Dovetail Pen Turning #2: Attempt one - Failure but learning opportunity

Finished up the first set of pen tubes for the Dovetail Pen endevor. Not worthy of a finished pen and now I will need to get a pen disassembly kit to salvage the parts. Oh well, I need one anyway.

Problem: Since I don’t currently have a blank drilling jig the center holes were not perfectly inline with the line of the dovetail joint. This leads to pattern allignment issues on the finished pen.
Solution: Looks like I will invest in a pen blank drilling jig or make one. (I need one anyway)

Problem: As I discovered in the turning process, chipout is an issue. With dovetail joinery you are working with end grain. So with turning endgrain (Along the entrire lenght of the blanks) chipout will be an issue.
Solution: I was sucessful with stopping often and applying thin CA glue along the joint lines and working very slowly with sharp tools. To avoid any final shaping blowout I used sand paper to bring the blanks to final shape.

Problem: Finish was not looking so great with the endgrain down the entire length of the blanks.
Solution: Sucessful with a few applications of CA glue over the entire blank to fill in the end grain holes. Ended up with a nice shine on the finished blanks.

Well, that’s the progress. Now for attempt #2. More to come, with pictures.

-- Jef Spencer - Refined Pallet - http://www.etsy.com/shop/RefinedPallet