Corian Pens Completed
It has been quite the odyssey, making 36 pens all at one time. Making pens is something of a vocation I think. Pen making isn’t something that …
Woodturning Materials
So, what can you use as a wood turning material? The better question is, what CAN’T you use! The wood lathe can certainly be used to create objects from most any wood you can imagine, and probably a fair amount of woods you have never heard of much less imagined. But the possibilities don’t stop there. I also use acrylic plastics, deer antler, water buffalo horn, off-cuts from Corian counter tops, corncobs (no, really, I swear), wood composites, and even custom made pens with items encased in special polymers that allow you to do decoupage-like items. One can even rescue the shavings from today’s bowls to make tomorrow’s pens through a process named by its creator, Phoenix Pens. Really, the only limitation is your imagination.
Final Pen Assembly – Step 8
When assembling the Slimline kit in particular, most all of the pieces are simple press fits, you press the part in as far as it will go and you …
Polishing the Corian Blanks
With plastics, I go a good deal further to ensure a high gloss finish and an excellent hand feel. I use a 9 grade micro-polish system as well. …
Turning Corian Blanks – Step 6
Some very experienced, and persnickety, pen turners will discard the bushings because of the fact that they can become worn down, or because some pen turners don’t trust the …
End Milling – Step 5
The shafts come in different sizes to better accommodate the wide range of circumferences found in pen making brass tubes. I have many different sizes but always known …
Gluing the Brass Inserts – Step 4
Before doing anything else, I put on a pair of non-latex gloves to protect my hands from the glue. I don’t think the glue is harmful to the …
Preparing the Brass Tubes – Step 3
From the very first instruction on pen making that I received from my father, right through to the most recently consulted directions sent with a pen kit, I have …