turning pens

woodturning
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

almost every sunday morning, i lay in bed wondering why i signed up for such an early class, and try to think up ways to leave early to come home & sleep, but once i'm there, things change.

i made these pens. compared to the bowls, they were pretty easy. they were turned at the highest speed, and it was easier than cutting butter. I made the one with the gold band first. I really liked the silver better, so i made he first one, figuring i would make more mistakes my first time around, but it went well. the only thing i didn't really like about the first one was getting too much glue on the wood, and it left a slightly darker ring at the join with the tip.

there was a shortage of bushings ( these metal tubes that are used as reference for how thick to cut the different parts of the wood to match up with the end, tip & band ), and i had to give my mandrel & bushings to someone else to use after i finished the first pen. i was able to get another set from someone else, but didn't pay close attention, and made the mistook a spacer for a bushing so the end with the clip was too small. I also mistook which piece was which, so the part with the tip was cut too short. i did not realize my error until i was half-way through assembling the pen, and the pen was sticking too far out. my poor instructor had to help me disassemble the tip, which was near impossible. we were able to salvage it, so the only thing is the end being too small. most people probably wouldn't notice, but my eye is immediately drawn to it.

making these were fast and a lot of fun. i would like to make fountain pens & mechanical pencils, since those would be more to what mike & i would use, and in some exotic woods.

with about 2 hrs left in class, i opted to try turning a knitting needle. you would think that it would not be difficult as it is straight, but turning something long and skinny and consistent in thickness is tricky.