Todays Project - What did you do today?

[texx]

couple more ..

[ieezitin]

Nice work on the pens from the both of you.

I have never made pens but always thought it would be therapeutic, I take it its a hobby that really pays for itself, where do you get your product out on the market?

Anthony.

[Wongster]

(02-20-2017, 03:57 PM)texx Wrote: i have been making and selling pens for about 10 years and i stopped using a mandrel about 8 years ago , i only use the mandrel for the 7mm pens all the rest are turned between 2 centres on custom bushes that i made, makes for a much better end result .
i stopped using the barrel trimmer about the same time and i have my own method of trimming them now which is a lot better and quicker .

johno

Hello Johno,

Beautiful pens you made.  I don't know if there is a market here for unbranded pens.  Else it will be a fun way to make some money to fund my hobby.

While I was deciding what to buy together with the kits and blanks,  I was thinking of making custom bushings which is also a mandrel when I read about folks bending their mandrels while tightening the whole setup.  With this, I can either hold the one end in my 4-jaw scroll chuck or turn between centre and the other end in a live centre.  But due to my inexperience and don't know size pen I'll making most of the time, I decided to try out what's available in the market first.

As for trimming the blanks, I'm using facing cut on my proxxon PD400.  Its a longer process but I don't have to buy another piece of tool just for the purpose.  I saw on YouTube one gentleman using a sanding disc at the headstock end and the blank sliding on a hole locating punch in a chuck at the tailstock end.  I may try that out.

Would you be able to share how you are doing it?

Thanks!
Wong

[texx]

turning between centres i use a morse taper dead center in the headstock end and a live centre in the tail stock . for a lot of years i just used the bushings that you can buy and they work fine on those centers , but i now use for some of my pens styles longer bushings that i have made and with a bigger 60 degree counterbore for the centres to drive on .

for trimming the blanks i now use some fixtures that i made on the metal lathe but i started with wooden ones my curent ones are stainless steel i will put a couple of pics at the end of the post . i have made these in sizes for each of the brass tubes so i have one for every kit type i use .

i bent about 4 mandrels before i gave up using them . i did buy and still use sometimes a special tailstock end live centre with a hole in the middle that the mandrel goes in which means you dont need the nut on the end of the mandrel and also you have less mandrel unsupported.. .
i will include a pic of the tail stock live centre with the whole in the middle for the mandrel it is handy when you just have to use a mandrel but like i say i almost never use a mandrel just turn between centers on the pen bushes . i do all my turning useing 1/2 and 3/4 inch skews ( very sharp ) and i have no trouble getting enough friction to drive the blanks using just the centres .
these stainless steel jigs are a good snug sliding fit for each of the brass tubes i use . they are no good if they are to sloppy . also they are 10mm or so shorter than the brass .

johno.

[texx]

ok first pic is the special live centre i bought with the through hole for the mandrel , dont use it much now but it is handy sometimes .
hope you get the gist of how i turn on the bushes between centres , makes for a much better pen in the end . mandrels are a pain and cause all kinds of problems .

johno

[Wongster]

Thanks for the pics and info. Very helpful indeed.

As the current kit design I bought uses only a single section, I'm able to keep the mandrel short, with most of it in the bore of the headstock and the spacers against the 4 jaw scroll chuck's jaws. I didn't buy the skew but turn using HSS lathe tool. Initially I thought the blank will turn out to be straight and unattractive, but I realized that I can still shape it a little with the sand paper to give it a gentle curl. Kind of fun to do that.

[texx]

be carefull shaping with sand paper your guide bushes will finish up undersize after not many pens at all if they get sanded to much , then you finished turning will be smaller in diameter than the pen hardware.
if you make your next purchase a hss skew chisel about 3/4 or 1/2 inch you can with pratice get a very good finish straight off the tool with very little sanding needed and with only the finer grits . it takes me no more than 3 or 4 minutes to turn a wooden pen (single barrel )and have it ready for whatever finish is going on it using a sharp skew .
actualy annoying that the fun part is over to quick , the worst part drilling and glueing takes longer and is no fun specialy with deer antler and buffalo horn .

johno

[Mayhem]

(02-20-2017, 12:50 PM)Wongster Wrote: Hope I'm not off topic...

Hi Wong - this is an open thread, so there is no way you can go off topic if you post something that you have done.

Nice work on the pens 

[Roadracer_Al]

Texx, that braided metal pen is pretty cool!

[awemawson]

Yes I liked the braided one. How did you do it?