A time to build up,a time to break down

Seems now is my time for turning pens.

After looking into Roger´s Civil War pens

I went to the supplier´s page, and you imagine the rest.

I bought a lathe two years ago, but only managed to turn only a couple of rolling pins. I am not prepared yet to turn anything else. Here are some catastrophic results:

However, I make a new try, this time with something smaller. Much smaller

I bought the Rockler newbie kit which brings 3 pen kits. Almost simultaneously I purchased a couple of kits from woodturnerscatalog.com.

Now the very first pen turned, is the Olive blank, which is the 3rd. photo. It took me more time reading the one page instruction, than turning and finishing the pen. I went into the house, and gave my wife her first present for Xmas 2012. WOW. Her reaction was so cool, that I think I have found all the Holiday presents for the family.

The following day we were having the birthday party of my 4th son Santiago. Even I already had finished his Tambour Box present, I decided to try turning a Celtic Knot. After reading Lew´s and Karson discussion on the matter, I finished more confused. However I kept going. This pen is in photos 4 & 5.

I prepared a smaller sled to make the cuts. The green blank is Palo Santo, sort of Argentine Lignun Vitae.

And the inserted 3 pieces o veneer of same thickness as the saw blade. (Well, that is what I thought I was doing)

And managed to glue the pieces with Tbond III.

As you can see, I made another slim pen with a Celtic knot (photos 1 & 2 ), but I inserted only a piece of oak, and I glued with CA. Easier, and quicker.

More on that quickness later.

The squared maple and walnut pen was a learning experience.

1. Don´t hurry
2. Dont hurry
3…......
....
n. Don´t hurry

The following photos describe more or less what I did.

Cut some maple and walnut blanks in 45°.

Glue them in pairs.

Then I glued 2 pairs

WHen I had two halves of the blank, I sanded the bases which were to be glued together to get a perfect glue up (well, almost perfect)

Finally, a complete blank

So far, I haven´t even started. Next step calls for drilling the center of this blank.

.

Then needs to get rounded in the lathe, much larger than the finished pen. Just rounded.

I then sliced in a miter box, keeping track and numbering each slice. Keep an eye.

Next time I will write numbers i¿with a 4B pencil, and not a marker. Ink bleeds !!!

Following I start gluing with CA each slice inserted in the pen tubing, forming the squared pattern.

Then is just matter of turning. Next time I will sand the blank exactly up to the tubing. Which in this case provides the support to the blank pieces. You can see how the first two squares flew from the mandrel.

At the end I managed to fix it, by making the pen 2 millimeters shorter. These kits have enough lay-line

All the pens were finished with CA, and then wax polished

So bye now, we will continue flooding the site with pens. So you are warned. (Hey Martyn, I will still make some boxes)

-- Back home. Fernando