I've noticed a number of posts recently regarding not having the correct bushes to hand in order to make a certain pen. I thought I would post up some step-by-step pics of the process for making a pen without bushings. Not only is it relatively easy, it also usually produces a better pen as the bushes are sometimes not 100% and so introduce errors into your pen-making. Try it sometime - you'll like it!
First you should get yourself a digital caliper. Wilko has them for £7.50 at the moment, so why not get yourself two? Once you've used them you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. Unless you're an engineer you shouldn't bother with vernier calipers - they are too difficult to read and adjust.
The first thing you will want to do is to check the diameter of the fitting at each end of the section you are about to turn. The bushes simply make this measurement easier to establish:
In this case I was lucky - both fittings were identical in diameter. This is my target for turning the ends. Because I am a belt-and-braces kind of guy I open the caliper jaws by about 0.5mm. Then I lock them in place with the little screw on top. Now I start turning the section I'm working on between a dead centre (headstock end) and a live centre (tailstock end) with gentle pressure on the brass tube. You can always tighten the tailstock a bit as you go, but if you overtighten you will be starting again! I check each end regularly:
Once i have one end at the diameter I'm looking for, I switch to the other end (adjusting the caliper setting if necessary):
Because I have added that 0.5mm I needn't panic if I turn off just a wee bit too much. The CA will also add slightly to the diameter. Once I have both ends at the desired diameter I can go ahead and shape the rest of the section. Then I sand and apply CA as normal. One thing you need to remember with this method is that CA will run over the edges and down the sides. So when you have finished with the CA you should turn your skew upside down and use the point to square the ends of the tube again:
That's it! Not hard at all, it's just a matter of confidence. As I learned this weekend with Woody, you can do all sorts of things if you just work up the courage to have a go.
First you should get yourself a digital caliper. Wilko has them for £7.50 at the moment, so why not get yourself two? Once you've used them you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. Unless you're an engineer you shouldn't bother with vernier calipers - they are too difficult to read and adjust.
The first thing you will want to do is to check the diameter of the fitting at each end of the section you are about to turn. The bushes simply make this measurement easier to establish:
In this case I was lucky - both fittings were identical in diameter. This is my target for turning the ends. Because I am a belt-and-braces kind of guy I open the caliper jaws by about 0.5mm. Then I lock them in place with the little screw on top. Now I start turning the section I'm working on between a dead centre (headstock end) and a live centre (tailstock end) with gentle pressure on the brass tube. You can always tighten the tailstock a bit as you go, but if you overtighten you will be starting again! I check each end regularly:
Once i have one end at the diameter I'm looking for, I switch to the other end (adjusting the caliper setting if necessary):
Because I have added that 0.5mm I needn't panic if I turn off just a wee bit too much. The CA will also add slightly to the diameter. Once I have both ends at the desired diameter I can go ahead and shape the rest of the section. Then I sand and apply CA as normal. One thing you need to remember with this method is that CA will run over the edges and down the sides. So when you have finished with the CA you should turn your skew upside down and use the point to square the ends of the tube again:
That's it! Not hard at all, it's just a matter of confidence. As I learned this weekend with Woody, you can do all sorts of things if you just work up the courage to have a go.