To esure that the blaks lie up at the middle of the iished pe, start the holes from the iside eds.) 48 woodcraftmagazie.com Step 2 Scuff-sad the brass barrels with ie-grit sadpaper. Mix a small batch of 5-miute epoxy, ad the coat the outside of the brass tube. To esure good glue coverage, rotate the tube as you isert it ito the blak. Make sure that it its completely i the blak. (To keep glue from cloggig the tube, plug the ed with a piece of paiter s tape.) Step 3 After givig the epoxy time to cure, square both eds of both blaks. To do this, chuck a pe mill i a cordless drill. Secure the blak i a bech vise; the slide the shaft ito the brass tube ad trim ay overhagig wood from the ed of the brass tube. (The object is to touch but ot cut ito the tube. If you liste carefully, you ll hear whe the trimmer touches the brass.) Step 4 Isert the madrel ito the headstock, ad the sadwich the blak betwee two bushigs, as show. Secure the assembly with the lockut. Fially, slide the tailstock ad live ceter agaist the madrel s free ed. Step 5 Adjust your tool rest parallel ad as close as possible to your work. Rotate the blak by had to make sure that it does ot touch. Now set the lathe to 1,000 RPM, ad roud the blak with a roughig gouge. To do this, place the gouge perpedicular to the rest, touch

4 5 6 7 the bevel agaist spiig blak, ad the raise the hadle util the tool starts to cut. Rotate the hadle so that the lute faces i the directio of your cut. Oce you ve tured a smooth cylider, set the lathe to 1,5002,000 RPM ad cotiue shapig the blak. You have some leeway here, but be careful ot to cut ito the bushig or brass tubes. (Leave the eds of the blaks a hair larger tha the bushigs). Repeat the turig process with the secod blak. Step 6 Payig attetio to the grai orietatio of the iished pe, arrage both blaks oto the madrel. Remove the tool rest ad set the speed to 500 RPM. 8 Startig with small strips of 150-grit sadpaper, remove tool marks ad shape the eds of the blaks lush to the adjacet bushigs. Cotiue sadig both blaks through 600 grit. (Pich the strips of sadpaper, as show, so that if the abrasive catches the work, the paper will slip from your grip without pullig your igers i.) Step 7 Tur the lathe off ad apply a small amout of iish to a small piece of cloth or paper towel. Spread the polish oto the barrels. Now tur o the lathe ad adjust the speed to 1,000 RPM. Workig from beeath, apply eve pressure with the still-damp pad. Move the applicator from side to side util the solvet evaporates ad the surface begis to build a iish. Apply additioal coats util you achieve the desired shee. Step 8 Ispect the brass tubes to make certai that they re free from ay clogs that might prevet assembly. Arrage the rigs ad bads as show i the igure o page 47, or accordig to the istructios icluded with your kit. Now assemble your pe. To prevet cracks or splits whe pressig parts together, apply smooth steady pressure. (If usig a metalfaced vise, attach wood or MDF pads to both faces to protect the pe s metal parts.) woodcraftmagazie.com 49

5 Like pes? Here are some more turs to take. As your hobby progresses from pastime to passio (or professio) you ll wat to cosider a few items that ca help tur pe-makig pais ito pleasure. I ve arraged the list i order of importace. Start with the oes at the begiig; save up for a few at the ed. Pe Maker s Bits Do t ru the risk of ruiig blaks with ru-of-themill bits. These specialized drill bits sport sharp poits to cut quickly ad accurately ad deep lutes to clear chips. The six-piece set provides ample opportuity to experimet with differet pe kits. Milescraft TurersPress #153375, $49.99 Pe Turers Press Have a pe slip i the vise, or the wood split because the oe part is t perfectly square with its mate, ad you ll appreciate the value of a dedicated press. The sprig-loaded selffeedig madrel holds the pe parts i place while the solid steel head provides the leverage eeded to smoothly assemble pe after pe. WoodRiver Pe Maker s Bit Set #149141, $33.99 Pe Mill Set The two-piece mill trims ad cleas barrels, esurig gap-free assemblies. You ca buy the shafts idividually, but if you pla o makig a few differet kids of pes, it makes sese (ad cets) to ivest i the multi-shaft set right from the start. WoodRiver Deluxe Self-Ceterig Vise #151256, $89.99 Whiteside Pe Mill Set #153236, $39.99 Self-Ceterig Vise 50 woodcraftmagazie.com A self-ceterig vise makes blak drillig a setad-forget operatio ad elimiates the risk of blowig a bit out oe side of your blak. The V-slotted jaws provide a solid grip o roud ad square blaks. I additio to pes, the vise proves useful for turig bottle stoppers, key chais, perfume vials, ad more.

6 Carbide Turig Tools Advaced turers step up to carbide-tipped tools because they require less sharpeig, but may begiers start with them because they re easier to master. To use, simply advace the cutter slowly ito the workpiece, ad the sweep the tool from side to side. Cotrary to its ame, the roud-headed mii iisher is also well suited for roudig square blaks ad geeral shapig. Equipped with the radiused R2 cutter (show), the mii rougher tool is actually useful for iishig the blak right up to the edge of the bushig. Easy Wood Tools ci3 Mii Fiisher #845746, $91.99 Easy Wood Tools ci2 Mii Rougher #845506, $91.99 R2 cutter replacemet #151021, $14.99 Lamiated $6.99-$11.99 Figured Wood $11.99-$29.99 Acrylic $4.99 Tru-Stoe $11.75-$15.79 MS Metal Impregated $29.99 Fiishes HUT bars are great for begiers because they re simple to use ad solvet-free. Simply press either stick agaist the spiig pe to polish out small scratches while meltig material oto the wood to create a durable iish. Acrylic blaks do t require a iish but, you ll eed super- ie abrasive papers ad a plastic polish to build a shie. Experieced turers ofte use CA glue as pe iish. Apply a few drops to a paper towel, wipe dow the blak, allow the glue to cure, ad the buff. Titebod Istat Bod #149430, $10.50 Better Blaks Exotic blaks offer experiece turers opportuities to try ew materials that will produce oe-of-a-kid pes ad also test their techique. Lamiated ad igured woods require sharp tools ad a light touch. Acrylic blaks come i coutless color combiatios ad ca be polished without iish. (Note: Composite materials cotaiig stoe or metal will make micemeat of high-speed steel. You ll wat to step up to carbide cutters.) HUT Ultra Gloss Plastic #129302, $10.99 HUT Sati Wax #123044, $6.99 HUT Gloss Wax #123043, $6.99 Micro-Mesh Sadig Kit #145982, $15.75 Pe Preview: Woodcraft s Pe Desiger With so may blaks ad kits to frustratio of a mismatch, you choose from, comig up with a ca tur your pe olie attractive combiatio ca be at the hardest part of the turig createit. The desig program process. To save time ad reduce allows you to mix ad match blaks ad kits ad preview more tha 39,000 possible combiatios. The step-by-step format makes experimetig as easy as clickig a mouse. Featured products available from Woodcraft Supply uless otherwise oted. woodcraftmagazie.com 51

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