WWA Info Exchange

[Ralph Laughton]

Having never made a pen before I decided to jump in at the deep end and make a pen blank first. Not a straightforward affair but a veneer laminated at 45º job! I built the blank and let it dry.



Rather than risk my made up blank with a first go I cut some solid blanks from beech and walnut then turned those first. They came out OK - not great but not bad.



Then it was time to try the veneer blank which made some really interesting shavings...



...to get to my veneer pen.



I was reasonably pleased that I managed to make some pens but I have learnt a lot. The veneer blank needs some solid wood at each end as the fine ends of the veneer start to break up as they are rounded off. Maybe soaking the blank in super glue would hold it together?

I also think I need to make a bespoke jig for drilling the blanks and an assembly jig would be useful...

Ralph
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[eric]

Ralph I already commented in the other forum,
but I forgot to add the fact the Mikem would be very proud of you!
In fact Im sure he is proud of you!

Eric

For those who dont know Mike, he passed away a few years back,but was a very accomplished pen turner from the outskirts of Detroit, and a heqq of lot of fun to be around on the forums.

[Ice Pirate]

Nice work Ralph, but be careful, pens can become an addiction real quick.
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Frank
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[jimgsr]

Those are all very nice. I like that veneer pen the best though, very very nice.

[vicia]

[Paul Gauthier]

Yup Mikey would appreciate those pens for sure. Nicely done Ralph.
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Paul G
"To the last I grapple with thee, from heqq's heart I stab at thee, for hates sake I spit my last breath at thee."

" Life experiences are like quarters. You lose both when you sit on the couch.

[DennisS]

With hands like those I can see why you have such a nice touch with the tools!
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Cheers - Dennis

[nailed_nailer]

Ralph,

For your veneer pen projects you may want to try stabilizing the blanks before you turn them.

Not that I have tried this but, I hear it works well.

Dissolve some 1"x1" squares of plexiglass (acrylic sheet) in a sealed jar of Acetone.
This takes several days.
It is good to agitate it every 4-5 hours.
You want to end up with a syrupy solution of dissolved acrylic.

In a open vessel place your blank(s)

Cover blanks with acrylic solution

Set this into a paint pressure pot

Apply pressure at ~80PSI overnight.

Remove from pressure and allow to dry.

Then turn.

I hear if you can rough the blanks to size and pre-drill it works even faster as there is more available surface area.

Other methods involve
Pentacryl
Minwax wood hardener
thinned down solution of Oil based poly and mineral spirits
Thinned laquer
50/50 mixture of TightBond II and water

The IAP website can probably provide way more info
http://www.penturners.org/

Good luck,
---Nailer---
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No regrets, just some interesting results.
email: nailed_nailer@yahoo.com

[dogschef]

Very nice pen I like the idea of using the veneer. On another note I had no Idea Mikem had passed I had only dealt with a few times but was very helpful I am sure he is missed.