How to turn a pen in your spare bedroom

[Trent Mason]

Well, with my "temporary retirement", I've recently found myself with a lot more free time. :rotflm: Yesterday, I was stuck at the house as the wife had to take the car to work. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead: So, I decided that since I now had all of my tools in the [STRIKE]guest bedroom[/STRIKE] new man cave, I might as well turn a pen. :widea:

So here is how to turn a pen in your guest bedroom....

Step 1: Enter the [STRIKE]guest bedroom[/STRIKE] man cave. :gar-Bi

Step 2: Dig through stuff until you get to the miter saw. Take the miter saw out on the porch to cut the blanks (to keep the sawdust out of the room). :wink_smil

Step 3: Run extension chord outside and plug in miter saw.

Step 4: Cut the blanks.

Step 5: Dust off and take miter saw and extension chord back inside.

Step 6: Rig up a highly complicated dust collection system for your drill press. :rotflm: Side note, it also helps if you keep your finger right next to the drill bit to knock off the shavings before they shoot across the room. :icon_thum

Step 7: Glue the tubes into the blanks without gloves on. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:

Step 8: While the glue dries, spend half an hour getting glue off of fingers. :no:

Step 9: Get online and try to find a [STRIKE]new job[/STRIKE] way out of "temporary retirement". :rotflm:

Step 10: After glue dries, bring miter saw and extension chord back outside and trim the blanks. (Some of you do this with a barrel trimmer but I don't have one of those yet. :nah:

Step 11: Before you start turning, develop and install another highly complicated dust collection system for the lathe. :rotflm:

Step 12: Turn the pen.

Step 13: Sand the pen.

Step 14: Finish the pen with CA glue.

Step 15: Using valuable information learned from friends on NCWWer, wetsand with micromesh pads.

Step 16: Use Irwin Quick Grip clamp to assemble pen.

Step 17: Be VERY pleased with the results.

Step 18: Realize that you forgot to sweep up and have tracked sawdust all over the house. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:



I hope you all have enjoyed this tutorial. :rotflm: Skeeter, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the olive wood blank. You were right, it does smell like olive oil when you are turning it and it turned out beautifully. :gar-Bi

 

[decibel]

I think you're missing step 19.
Duck any projectiles thrown by wife once she realizes what you've done. Well that would have been my step 19 :wink_smil

Great tutorial it brought a smile to my face.

 

[HMH]

Nice!

 

[timf67]

Nice! makes me want to go turn one now...

 

[Trent Mason]

I think you're missing step 19.
Duck any projectiles thrown by wife once she realizes what you've done. Well that would have been my step 19 :wink_smil

Great tutorial it brought a smile to my face.

:eusa_shhh Luckily, she was at work. Got it all vacuumed up before she got back. :gar-La;

 

[skeeter]

WOW! I'm tired just reading the tutorial. I must have forgotten to tell you "pen turning is not just a job, it's an adventure". Nice work on a great looking pen.

 

[Ken Massingale]

Determination Trent!
Thanks, even my sore throat feels better now.

 

[gesiak]

Nice job on the tutorial and pen :icon_thum:icon_thum

 

[sapwood]

Creative story and solutions, Trent.
BTW, the pen looks great too :yes4lo:

Roger

 

[Glennbear]

Thanks for sharing the tutorial on making such a nice pen. Since I am old enough to be your father please excuse my paternalistic advice to be extra careful when working under less than ideal conditions. The idea of "finger close to the drill bit" made me shiver. :confused_

 

[Trent Mason]

Thanks for sharing the tutorial on making such a nice pen. Since I am old enough to be your father please excuse my paternalistic advice to be extra careful when working under less than ideal conditions. The idea of "finger close to the drill bit" made me shiver. :confused_

Good point Glenn. :tinysmile_cry_t: Maybe I'll use a scrap piece of wood next time. :widea:

WOW! I'm tired just reading the tutorial. I must have forgotten to tell you "pen turning is not just a job, it's an adventure". Nice work on a great looking pen.

Thanks Charles. ccasion1 I didn't know it was supposed to be this much of an adventure, but desperate times call for desperate measures. :gar-La;

 

[MrAudio815]

Step 10: After glue dries, bring miter saw and extension chord back outside and trim the blanks. (Some of you do this with a barrel trimmer but I don't have one of those yet. :nah:

:gar-Bi

Hey Trent,

Very Nice post and way to use what you've got~! Very Nice looking pen too~!

Now Since you have the same lathe as me and Earl, you got to get you HF all rigged up, it's what you do with a HF lathe since it doesn't have all those fancy gizmo's that the other have.

This is a real easy project, and if you want I can send you a Nut welded to the washer to help for a small $2+ shipping or I can meet you on the 24th in Raleigh.

Anyway make this. I used the welded nut with washer Earl's makes...He lets me weld mine. Then sandwhich it inbetween two pieces of wood.

Add a piece of MDF (mines 11 31/32" or something close to that and I have a scrap 1 5/16th thick piece you can have to make yours) Get some sticky 12" 80 grit sandpaper disc's from HF for $5 or so, comes with three sheets. Then Stick it on. Grab some scrap wood to raise the bed surface and sand away on that blank (lowest speed, don't want to remove to much). You may want to build a jig after this to make it a straight 90 degress. I have hand sanded this way and have had no problems.





It's Cheap, it's fun, It's Harbor Freight~! And you can Make some Beautiful stuff with it~! :eusa_danc

 

[cskipper]

Thanks for the chuckle. I can relate because I've done a lot of those things. When we in Anderson a couple of years ago I turned pens in the formal living room. My huge advantage was that I cut the blanks when home in NC so I only had to drill them, use the pen mill (although you can sand down to the tube) and turn. It also had hardwood floors. Again, thanks for the saga.

 

[Ray Martin]

Can't think of a better transformation for what used to be one of the kid's bedrooms

:gar-La;

 

[sawduster]

I came every close to doing the same thing while snowed in over the weekend :mrgreen:

Great story bro and a really nice pen ! :icon_thum

 

[ashley_phil]

very nice!

i really like your dust collection options

 

[Trent Mason]

Thanks for the responses, I'm glad some of you can relate to this. ccasion1

Matthew,

That sounds like a great way to have a disk sander. :widea: I'm not set up to weld, but if I ever am, I'm sure there are tons of neat things I could do. Up to this point, if I've needed a disc sander, I've just held my belt sander perpendicular to my work bench and run the piece up against it. Not the easiest method, but it works. :gar-La;

 

[gdc]

I haven't been able to try a pen out in the garage. theres no way I can turn one in a spare bedroom. I can hear it now....oh no....theres those voices again..... very nice looking pen.

 

[PChristy]

Nice pen Trent:icon_thum I really like the dust systems you rigged up there brother :gar-La; I was just wondering - since you got everything clesned up before the boss got home how did you explain the Olive oil aroma since there wasn't anything sitting there on the table for supper:icon_scra:gar-Bi

 

[Trent Mason]

Nice pen Trent:icon_thum I really like the dust systems you rigged up there brother :gar-La; I was just wondering - since you got everything clesned up before the boss got home how did you explain the Olive oil aroma since there wasn't anything sitting there on the table for supper:icon_scra:gar-Bi

Phillip,

Easy, her sense of smell isn't that good. :thumbs_up:thumbs_up :gar-La;