A sampling of recent pens I've Turned.

nice collection!

WOW! What kind of lathe, wood, finish, and tools are you using?

-- JoeR Nothing that I could make will ever be perfect but I'll use it anyway.

nice group of pens

-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos

Thanks for the nice comments. Joe, I use a vintage Shopsmith I rebuilt a few years ago for my lathe currently. I was able to find a pen mandrel for it from the supplier I’m currntly getting my pen supplies from. Most people I know use a mini lathe and appropriate mandrel for it, but I figured it was more cost effective to use what I already have! I’m trying out all kinds of american and exotic woods on the pens, but no real favorites as of yet. The finish on most is a wax and shelac mixture that’s applied to the wood while spinning on the lathe, and then rubbed in with a rag. The heat generated while rubbing the finsh while spinning causes it to dry during that process, so when you shut the lathe off the finish is dry and complete. I still let the parts set for a while (usually overnight) to ensure it hardens completely before handling too much though.

-- Dave, See some of my creations at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/76Winger

Great group of pens. Like the pool ball stand. How hard was it to cut the ball?

Keep it up.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

That a great collection of pens. Nice job.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Appomattox Virginia [email protected] †

Thanks guys, I came up with at picture to compare the various sizes of the different style pens I’ve made so far. There’s actually one other style I made, but the two I made are both gone, one gifted to a friend and the other sold.

Scrappy, I had to be very careful with cutting the pool ball. I need to make up a jig to to do them if I do many more. That one, I held by hand and fed through the bandsaw VERY CAREFULLY! I was ready to let it go if it slipped at all, but it ended up cutting very cleanly and no jerking. I even got a fairly straight cut, so it too minimal sanding to smooth the bottom out.

-- Dave, See some of my creations at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/76Winger

Wow! Great looking pens. I am “borrowing” the pen holder idea. My cousin shoots in state tournaments all the time and she would LOVE something like that!