# MY VERY FIRST PEN....



## WoodLove (Jan 14, 2013)

Hi! I just came in from the shop after making my very first pen. This is a slimline style made from spalted beech with I purchased from BURLGUY72 (Cody). I used friction polish for the finish. I wasnt sure is I was going to be able to make a pen because Im new to using a lathe, however, I am already planning on making more this week. Hope you like it......


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## duncsuss (Jan 14, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

Great start 

For your next one, aim to get the diameter of the wood at the ends of the barrel pieces to match up with the pen components, if you can eliminate the "step" between the wood and the metal they feel better in the hand.


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## WoodLove (Jan 14, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

I will definitely do that....... thanks. I have a few different styles that I will be making soon, including some bolt action kits. I have some madrone burl just begging to be made into a nice pen.


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## hobbit-hut (Jan 14, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

I can tell your excited about your first pen. Congradulations !!!! Now you are sucked in for life and the wood fairy will never let you go. :no dice. more please: Nice pen. :irishjig:


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## longbeard (Jan 15, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

Welcome to the vortex. :teethlaugh: Very nice for your first, hang on to it, a month from now you can look back at this one and see your improvements.
I agree on getting the demensions of your blank to the demensions of your components. If you have a set of calipers, measure your components and then measure your blank to fit flush. ( remember to allow for sanding and or adding a finish ) Great job.


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## DKMD (Jan 15, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

Very cool! Looks like the first of many... Careful, they're addictive!


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## TimR (Jan 15, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

Well..all I can say is that it looks 'write' nice! For stabilized wood, I would think you could get by with just polishing, but I've not turned any stabilized blanks...yet.
Have fun with them, I like doing pens now and then, especially for quick gifts that people enjoy using.


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## AXEMAN58 (Jan 15, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

Welcome to your new addiction. As with all things woodwork related, (and indeed, life in general), practice makes closer to perfection. Have fun with it.


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## myingling (Jan 16, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

Looks great for first one


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## BarbS (Jan 16, 2013)

*RE: MY VERYFIRST PEN....*

That's great.. you're going to have lots of fun selecting woods and styles. They're a lot of fun!


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## WoodLove (Jan 17, 2013)

I have a Polaris style Ill be doing next week..... and 5 bolt action pens..... I love the design of the bolt action pens..... Im an avid hunter so Im a little biased I soppose.


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## SFLTim (Jan 17, 2013)

Hey that’s nice for the first time. I want to do that too among the thousands of other projects I have planned. I have a new lathe but haven’t spent the time on it that I should with bandsaw and resawing addictions to feed! Question: are pen turning tools vastly different than standard bowl, etc turning tools? Do you have to by another set of specialty tools to turn pens? Nice job on the project.


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## WoodLove (Jan 17, 2013)

i bought the starter kit from PSI for $92 and it came with 5 pen and 5 pencil kits, a set of chisels, rosewood blanks, the barrel trimmer, epoxy, and friction polish as well as the pen mandrel. Ive already made all of the pebs and pencils and now Im waiting on my pen bushings to arrive for the other pen kits I have. i dont believe you would have to get a new set, but for the $100 bucks spent on the kit its all included. I paid $100 bucks for an old 12x36 craftsman lathe and Im turning everything on that..... one day Ill get a variable speed lathe, but this works ok for now. I will add that pen chisels are much smaller than bowl chisels, which are also a different size than the general woodworking chisels....


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