The ups and downs of my second attempt at Pen making

[alpha1]

I am brand new to this I made a bullet pen that turned out OK. This fired me up to have another go. Up to now I have spent a few bob on gouges kits tooling etc so I thought it was time to make some pens and see the results of my out lay. I cut and drilled several blanks.
Getting them square and drilling the holes central proved a bit of a challenge. I need a decent drilling jig. I glued and inserted the tubes and left the whole thing to cure overnight. The next day I chucked the blank trimmer in my lathe and attempted to trim them without much luck. I moved the trimmer to the mill that works better.
I assembled the first set of blanks on the lathe using a mandrel and bushings and set to with my new gouges. I gave up after ten minutes fitted a carbide cutter to my tool post and turned the blank using my conventional carbide tool holders. I screwed up one set of acrylic blanks I machined them down to the bushings then switched to sanding. Unfortunately after very little sanding the brass tube showed through. So they went in the bin. The next one up was a set of wooden blanks all went well until I got to ambitious with my cutting depth and split one of the blanks.
At this point I left the shed had something to eat and a cup of tea and mulled over the whole mornings work that had not worked out as I had hoped.

I went back in the shed on the afternoon cleared everything away I had been working on and started again this time keeping in mind my earlier mistakes I actually succeeded in making a pen. I gave it to the wife she loves it. It's a scirocco. There is lot more to this pen making than meets the eye.
My biggest disappointment is the gouges I bought I can not get them to work on my lathe and have much more success with my original carbide inserts using my quick change tool post.

 

[Morse]

Hi Dave.
Have a look locally for a wood turning club.
They will be able to see if your doing anything drastically wrong in your turning.
Maybe get someone local to call round to see what your set up is.
Don’t get down, we’ve all been there and still now make mistakes.

Dave

 

[fortress]

Hello Dave,
I'm sure the gouges you are using are fine, the problem may be the height of your tool rest and the angle and position you adopt at address. There are a lot of tutorial videos on youtube, and as suggested, join a turning club. You will get there in the end. Is there any chance we can see your Sirocco?

 

[KevinMc]

Hi

I dont understand the set up.... any photos?

Kevin

 

[21William]

I find drilling blanks is much easier if done on the lathe. I carefully mark the centres of the blanks then turn them between centres until round. Once round they go in the chuck for drilling. You’ll need a pronged drive centre mounted in the chuck to do this. Carbide profile (round insert) tools work well in metal Lathes for turning blanks, even wood. No need to use gouges unless you want to.

 

[Bammer]

Dave ...

Practice Practice Practice .... Learn to use your gouges. Toolrest height, distance from blank, speed, angle of the bevel. All these can be crucial.

Rib a 2x4 down so it's square, mount between centres, roughing gouge to round it off then use your tools to practice on it.

Rubbing the bevel is important when you are starting out.

You tube videos will help but actually doing it is the best way to learn. Woodturning clubs are great and you will always find someone local who won't mind spending an evening with you showing you what you are doing wrong.

IMO barrel trimmers are over rated, other will swear by them, so don't take anything anyone else says as gospel, you will develop your favourite system. I use a bench sander with a magnetic v block and transfer punches.

Drilling centrally for a pen is also an urban myth, you are going to turn it round after all. It is important for celtic knots and other more fancy blanks, but for a straight wood blank so so much.

I don't drill on the lathe so can't advise on how that works, all of my blank drilling is on a pillar drill, same speed for everything, haven't changed it since I bought it 25 years ago.

Sharpening of your gouges is possibly more important than anything else, if they are dull nothing you have done to that point will matter, you won't get a clean cut, you will get chatter and tear outs and probably get a catch and blow the blank.

So it's Practice Practice Practice, get that scrap of 2 x 4 on and do it. Make a rolling pin, harder than you think as it has to be the same diameter all the way along.

People think the carbides are the answer to everything, but they haven't been around long so what did people use before ? Gouges, there is no greater pleasure than getting a smooth clean cut from a skew ...

Good luck and keep at it, we all have a box full of wasted blanks and blow up

Brad

 

[Dalboy]

Reading the original post it sounds like you are turning on a metalworking lathe. So unless you have a separate tool rest for handheld tools then the only way is to use the lathe tools n the post. whether the height would be the same as if you are turning metal as that is normally on centre. A little clarification and maybe a photo might help with answers.

 

[wm460]

Hercus mad a wood turning attachment for there lathe I see if I can find a photo and post for you.

 

[Penpal]

I found the Carbide Tools difficult to adjust to using,then a go to for some timbers and plastic but not others. Part of the fun. In fact every pen is a new challenge. Like Brad I drill on a drill press,never change the speed, always use punches and a disk sander to square the blanks,a neat fit drill held in an old drill chuck to ensure clean brass after glueing.

Pictures Dave of your set up flash on camera otherwise your description although interesting is without easy comprehension.

Like the perseverance.

Peter.

 

[alpha1]

Yes I am using a metal working lathe there is a picture of it in one of my other posts. These two pens are the first pens I have made. The finnish on the blank could be a bit better but I'm still in the learning phase. I like the idea of turning the blank round before drilling in a three jaw chuck I will give that a go.

 

[Penpal]

Nowt wrong with these Dave. All round on the plastic onethe finish is good, the wooden one is plain and a coarse grain difficult to bring up a finish on that one.

Peter.

 

[Graham_C]

These look pretty good Dave. It took me a while to understand how to get a good polished finish on acrylic - wet sanding using micro-mesh pads, working through the grades to 12000 "grit" produces a good finish I find. It takes time but is well worth the effort.

Keep at it mate, practice makes perfect!

 

[Winemaker]

Oh the joys of wood turning keep on going you will get there in the end there are some very good videos on Y- tube I used them to get me sorted

 

[Pierre]

If your metal working lathe is turning slowly and your gouges are not razor sharp then you will always be unhappy. I turn my pens at 3500 rpm and (as Bammer said) start by rubbing the bevel then lifting my back hand the cutting edge comes in such that it is effectively making a 45 degree to the vertical cut (keep in mind I use a rounded gouge so its variable). For finishing if you have turned correctly you should probably start at 1000 rpm and 120 grit sandpaper and work your way through the grits to 600 for wood then got onto the micromesh 1500 - 12000 set afterwards, essentially if the piece shines as you get to the fine grits and before you apply your preferred finish then you have got it right. Light also helps, you should not see sanding groove on the finished piece before polishing.

Send me a PM if you need more info

PG